A talking cure for brands
When Unilever brand Dove used six generously proportioned "real women" to promote its skin-firming preparations, it became one of the most talked-about marketing decisions taken this summer. It was also one of the most successful: since the campaign broke, sales of the firming lotion have gone up 700 per cent in the UK, 300 per cent in Germany and 220 per cent in the Netherlands.
Yet so entrenched is the industry's attachment to the cult of perfection that the idea got off the ground only after Dove's agency, Ogilvy & Mather, brought in Susie Orbach, the psychotherapist known for her work on eating disorders, to talk about the benefits of celebrating female forms of all shapes and sizes.
Co-opting academics and clinicians into advertising research is fast becoming a trend, though it raises ethical questions. Though clinicians use general insights gleaned over the years - rather than confidential individual patient experiences - some concerns arise about whether such "white coat" findings should be used at all for commercial campaigns. The most immediate query from marketers, however, is likely to be "Does it work?"
Two UK agencies that have used these techniques include Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy and Abbot Mead Vickers BBDO, which brought in psychologists to work for COI Communications and the departments of health and transport.
The UK Inland Revenue's advertising campaign to promote the new self-assessment system for income tax featuring the historian and TV presenter Adam Hart- Davis is an example of a campaign with a psychological foundation. On the advice of expert respondents, MCBD eschewed the hectoring style of the Revenue's earlier campaign and opted instead for an empathic approach. Among the successes claimed for the campaign are an eightfold increase in electronic submissions and the highest number of forms completed on time since self-assessment began in 1997.
Psychologists and academics from related disciplines such as anthropology are also increasingly in demand with advertising agencies looking for deeper explanations of the roles that brands perform in people's lives.
"There's a recognition that we need to ask other questions to avoid being sucked into our own brand mythologies," says Anthony Tasgal, founder of brand and communications consultancy POV. But it is not just the desire to get back to first principles that is driving brand owners. It has become increasingly common for marketers to question whether consumers can be relied upon to express what they feel. "Often we don't have much self-knowledge; it takes someone else to tell us what's going on," says Sanjay Nazerali, managing director of brand consultancy The Depot.
To illustrate the point, Mr Nazerali cites work he did for Cacharel, which aimed to establish how the company's An?s An?s brand could bemademore relevant to young fragrance wearers. Instead of organising focus groups, Mr Nazerali interviewed eight clinicians specialising in adolescent psychology. What the discussions highlighted was that, in a far cry from girl power, teens have a deep-seated though rarely acknowledged desire to express their vulnerabilities.
Out of this was born the brand idea of having the confidence to admit your feelings - a theme duly adopted by Cacharel in an integrated global campaign which featured a young woman blowing kisses that turn into petals, under the banner: "One day, tenderness will move the world".
But what do others in the industry make of such methods? Marco Rimini, director of strategy at J Walter Thompson, believes that talking to psychologists has more to offer than the current fashion of conducting mini-ethnographic studies: "Half an hour with someone who spends their life talking to teenagers in a profound way will take you further than an evening hanging out with the crowd."
However, Mr Tasgal thinks there is a danger of trusting implicitly in "white coat authority", and Jane Cunningham, planning director at O&M, says that psychologists simply contribute a framework for understanding at a deeper level what consumers have been talking about all along. "It can help to verify something you think you've spotted and extend your thinking."
While some argue that input from psychologists could actually benefit vulnerable groups, others suspect that the whole business is a flagrant attempt to get practitioners from an under-rewarded caring profession to sell what they know about human susceptibilities to brands searching for profits.
"Advertising has always played to people's fears or desires. Talking to psychologists doesn't change the ethical debate. It's just a more intelligent way of working out what's going on in people's minds," says Mr Nazerali.
