1960s advertising made a turn from fear-based to love-based persuasion

Evidence

For its slogan, Mary Wells chose one perhaps equally suited to a yoga studio: “love power.” The idea, apparently, was to reach consumers with friendliness, and make them love the product; it was a 180-degree turn from Claude Hopkins’s idea of scaring people into buying things. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 587

Categorization

• XREF: This reverses Hopkins’ scientific advertising fear/motivation approach described earlier in the book — a useful internal echo of the persuasion-mechanism arc. — connects to: Advertising shifted from promising cures to selling consumers a better version of themselves — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 213; Advertising shifted from selling product qualities to selling user identity — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 550; Mad Men-era advertising allowed consumers a fighting chance that algorithm-driven persuasion does not. (+1 more)
• SEED: Angle: the shift from scare-based to ‘love power’ advertising as an early template for today’s brand authenticity and emotional-marketing tactics.

Broader Connections

• Advertising shifted from promising cures to selling consumers a better version of themselves #expands (0.78) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 213
• Advertising shifted from selling product qualities to selling user identity #expands (0.75) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 550
• Mad Men-era advertising allowed consumers a fighting chance that algorithm-driven persuasion does not. #responds-to (0.70)