Hector M. Lopez
Ms. Baily
Writing I, Sec. 17
December 17, 2010
Love at first scare; the use of fear to manipulate consumers.
The commercial for the 2008 Scion xB starts with a camera shot of a large boulder rapidly swinging across the screen, in what appears to be an empty industrial warehouse, as if it were part of a pendulum. In the background a child’s voice is heard, in an almost whispering manner, repeating “he loves me, he loves me not” in rhythm with the boulder as it swings over the car. After this, the camera shot changes to show a close up of the front tire of a bold metallic-orange Scion xB, standing out against the dark industrial setting, and the crude, unpolished textures of the boulder and the weathered concrete ground. Eventually the camera zooms out to include the swinging boulder and two identical orange cars on opposing ends of each other, about forty feet apart, and barely out of the boulder’s reach. Following this the shot zooms in again, and after two more swings of the massive boulder, the boulder slams into the side of the car, sending several pieces of metal into the air, and causing a large dent, about the size of both the side doors, on the right side of the car. After this collision, the camera focuses on the other, still untouched, car. In the background the wrecked car and the boulder can be seen. Upon switching to this shot the child’s voice can no longer be heard. After this, a man’s voice states “love it, or loathe it; the 2008 Scion xB.” The commercial ends with a shot of the Scion emblem against a concrete textured background.
The screeching, swinging boulder, along with the eerie voice repeating “he loves me, he loves me not” creates a feeling of suspense and tension as the boulder speeds past the cars, barely avoiding a collision. It appears that with every swing the boulder gets closer to hitting one of the cars, thus creating the feeling of imminent disaster, and instilling fear in the viewer. This sense of fear and constant threat elicits negative emotions, so why would Scion employ fear so extensively in their commercial? One might think that, by placing pressure on the audience to make a choice, under the constant threat of destruction, the viewer would be left with negative emotions and thus stray away from the Scion xB; but according to Sternthal and Craig, in their article "Fear Appeals: Revisited and Revised," fear is one of the most effective tools for manipulating consumers. Scion’s use of fear may foster what they call a “positive fear-persuasion relationship,” (28) which is strengthened as a result of the use of stimuli that appeal to a very specific target audience. In their research, Sternthal and Craig focus on the “threat of physical consequences,” similar to the threat presented in the ad. They found that fear is more effective in manipulating the audience if it is paired with recommendations that, if followed, reduce threat (25). To test this, smokers were presented with a “message that relates smoking to lung cancer” (24) and thus they had to choose whether to “discount the veracity of the message” or quit smoking (25). It was found that as “fear arousal” increases, persuasion increases, therefore as the threat in the message increased, more smokers decided to quit (25). In the Scion ad it appears that with every swing the boulder gets closer to hitting one of the cars, thus increasing the tension, and forcing the viewer to make a choice: “he loves me” or “he loves me not;” and that the result of said choice will be reflected in the destruction the boulder causes. The crash occurs when the child is saying “he loves me not,” thus the destroyed car is related with “he loves me not,” and later, as the man’s states, with “loathe” rather than “love,” while the intact car is related with “he loves me” and, consequently, with “love” for a Scion. In this manner the ad pairs this threat with recommendations that make the audience feel that, if followed, the threat would be alleviated. It is also important to note that, since the product being sold is a car, the destruction of the product creates especially strong negative emotions since it is a common fear due to the cost as well as physical threat involved with being in a car accident. According to Sternthal and Craig’s research, this sort of recommendation should then strengthen the positive fear-persuasion relationship, since it provides a means through which the audience can escape the threats posed and thus avoid fear and increasing tension (25). This fear and increasing tension adds to the pressure that the commercial places on the viewer to make a choice. In the ad, the child’s voice, which states “He loves me, he loves me not” presents two opposing, contradictory outcomes, whose opposition is emphasized as a result of placing the cars on opposite ends of the warehouse. The pressure to choose between “lov[ing]” or “loath[ing]” a Scion, along with the tension associated with it, is further heightened through the synchronization of the boulder’s swing with the child’s voice, as this represents the destructive possible result of either of the two contradictory outcomes. Yet, the commercial, which lasts only 31 seconds, doesn’t present any factual information that would help the viewer choose whether they love or loathe a Scion; such as the car’s