{{Short description|Type of advertisement}} {{About|a type of advertisement|the type of magazine|Soft sell magazine}} {{distinguish|Soft Cell}} {{inline|date=December 2017}} In advertising, a '''soft sell''' is an advertisement or campaign that uses a more subtle, casual, or friendly sales message. This approach is the opposite of a hard sell.
Theorists have examined the value of repetition for soft sell versus hard sell messages, in order to determine their relative efficacy. Frank Kardes and others have concluded that a soft sell, with an implied conclusion rather than an overt hard sell, can often be more persuasive.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Consumer Behavior|last1=Kardes|first1=Frank|last2=Cronley|first2=Maria|last3=Cline|first3=Thomas|publisher=Cengage Learning|year=2014|isbn=978-1305161689|pages=212}}</ref> Soft sell is also less likely to be irritating to consumers{{citation needed|date=August 2013}}.
==See also== *Hard sell *Advertising *Psychological manipulation
==Notes== {{Reflist}}
==References== *Herbert E. Krugman. An Application of Learning Theory to TV Copy Testing. ''The Public Opinion Quarterly'', Vol. 26, No. 4 (Winter, 1962), pp. 626–634 *Frank R. Kardes. Spontaneous Inference Processes in Advertising: The Effects of Conclusion Omission and Involvement on Persuasion. ''The Journal of Consumer Research'', Vol. 15, No. 2 (Sep., 1988), pp. 225–233 *David A. Aaker, Donald E. Bruzzone. Causes of Irritation in Advertising. ''Journal of Marketing'', Vol. 49, No. 2 (Spring, 1985), pp. 47–57 *Frank R. Kardes, Maria Cronley, Thomas Cline. ''Consumer Behavior,'' p. 212
Category:Advertising techniques
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