Hands off!

Unsplash / Alex Kondratiev

New research published in the Journal of Consumer Research suggests that scientific claims are fine for selling utilitarian products, but not so good for selling products that bring pleasure.

In one of the experiments, people were 30% less likely to purchase a cookie described as having a “luscious chocolatey taste” compared to one described as “scientifically developed to have a luscious chocolatey taste.”

In another experiment, consumers were fine with a body-wash marketed with scientific claims if they were told the product would “wash away odor-causing bacteria.”  They were less likely to buy the product if the product claimed to “immerse your senses in an indulgent experience.”

As one of the authors puts it: “When pleasure and science are paired together, that feels disjointed to consumers and they aren’t interested in those kinds of products. It seems weird to have the coldness of science try to sell you something pleasurable.”

Interestingly, the effect was less pronounced among people who work in STEM fields. The authors believe negative stereotypes about scientists (cold, impersonal, etc.) play a role here. So, if a hedonistic brand wants to make scientific claims, it may also need to reframe how people feel about scientists.

Of course, most people probably know, if they stop and think about it, that those cookies and that body wash received a healthy dose of scientific intervention. But it’s less about the facts and more about the story they want to tell themselves.