The quality of acting in television commercials and influencer videos has deteriorated to the point where copy is just announced or talking points regurgitated. Maybe we have forgotten why good acting makes a difference.
When an announcer or influencer tells you “Try the new XRB20, it’s great! Buy it now!” – you get the message. But you also understand that this is a message from an advertiser motivated to sell to you, and you also understand that the announcer or influencer was paid to tell you this.
There is something providing a gain for both. That makes the message suspect for you. You understand that they are telling you something in order for them to get something out of the transaction. That makes them less believable. They are not telling you something because they believe it.
There is a whole chapter in Overcome AD-versity about the elements that make and break credibility.
In contrast, when you overhear two people speaking at a restaurant, and one says to the other “You should try the new XRB20. I got one and it’s great!” you understand the same message. But the context adds considerable credibility to the comment. It is more believable. They are not endorsing a product to get you to buy it, just one person, satisfied, telling their friend about it.
You believe that the recommendation is coming from experience without any self interest in it. If you see that scene in a well acted commercial, it is more believable. Sure you understand it is a commercial, but it is less confrontational and less clearly delivered with personal gain in mind. So your defenses are not so strongly activated.
The second case is less aggressive from the advertiser’s point of view, but it is much more motivating, more credible and more likely to be acted upon. Anything that activates psychological defenses will have trouble being heard.
And that’s exactly what a good slice of life commercial is all about. If it is acted well so the characters are believable, we believe we are overhearing a real event where the product is the preferred solution for the problem others are having. The more believable and realistic the situation, the more motivating the recommendation will be.
That is where good acting helps sell effectively in a commercial. A good actor makes the statement, the product claim they are making, sound real and honest. A bad actor just delivers the line.
When you really do hear a friend tell you about a product or you overhear people endorsing a product or service or restaurant, you feel less attacked and more in-the-know. It is more believable because the source of the information is more trusted and less clearly making the statement out of self interest.
Sure we know on some level that the conversation in a commercial or a movie is not real, but on another level, people feel the folks they see on TV are people they know. There is a suspension of disbelief to get involved in the story.
Consider how much people care about actors and celebrities that they only know through their TV windows on the world or movies. Viewers have a hard time separating TV or movie roles from the actors who play them, Imagine, there are some people who think Donald Trump was a successful business man, not just someone who played one on TV.
This transference of qualifications can be useful in casting actors known for particular roles. They bring the credibility of the role in their acting to their performance in the commercial. However, unless you are using a known actor for a spokesperson, beware of using them in a commercial for something else or it will cause a distraction from your message,
If we overhear something, if we think we are getting “inside information” – all the better. The information is coming to us without the bias of self interest; it is not motivated economically.
My advice to influencers: use the product and let the camera capture you using it without you turning to camera to tell the story. Don’t make an overt pitch. Actions speak louder than words.
That’s why the quality of acting in commercials is critically important. And why what might seem to be low powered persuasion can actually be much more high powered that the screaming announcer telling us to “Buy it NOW!”
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