In the Arms of an Angel

Persuasion is a powerful thing. Have you ever seen an advertisement so powerful that you'll still remember it? Did this advertisement teach you something? Change your opinion about something? Encourage you to take action against something? Or maybe you had no interest in the advertisement and it had no effect on you at all.

The elaboration likelihood model theory is composed of two processes: the central route and peripheral route. The central route is direct and straight to the point. This route requires involvement and active participation from the receiver, with a message that the viewer cares about. However if the viewer doesn't care about the message, the viewer will most likely not take any action and ignore the message. This is known as the peripheral route.

The central route of this theory occurs when the viewer is interested in the message, is motivated by the message, and finds the message to be important. This route involves deep processing of information that creates a lasting attitude change. On the contrary, the peripheral route of this theory occurs when the viewer has low interest in the message, is not motivated by the message, and does not find the message to be important. This route involves shallow processing of information that creates a temporary attitude change.

An example of the central route of the elaboration likelihood model theory is Sarah McLachlan’s ASPCA commercial involving animal cruelty that I’m sure everyone remembers from the early 2000’s. This emotional advertisement has a message that is so memorable, pulls on people’s heartstrings, and contains a song that sticks in everyone’s heads. Whether you believe it or not, this advertisement is very persuasive. Maybe your parents were persuaded to donate to the ASPCA to help save an animal in need. Or maybe you were persuaded to rescue a puppy from a shelter instead of buying one from a pet store. I'm a firm believer of "Adopt, don't shop!" and I'm pretty sure I was persuaded by Sarah McLachlan's commercials.

An example of the peripheral route of the elaboration likelihood model theory is when a straight cis-male sees an advertisement for beauty products such as make-up. Because the product has no importance to this particular viewer, he will most likely tune out the message. Because the message was of little importance to the viewer, when it comes to purchasing decisions, the advertisement will not have a related impact. The viewer may walk into Sephora and ask the employee for assistance, or may just pick whatever is on sale, meaning that viewer was not persuaded by the advertisement.

After researching more about this theory, I've learned that not every person will be persuaded by a message. In order to persuade a viewer effectively, I would need to use the central route. I want to capture the viewer's attention with something that interests them and is important to them. What I've gathered is that it's important to understand the target audience of my product/service if I want to create a message that is persuasive. If I were to craft a message for my product/service, I would want the message to be educational, informative, and memorable, meaning I want something in the message to leave an impression on the viewer, and I would also want the message to have a lasting attitude and behavior change on the viewer.