Philosophers have long proposed the question, “If a tree falls in the forest, and there is nobody to hear, does it make a sound?” People have debated this question and provided answers that it physically makes a sound because the falling tree is disturbing the surrounding air. However, if nobody is there to hear the sound, the falling tree cannot be processed through the mental cortex. The human brain can process what is heard, but the individual has to listen to what the noise is, and that requires intentional listening to discern what the sounds are.
Children are taught that sounds are associated with individual animals like the moos for a cow and a duck quack. As children grow up into adulthood, they learn to listen, and advertisers have been filling those sounds with engaging commercials to excite the consumers. A recent article at www.ppcprotect.com suggested that the average person is subjected to 6,000-10,000 ads a day. Advertisements come from online platforms, television, billboards, print ads, radio, and streaming services that inundate our thoughts. So when there is a break of silence, the difference is deafening. According to research by Ang, Leong, and Yeo (1999), silence encouraged more attention from viewers because it creates a contrast from the rest of the commercials.
School children are known to be noisy sometimes, and a technique teachers have used to silence the classroom involves switching the lights on and off as a cue. The lights’ switching interrupts the current environment, and children naturally settle down to investigate the change. Commercials have traditionally used loud volume settings or actively engaging sequences to capture the audience, but creative marketing had transitioned some advertisers to incorporate intentional silence. An example of this technique was a commercial from YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21JMhKVbnEk) that highlighted a Mercedes-Benz driving quietly through snow-covered mountains and family caroling breakouts within the vehicle. The constant contrasting of singing and silence provided the viewer with excitement and calm throughout the advertisement. The Mercedes-Benz commercial succeeded in capturing the moments that required silence to sell the cause. The silent sequences offered the viewer moments of peace to process their thoughts and evaluated potential feelings from the quietness. Many individuals routinely designate quiet time for prayers and meditation because silence gives opportunities for clarity. Advertisers use these same moments of intentional silence to persuade the consumer towards their brands.
When was the last time you had a moment of quiet in your life, and how did that make you feel? The barrage of advertisements has overstimulated our thoughts, and maybe targeted silence can help reinvent the way we listen to marketing campaigns.
References
PPCProtect. (n.d.). How many ads do we see a day. Retrieved from https://ppcprotect.com/how-many-ads-do-we-see-a-day/
Swee Hoon Ang, Siew Meng Leong, and Wendy Yeo (1999) ,”When Silence Is Golden: Effects of Silence on Consumer Ad Response”, in NA – Advances in Consumer Research Volume 26, eds. Eric J. Arnould and Linda M. Scott, Provo, UT : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 295-299. https://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/8265/volumes/v26/NA-26
Mercedes-Benz. (n.d.). Commercial. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21JMhKVbnEk
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