Resignation
Ads and videos written to this emotion: 10. 5 make the Say move, 1 make the Avoid mistake.
The Emotion Map's entry, written for B2B buyers.
What it is
Discouragement hardened into giving up. You believe effort won't matter, so you stop trying.
Where it shows up
A company that tried marketing twice and concluded it does not work in its sector.
Sounds like
"Marketing doesn't work in our industry."
Say
Evidence that effort can matter here, at low cost: a small test with a set budget, a set end date and a number agreed in advance.
Avoid
The energetic pitch that suits a frustrated buyer. To a resigned buyer it sounds like nobody is listening.
In consumer ads
Say: Low-cost evidence that trying again can work: a trial size, a short trial with a set end, a result the reader can see for themselves.
Avoid: The energetic pitch that suits a frustrated reader. To someone who has given up on the whole category, it sounds like nobody is listening.
Doing it right
Ads that make the Say move.
General Electric battery radio ad, al-Musawwar 1936
To listeners without mains power who expect a second-rate set, it offers a bounded test, try one and be convinced, backed by reasons: Eveready batteries, automatic control, short and medium wave.
It speaks to city readers for whom 'fluctuating health becomes accepted', blames the strain of busy centres, and asks only for a small personal test: 'Try them, prove them.'
Sloan's Liniment ad, al-Musawwar 1927
The reader's letter speaks to those who quit: he tried so many remedies he gave up, then within a month of Sloan's the pains were gone, and the ask is one bottle.
Gonorin pills ad, al-Kashkul 1925
It speaks to 'desperate patients' who tried every medicine and offers a low-cost first step: a free booklet posted to anyone who writes, so the remedy can be weighed in private before buying.
Dr. Ross pills ad, al-Kashkul 1925
A man from Assiut tells how many doctors and remedies failed him before three bottles worked, and the only printed request is to ask for samples, a no-cost test for the discouraged.
Doing it wrong
Ads that make the Avoid mistake.
Noble pills tonic ad, al-Musawwar 1929
To 'despairing patients' who tried every medicine it answers 'take heart' and a simple, easy cure that 'healed thousands': an upbeat pitch, with no bounded trial beyond a free booklet.
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