Emotional vs. Rational appeals

In advertising you can either try to appeal to your target market through emotions or rational thought. I believe that aiming for emotions whenever possible in advertising is the best way to connect with your audience. I think this is because it will get the consumer attached to the product on a higher level. For example, if you associate your product with babies or pets, the audience will think about either babies or pets that are their own or know very well. In relating the advertisements with their own lives, it would be more expected for them to remember the advertisement. On the other hand, the advertisement is too long and drags out, that would turn consumers away from the product because they would remember how bored they were watching or reading the advertisement. For example, the Chanel advertisement we watched in class yesterday made me very interested at first because I love the movie Moulin Rouge, but after a while I couldn't wait for it to be over. So I think the best way to catch the attention of a target market and keep it is to appeal to their emotions in a shorter, more to the point advertisement.