By Nathaniel Luce
Publication: MSN.COM
Olympic advertisers will spend more than $1 billion for U.S. airtime alone, although some say they will not get their money’s worth. In a time when it’s harder to win by simply offering a better product, the goal of a lot of advertising is to arouse positive feelings that forge lasting bonds with consumers, says JENNIFER ESCALAS, a Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management professor who specializes in understanding how advertising works our emotions. (Her husband is also former Olympic swimmer.)This year’s Olympic ads fit squarely with that goal. McDonald’s, for example, isn’t trying to sell a specific burger but to “build a relationship,” Escalas says. “If you feel good about the Olympics, that good feeling should spill over to the brand.”
