Well how does that make you feel?

Affective marketing is a marketing technique used to appeal to the emotions of potential consumers. As Clotaire Rapaille suggests, people make mental connections with certain words and things, and emotions are the keys to making such connections. These connections, or codes as Rapaille says, are made mostly during one's childhood, so the nature of one's upbringing is vital to how affective marketing effects targeted consumers. Based on this logic, brands and corporations will have more effective advertising if they follow the codes and spark mental, emotional connections from targeted consumers' early lives.

A prime example of this is the NFL's Superbowl "Best Fans" commercial, where a host of TV show characters from the 70's up through today are featured wearing professional football team memorabilia. Most of the shows depicted hit home with middle-aged people who were children or younger when these shows were popular. The Brady Bunch, Happy Days and  The Dukes of Hazzard were beloved TV shows for children of the 70's, who are now at parenting age. If parents associate fond, emotional connections with the NFL, then they will be more inclined to watch it and so will their children.

Another example that we have discussed in class is the Volkswagen "The Force" commercial. Although the child is the main focus of the ad, it is the middle-aged parents who grew up watching Star Wars and playing with Jedi action figures that can relate to the kid trying to use the force. This makes sense considering that people who grew up in the 70's are now at the age where buying cars and family are important parts of their lives. 

I'd hate to tie religion into my media studies again, but here it goes.

Based on my own experience and my viewing of the documentary Jesus Camp, I have observed that religion is pushed onto children as early as possible to develop deep mental connections to ensure positive connotations with religion later in life, so that they continue to practice faith. As Rapaille might say, a series of codes are formed to associate "goodness" and "acceptance" with religious culture. If these "mental highways" are formed early enough and sturdily enough, it is virtually impossible to break them. It's as if a brand conditioned children at early ages to appreciate, love and even rely on it. And later in life, when the brand advertises its products or services, deep-rooted emotional connections will have already been associated with the brand and consumers will be unconsciously compelled to consume whatever the brand is marketing.