Identifying Peripheral and Central Route Persuasion in Advertising

Newspapers and magazine are littered with endorsements of one kind or another. They feature weight loss programs, makeup, clothing, and perfumes, to name a few. Some advertisements only feature a picture of a celebrity with a picture of the product or with the celebrity wearing the product and no other information than the product name. Other advertisements include reasons to buy the product along with statistical information. These two examples make up the two routes of persuasion, peripheral and central.

Peripheral Route Persuasion

I read a lot of magazines on bodybuilding and men’s health. In one of the magazines I enjoy reading, there is an advertisement featuring Dwayne Johnson, also known as “The Rock”. He’s one of the people I look up to for their commitment to fitness and exercise. In this particular advertisement, there is a picture of him and a quote that states, “In 1995, I had $7 in my pocket and I knew two things. I’m broke as hell and one day I won’t be.” Aside from the branding on the page, the advertisement alluded to two things. The first is that The Rock purchases supplements from there. The second is that the supplements are affordable. Anyone who has been involved in bodybuilding knows that supplements can get very expensive. Many professionals spend several hundred dollars a month on them.

I look at The Rock as someone with expertise in the field of fitness. He has been a pro-wrestler and personal trainer. The content of the advertisement was not important to me because of what I know about him. A person can look at him and say, “he’s in shape and has continued to be in shape and if he’s getting supplements from there, maybe I should as well.” A lot of people look up to The Rock not only because he’s a celebrity, but also because he is a genuinely good person and admired. He helps people out on a regular basis. Peripheral route to persuasion focuses primarily on the endorser and the messages they convey (Petty, Cacioppo, Strathman, & Priester, 2005). With this particular advertisement, The Rock was the main focus more so than anything the advertiser had to say about their website.

I believe the advertisement will not have an effect on behavior or attitude. There is a lot more to supplements than who supports them. Despite how much people like The Rock, it does not make a convincing argument as to why someone should buy their supplements from that particular company. Considering the company is in Canada, it does not make it convenient to order. Especially when a company in the United States can get someone a product for around the same amount with free shipping in a shorter amount of time. Likewise, attitude change only based on who a person is, is not practical (Petty et al., 2005). Lastly, even though The Rock is a credible endorser, the company is relatively unknown, which can affect how persuasive the advertisement is because corporate credibility influences purchase intent (Goldsmith, Lafferty, & Newell, 2000).

Central Route Persuasion

Within the context of the same magazine, there are other advertisements that step away from the typical picture of a well-known athlete or bodybuilder and posts information on why you should purchase their product. It lists a few bullet points such as, “clinically tested natural myostatin inhibitor”, “significantly reduced myostatin in test subjects”, and “contains 80 proteins, 700 peptides and bio-active growth factors”. For those unfamiliar with what myostatin is, it has a blurb on it and why it’s important to muscle growth. Although it does not have a picture of anyone well known, it does feature a picture of the upper body of a bodybuilder with the quote, “Athletes are turning to myostatin inhibitors in record numbers.”

Part of what made me interested in reading the advertisement is the data that is included in it. It lists the research that went into it, what a myostatin inhibitor is and why it’s important, and how it can benefit me as a person who is into bodybuilding. Many of the advertisements in fitness magazines such as this never give any justification as to why you should buy their products. The strongest argument listed is that the World Anti-Doping Agency banned myostatin inhibitors for fear of the advantages that it might create for athletes. The reason this is important is because it legitimizes it as a legal performance-enhancing supplement. Most bodybuilders prefer a legal route to muscle gains rather than illegal ones like steroids. The weakest argument that it gives is that athletes are turning to myostatin inhibitors in record numbers. There are no numbers, statistics or other proof that validate it. It is an attempt at social proof, but there is no data behind it.

The advertisement invokes effortful elaboration, which is necessary to central route persuasion (Petty et al., 2005). I do not believe the ad will change attitudes among those who are into bodybuilding and fitness due to the ad by not paying attention to the content. By paying attention to the content, persuasiveness can be increased (Darley & Smith, 1993). The data that was presented was not enough, and the arguments listed for using the product were few and weak. Likewise, many people in the field already have a set regimen that works for them. There is always a new product that comes out that can increase lean muscle mass. In addition, people like to see how it stacks up to what they are currently using.

References

Darley, W. K., & Smith, R. E. (1993). Advertising Claim Objectivity: Antecedents and Effects. Journal of Marketing, 57(4), 100. ↩
Goldsmith, R. E., Lafferty, B. A., & Newell, S. J. (2000). The Impact of Corporate Credibility and Celebrity Credibility on Consumer Reaction to Advertisements and Brands. Journal of Advertising, 29(3), 43–54. ↩
Petty, R. E., Cacioppo, J. T., Strathman, A. J., & Priester, J. R. (2005). To Think Or Not To Think. In T. C. Brock & M. C. Green (Eds.), Persuasion: Psychological Insights and Perspectives (2nd ed., pp. 81-116). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. ↩1 ↩2 ↩3