1. The Reason Why
Prepared by J. Scott Armstrong (details on him at jscottarmstrong.com).
Please inform Scott about errors and also make suggestions (armstrong@wharton.upenn.edu)
Scott has taken these slides from adprin.com, a site that he founded. That site contains interactive versions of these
slides, along with linked references, videos, and webcasts, all in PPT and PPTX format that you can download.

2. May I Use the Xerox Machine?
Predict the percentage of people who would let someone in line ahead of them for
each of the following reasons, then go to the next page for the findings:
60% (1) “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox
machine?”
______ (2) “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use
the Xerox machine because I am in a rush?”
______ (3) “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use
the Xerox machine because I have to make copies?”
Adapted from AdPrin.com

3. 60% (1) “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the
Xerox
94% machine?”
______ (2) “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use
93% the Xerox machine because I am in a rush?”
______ (3) “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use
the Xerox machine because I have to make
copies?”
Application to advertising:
Provide a reason, whether it is a reason for
the price or a motivation for the purchase,
for higher recall.
Adapted from AdPrin.com

4. History of the Reason Why
In 1904, the largest ad agency in the US
revolutionized advertising, that up to then had
focused on gaining attention. They taught
workshops for copywriters on using the “reason
why” approach.
Later research showed when the “reason why”
is so important. See the next slide.
Adapted from AdPrin.com

5. May I use the Xerox machine - Part 2
Predict the percentage of people who would let someone in line ahead of them
for treatments #2 and #. Then click for the findings from the experiment:
24% (1) “Excuse me, I have 20 pages. May I use
the Xerox machine?”
______ (2) “Excuse me, I have 20 pages. May I use
the Xerox machine because I am in a rush?”
______ (3) “Excuse me, I have 20 pages. May I use
the Xerox machine because I have to make copies?”
Adapted from AdPrin.com

6. 24% (1) “Excuse me, I have 20 pages. May I use
the Xerox machine?”
42%______ (2) “Excuse me, I have 20 pages. May I use
the Xerox machine because I am in a rush?”
24%______ (3) “Excuse me, I have 20 pages. May I use
the Xerox machine because I have to make copies?”
Application to advertising: For high-involvement
products, the reason should be strong.
For low-involvement decisions, subjects do not think
carefully about the reason.
Adapted from AdPrin.com

7. Evidence
For 37 pairs of print ads in which one ad offered
a relevant reason to buy the product while the
other ad offered no reason, print ads with a
“reason why” had about twice as much recall.
– For example, a Polaroid camera ad claiming that
the camera’s “tiny flatter flash helps prevent a
harsh flash look,” had better recall than another
Polaroid ad that provided no reason.
For further evidence, see Persuasive Advertising p 64-66
and AdPrin.com
Adapted from AdPrin.com

8. Based on this exercise, write a small application step for yourself,
and set a deadline, preferably within one week. If you are
working with someone else, share your application plan and the
results of your application.
• For example, make a list of reasons for people to use your
services and use only the strong ones in your advertising.
Adapted from AdPrin.com