对品牌的临床诊断
联合利华（Unilever）的品牌多芬（Dove）利用6位丰满的“大众女性”为其紧肤化妆品促销，竟成了今年夏天让人谈论最多的营销决策之一。它也是一项最为成功的营销策略：自从该广告推出以来，这种紧肤乳的销售在英国急升700%，在德国为300%，荷兰220%。
然而，该行业对完美至上的崇拜早已根深蒂固。直到多芬的代理商奥美集团（Ogilvy Mather）请来心理治疗专家苏茜?奥巴克(Susie Orbach)大谈女性应对其千差万别的体型及身材引以为荣之后，上述营销策略才得以一炮打红。奥巴克因在饮食失调方面的研究而著称。
在广告研究中借助学者和临床医生的权威正迅速形成一种趋势，不过这么做也会带来道德方面的问题。虽然临床医生引用多年积累的见识而非保密的个案病例，但人们对这些“白大褂”的知识是否应被用于商业用途仍有疑虑。然而，营销者可能最迫切了解的是：“这样做奏效吗？”
英国就有两家机构运用上述策略，它们分别是Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy（MCBD）和Abbot Mead Vickers BBDO。它们请来心理学家为英国政府的公关公司COI Communications以及卫生部、交通部等部门效力。
英国税务局（Inland Revenue）邀请历史学家和电视主持人亚当?哈特-戴维斯（Adam Hart-Davis）为推广个人所得税自我评估的新方法拍摄广告，也是借助心理学的一个例子。根据调查收集的专家意见，MCBD放弃了英国税务局以前那种虚张声势的做法，改为动之以情。据称该广告大获成功，自1997年实行自我评估体制以来，电子报税量增加了8倍，而按时填好表格的人数也达到最高纪录。
随着广告公司希望为品牌在人们生活中的作用寻求更深层次上的解释，对心理学家以及人类学相关领域专家的需求也日益增强。
品牌和传播咨询公司POV的创办人安东尼?塔斯加尔（Anthony Tasgal）说：“为了避免陷入自身的品牌迷思，我们还需要提出其他问题，这已成为共识。”但是驱动品牌拥有者的，并不仅仅是希望回归基本原则。营销者越来越普遍地怀疑，让消费者表达自己的感受究竟是否可靠。品牌咨询公司The Depot的董事总经理桑贾?纳扎拉里（Sanjay Nazerali）说：“我们往往对自己了解不够，需要别人告诉我们到底情况怎么样。”
纳扎拉里先生以其为卡沙雷尔（Cacharel）所做的工作为例说明了这一点。该公司旨在了解其香水品牌阿奈阿奈（An?s An?s）如何才能更迎合年轻人的口味。纳扎拉里并没有组织专题讨论小组，而是访问了8位擅长青少年心理研究的临床医生。他们的讨论着重反映出，与女孩力量（girl power）所表现的截然不同，青少年有着一种根深蒂固但鲜为人知的愿望，要表达其脆弱性的一面。
由此便产生了一种勇于承认个人感受的品牌理念，这已适时地被卡沙雷尔采用，成为其全球宣传活动的主题。在这个广告中，一位年轻女郎的吹吻在瞬间变成了缤纷的花瓣，上面的横幅则写道，“总有一天，温柔将感动整个世界。”
然而，其他业内人士又是如何看待这些方法的呢？智威汤逊（J Walter Tompson）的战略总监马可?里米尼（Marco Rimini）认为，与心理学家交谈比现今流行的小型人类文化调研更有裨益。他说：“与那些用毕生精力与青少年打交道的人交谈半小时，你的感悟要比同一群青少年鬼混一晚上还要多。”
但塔斯加尔先生认为，盲目相信“白大褂权威”会有危险。奥美的策划总监简?坎宁汉姆（Jane Cunningham）也说，心理学家只是提供一个框架，从更深的层面去理解消费者一直就谈论的问题。“这有助于验证你已发现的问题，并拓宽你的思考空间。”
一些人争辩说，心理学家的建议能让弱势群体受益。但也有些人认为，这种作法是公然让未获得应有待遇的医务人士，向追求利润的品牌商出卖他们所了解的人类弱点。
纳泽瑞尔先生说：“广告总是利用人们的恐惧或欲望来做文章。向心理学家作咨询并未改变有关职业道德的辩论。它只不过是一种更聪明的方法，来了解人们的脑袋里到底在想什么。”