gas mileage, price, or safety features. This means that the decision to love or loathe must be an instinctual one; made quickly and based on first impressions, rather than one made as a result of logic and reasoning. To be put in a position in which one is forced to make a quick choice, after being presented with a minimal amount of objective information, is not something many would consider ideal, especially if that choice is something as important as purchasing a car. Yet, Lai argues that people who are dominantly right-brain thinkers regularly make choices in this manner (1). For them, the situation that Scion presents reflects a situation in which they would be comfortable making a decision. The idea that Scion might be targeting right brain thinkers is further reinforced by Meyers-Levy’s research, which found that pictorial and “visual spatial” stimuli activate the processing style of the right hemisphere since it “perceives whole configurations, establishes commonalities, and relates stimulus elements into perceptual units”
(77). The advertisement is centered around a wide-angle shot portraying the swinging boulder and two identical bright orange cars on opposing ends of the warehouse, about forty feet apart and barely out of the boulder’s reach, thus creating spatial and visual stimuli. These stimuli are enforced by the spatial perfection required to make a huge swinging boulder avoid a collision by only inches, and then continue to gradually get closer, thus pushing the spatial limits and further appealing to right brained thinkers. In their research, Sternthal and Craig found that the positive fear-persuasion relationship is especially strong when the source is highly credible and the fear is employed with the audience’s “coping style, self-esteem, and perceived vulnerability,” in mind (27). This brings forth the question: what characterizes a right-brained thinker and how does Scion use fear to specifically target these characteristics? One of the most defining traits of right-brained thinkers is that they have high self-esteem and thus are attracted to products that project confidence and individuality (Lai 1), an attribute that is shown by the Scion xB’s bold, sharply-angled, design and flashy, metallic-orange color which stands out against the dull, dark setting of the commercial. Sternthal and Craig also found that “increases in threat were associated with increased acceptance for those high in self-esteem and decreased for those who had low self-

esteem” (28). They observed that people who don’t cope well with tension and are vulnerable, respond better to small threats, while those with high self-esteem, who can cope well, and aren’t vulnerable respond to all types of threats. Sternthal and Craig reasoned that this was because “as fear arousal increases from low to moderate levels, the individual becomes more vigilant to the recommendations made in the communication. However, at still higher levels of fear arousal people become overly vigilant, and, as a consequence may…select nonrecommended solutions to reduce fear, or… choose some other form of defensive denial” (25). Since the commercial poses a gradually increasing threat, and puts pressure on the viewer to make the quick choice of loving or loathing a Scion, the marketer risks decreased acceptance from those who don’t have high self-esteem. Therefore, by using fear, Scion singles out people with high self-esteem, since they would respond most positively to the aggressive type of threat presented. But, doesn’t this also mean that Scion could lose customers and taint their image by using fear in a way that might produce a negative fear-persuasion relationship? In a study conducted by Cochrane and Quester, it was found that, despite the strong influence that fear has on consumer behavior, fear has little to no impact on brand image (26). This works to Scion’s advantage since it allows them to use fear, which produces a negative emotion, to manipulate consumers, without them relating said negative emotion to the actual brand. In addition, Scion is also protected from this association through the type of product they sell. Since the product being sold is a car, then Scion can be sure that threats will be taken more seriously due to the importance placed on buying a car. This is supported by Cochrane and Quester’s study that found that there is a relationship between fear and “product involvement;” or “the way consumers view different product categories with different feelings, thoughts and behavioural responses” (8). This was tested by presenting students with two similar print advertisements for two different products: a diskette, which was defined as being of low involvement, and a laptop, which was defined as being of high involvement. The advertisements were identical, aside from the actual product’s picture, and were meant to induce fear (8). It was found that “the fear appeal worked better for the high involvement product, where it triggered the intended discomfort, than for the diskette advertisement where only a more superficial assessment took place” (24). Cochrane and Quester reasoned that this was because “the assessment of the gravity of the threat seems to motivate consumers to cognitively seek a remedial action (and hence process the advertisement more thoroughly)” (24).
