Brand Loyalty – for Horny Monkeys
We all think we’re the only person who doesn’t fall in love with commercials featuring celebrities and sexy models. But here’s a particularly humiliating demonstration of just how silly brand loyalty can be: Scientists have trained monkeys to love the Adidas logo by placing it next to an excited monkey .
The scientists wanted to know if brand loyalty was purely cultural or rooted in the brains of primates. So they showed rhesus monkeys the logos of some brands – like Pizza Hut and Adidas – next to images of high, low status or sexually represented monkeys, or next to images of random noise. The monkeys could click any logo to get candy. Basically, they were doing advertisements for brands.
And the ad worked. Even after the researchers snapped eye-catching photos, the monkeys continued to choose the Adidas logo just because they saw it next to a sexy monkey butt, and the Acura logo because they saw it next to a high-status monkey. They have never been awarded for choosing a particular logo; every click always delivered the same candy. Scientists have built brand loyalty from pure associations. This is what real commercials do.
This is how commercials work; that’s not news. But it’s interesting that they work at such a basic, primitive level. The next time you’re tempted to jump on a “good brand,” ask yourself if you have evidence that the brand is better, or if you’re just a worried monkey.
Rhesus Macaques Shape Brand Logo Preferences Through Gender and Social Status Advertising | PLOS ONE via Max Read