Complete the sentence. Every kiss begins with ____. If you consider yourself a marketing buff or a jewelry aficionado, you probably recognize the Kay Jewelers tagline: Every kiss begins with Kay™. Read that again and you might experience one of two reactions.

Either you’re Mapquesting the nearest jewelry store, or you’re thinking, “Nonsense — I don’t need to show my love by buying diamonds for my significant other.” Advertisers are banking on the former, but they should expect the latter, according to the consumer behavior literature. Recent studies indicate that certain marketing tactics can produce a behavioral backlash, known to psychologists as a reverse prime.

What is a Reverse Prime?

While it may come as no surprise that consumers tend to be weary of marketing tactics (i.e. Dimofte, Forehand, and Deshpandé, 2003), one can imagine the value in knowing exactly which kinds of tactics would backfire and which would serve their intended purpose.
Past research has demonstrated ways in which brands and marketing tactics can prime thoughts and behaviors, including spending and saving behavior (e.g. Berger and Fitzsimons, 2008). In the present study, researchers hypothesized that priming with brands would lead to behavior consistent with the brand’s image (i.e. Kay Jewelers primes feelings of love), whereas slogans would lead to contrary behavior, or reverse priming.
This hypothesis was based on prior research showing that slogans are perceived as persuasion tactics (Dimofte and Yalch, 2007), and awareness of marketing tactics can generate resistance from consumers (i.e. Dimofte, Forehand, and Deshpandé, 2003).

In a recent study, (Laran, Dalton, and Andrade, E. B., 2010) hypothesized that the mechanism behind the reverse prime effect lies in the subject’s subconscious motivation to correct bias. The reverse prime can be eradicated, they predicted, if the subject’s motivation to correct bias is satisfied. To test these predictions, the researchers performed five studies. The basic design consisted of a supposed memorization task for brands, slogans, and sentences (the control condition). Participants then participated in a supposedly unrelated hypothetical shopping scenario where their willingness to spend would indicate how they were primed.

Priming With Brands vs. Priming with Slogans

The results were largely confirmatory. Priming with brands led to a level of willingness to spend in accordance with the brand’s perceived values (i.e. thriftiness or luxury), whereas priming with slogans led to a willingness to spend that reflected the opposite of the slogan’s intention.
A subsequent study demonstrated a significant difference in willingness to spend between subjects who were cued with the word “slogan” (reverse priming effect) and subjects cued with “sentence,” “brand,” or “word” (priming effects). This finding provided evidence that the reverse prime associated with slogans is a subconscious process.
The researchers suggest that most people possess long-standing “persuasion knowledge” which manifests in bias correction — or overcorrection – when a tactic’s persuasiveness is made salient. The study’s authors conclude that slogans often lead to consumer backlash; although slogans can also have their intended effects when consumers are led to attend to something other than the persuasion intent of the brand.
So, you ask, should Walmart replace its “Save money, live better” tagline with something that will reverse prime towards thriftiness? Perhaps “Buy luxury, live better”? It’s important to consider two things here:

1. The reverse prime effect is dependent on the salience of persuasiveness. A slogan with lower perceived persuasion intent may still have the intended prime, while slogans perceived as overly persuasive or manipulative should raise a red flag for marketers.
2. Slogans are often perceived alongside their brands in practice. Consumers read slogans right under the brand logo, or at the end of a commercial touting the brand. Few companies possess the notoriety to present their slogans in isolation (“Just Do It” comes to mind).

Ultimately, we shouldn’t give slogans the slip; more research is needed in varying contexts. However, for now, marketers might exercise a little caution when it comes to slogans. We can’t stop by Kay Jewelers each time we want another kiss!
 
Sources:
Laran, J., Dalton, A. N., & Andrade, E. B. (2010).
The curious case of behavioral backlash: Why brands produce priming effects and slogans produce reverse priming effects. Journal of Consumer Research, 27 (6), 999 – 1014.