Under Cochrane and Quester’s standards, which take into account “interest, perceived risk, pleasure value and sign value” (9), a car would be a product of high involvement, thus it is likely that “the advertisement for the high involvement product… triggered a more complex information process than did the advertisement for the low involvement product” and thus fear, when paired with these products, will be more effective in influencing consumer activity than low involvement products that demand little to no processing (23). Due to the high involvement involved with purchasing and owning a car, the audience is likely to take threats more seriously, and consequently act upon them. Scion targets a specific customer base, which is defined through the use of increasing threats and fear, as well as pressure to make a choice, in order to effectively manipulate consumers by employing fear in a way that would appeal to the audience’s high self-esteem and dominant right-brain thinking. This campaign was praised by Addis in Advertising Ager, referencing Toyota’s Scion brands as a campaign that is successful for narrowing the target audience and focusing on a specific audience’s desires. Addis states that, “while other companies take pains not to alienate any consumer, billboards for the Scion provocatively proclaim: ‘So wrong for so many’” (18). These stimuli thus single out people that would be able to make a decision of high-involvement instinctually despite a setting that invokes fear and creates tension, and thus allows Scion to also appeal to them through other means such as the use of bold designs, and colors or visual spatial stimuli. Commercials that employ fear to manipulate consumers have become increasingly common, such as Subaru’s “Dear Subaru” campaign and Old Spice’s latest campaign which focuses on men’s fear of not being manyl enough. This, in turn, hints at a shift in advertising from appealing to people’s desires to appealing to people’s fears, therefore suggesting that fear is a more effective marketing tool, and thus people are more likely to act based on fear rather than on desires. By targeting consumers through threats meant to induce fear, marketers are turning away from socially, or culturally induced materialistic desires. One likely reason for this is the universality of fear. Fear is an instinctual emotion that produces negative feelings, and thus it is instinctual to try to avoid this emotion, if presented with the means to do so. By inducing fear in consumers, marketers are placed in an advantageous position since they can now market their product as a way of alleviating fear. Furthermore, by focusing on a specific target audience, the types of threats and the intensity of fear induced, can be tailored to get consumers to act in order to escape fear, rather than induce helplessness, as can occur with people with low self-esteem, when the threats posed are of high intensity.

Meta-Commentary In my essay I use the Scion commercial’s use of fear as an overreaching theme that ties in many other aspects of the ad, especially aspects that characterize the target audience. After providing a brief description of the commercial I introduce how the ad elicits emotions of fear, by stating that “the screeching, swinging boulder, along with the eerie voice repeating ‘he loves me, he loves me not’ creates a feeling of suspense and tension as the boulder speeds past the cars, barely avoiding a collision” (2). This sentence serves as my topic sentence for the first body paragraph, and serves to introduce the emotions that the commercial evokes.
I then elaborate on this by questioning Scion’s use of fear in order to show what a possible opposing argument, or downside might be. This can be noted when I say that “one would think that, by placing pressure on the audience to make a choice, under the constant threat of destruction, the viewer would be left with negative emotions and thus stray away from the Scion xB; but in actuality, fear is one of the most effective tools for manipulating consumers” (2). This sentence serves to gain the reader’s trust since it shows that I am taking conflicting views into account rather than only presenting ideas that agree with my own argument. Also, this sentence introduces my thesis, which refutes the aforementioned opposing argument, thus strengthening my own.
Later in the essay I introduce the idea that the ad would appeal to right-brain thinkers, due to the pressure that Scion places on the audience to make a choice, since “it has been found that people that are dominantly right-brain thinkers regularly make choices in this manner, and for them the situation that Scion presents reflects a situation in which they would be comfortable making a decision” (3). By introducing this idea I further develop my thesis by characterizing the target audience, thus setting the stage for connections to be made between the target audience’s personality traits and the use of fear as a marketing tool.
