Persuasion: tacit suggestion versus full-frontal advocacy

A.S.C Ehrenberg

A tailpiece about `strong persuasion' in a non-advertising context (Aeschylus' Oresteia, Ted Hughes' translation), in contrast with the way advertising works.

Persuasion: Tacit Suggestion Versus Full-frontal Advocacy

Andrew EhrenbergSouth Bank University

Explicit advocacy is contrasted with the more tacit forms of persuasion which are widely thought to be inherent in much advertising.

The advertising literature tends to regard almost any kind of communication as potentially persuasive (e.g. Kotler, 1999; Myers-Levy and Malaviya, 1999; Vakratsas and Ambler, 1999). If its an ad, it must be trying to sell.

There are however alternative views of how brand advertising functions (e.g. Ehrenberg et al., 2000; Mills et al., 2000). An advertisement may, for example, be seen to:

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