In the next paragraph I introduce support for a possible link between the target audience’s characteristics and Scion’s use of fear by stating that “Sternthal and Craig found that the positive fear-persuasion relationship is especially strong when…fear is employed with the audience’s ‘coping style, self-esteem, and perceived vulnerability,’ in mind” (4). This idea is then further developed by questioning “what characterizes a right-brained thinker and how does Scion use fear to specifically target these characteristics?” (4). Posing this question shows how, using the Scion commercial as a catalyst, Sternthal and Craig’s research on fear could tie in with Meyers-Levy’s research on right-brain thinking. This connection is made evident through the characterization of right-brain thinkers as people with high self-esteem. By focusing on how right-brain thinkers are likely to have high self-esteem, I am able to make a connection to Sternthal and Craig’s research, which tests how the fear-persuasion relationship is strengthened through high or low self-esteem. Also this allows me to shift the focus of the essay to the effects that Scion’s use of fear has on the target audience, and why, rather than having to focus on whether or not a relationship between fear as a marketing tool, and right-brain thinking exist.

Works Cited
Addis, Steven. "Raise Your Brand to the Level of a Peer." Advertising Age 78.28 (2007): 18-20. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 14 Nov. 2010
Cochrane, Lucy, and Pascale Quester. "Fear in Advertising: The Influence of Consumers' Product Involvement and Culture." Journal of International Consumer Marketing 17.2/3 (2005): 7-32. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 14 Nov. 2010
Meyers-Levy, Joan. "Priming Effects on Product Judgments: A Hemispheric Interpretation." Journal of Consumer Research 16.1 (1989): 76-86. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 14 Nov. 2010.
Lai, Jody. "Psychology behind car colour choices."National Post (2009): Web. 17 Dec 2010.
Sternthal, Brian, and C. Samuel Craig. "Fear Appeals: Revisited and Revised." Journal of Consumer Research 1.3 (1974): 22-34. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke3mq_5yYyk Meta-Commentary In my essay I use the Scion commercial’s use of fear as an overreaching theme that ties in many other aspects of the ad, especially aspects that characterize the target audience. After providing a brief description of the commercial I introduce how the ad elicits emotions of fear, by stating that “the screeching, swinging boulder, along with the eerie voice repeating ‘he loves me, he loves me not’ creates a feeling of suspense and tension as the boulder speeds past the cars, barely avoiding a collision” (2). This sentence serves as my topic sentence for the first body paragraph, and serves to introduce the emotions that the commercial evokes.
I then elaborate on this by questioning Scion’s use of fear in order to show what a possible opposing argument, or downside might be. This can be noted when I say that “one would think that, by placing pressure on the audience to make a choice, under the constant threat of destruction, the viewer would be left with negative emotions and thus stray away from the Scion xB; but in actuality, fear is one of the most effective tools for manipulating consumers” (2). This sentence serves to gain the reader’s trust since it shows that I am taking conflicting views into account rather than only presenting ideas that agree with my own argument. Also, this sentence introduces my thesis, which refutes the aforementioned opposing argument, thus strengthening my own.
Later in the essay I introduce the idea that the ad would appeal to right-brain thinkers, due to the pressure that Scion places on the audience to make a choice, since “it has been found that people that are dominantly right-brain thinkers regularly make choices in this manner, and for them the situation that Scion presents reflects a situation in which they would be comfortable making a decision” (3). By introducing this idea I further develop my thesis by characterizing the target audience, thus setting the stage for connections to be made between the target audience’s personality traits and the use of fear as a marketing tool.
In the next paragraph I introduce support for a possible link between the target audience’s characteristics and Scion’s use of fear by stating that “Sternthal and Craig found that the positive fear-persuasion relationship is especially strong when…fear is employed with the audience’s ‘coping style, self-esteem, and perceived vulnerability,’ in mind” (4). This idea is then further developed by questioning “what characterizes a right-brained thinker and how does Scion use fear to specifically target these characteristics?” (4). Posing this question shows how, using the Scion commercial as a catalyst, Sternthal and Craig’s research on fear could tie in with Meyers-Levy’s research on right-brain thinking. This connection is made evident through the characterization of right-brain thinkers as people with high self-esteem. By focusing on how right-brain thinkers are likely to have high self-esteem, I am able to make a connection to Sternthal and Craig’s research, which tests how the fear-persuasion relationship is strengthened through high or low self-esteem. Also this allows me to shift the focus of the essay to the effects that Scion’s use of fear has on the target audience, and why, rather than having to focus on whether or not a relationship between fear as a marketing tool, and right-brain thinking exist.