Bandwagon Advertising: Definition, Pros, and Cons

Bandwagon advertising is a marketing approach that plays up people’s fear of missing out or desire to belong to the in-group. As an advertising technique (or, depending on the practitioner, as a type of propaganda), it relies heavily on an emotional appeal to convince people to buy a product or service.

The bandwagon effect is a psychological phenomenon whereby people naturally gravitate toward what they perceive to be the winning side—or, more broadly, toward a social group they view as desirable. There are several ways advertisers use this to their advantage:

• Appeal to aspiration: While snob appeal may sound unappealing, portraying users of your product as members of an elite class—for example, through testimonials from desirable-seeming people—makes viewers want to “join the club.”
• Appeal to popularity: If you can show that a certain number of people or percentage of the population use your product, you can make it seem as though people who don’t buy the product will be left behind in the wave. Everyone else will be the trendy ones, leaving them out of the group.
• Flood the market: Another application of the bandwagon technique is to make it seem like your product is ubiquitous and everyone is talking about it. This approach might involve well-placed digital marketing buys so that your product appears on all the marketing channels your target audience frequents.
• Strategic endorsements: Hiring celebrities who are popular among your target audience to promote your product creates the impression that if the consumer wants to be like that public figure, they need to purchase your product. Social media marketing often involves endorsements from beloved personalities known as influencers due to their ability to influence others’ actions via the bandwagon effect.

Bandwagon advertising comes with some built-in advantages. First, it has a time-tested appeal that gets at a base desire (or fear): People want to be part of the in-group. The bandwagon principle can be particularly effective in low-information markets, such as when you unveil a new product type. If consumers have difficulty distinguishing your product from the competition based on quality alone, emotionally based advertising could help you differentiate from competitors.

Bandwagon advertising can have an adverse effect when deployed sloppily. If you lead people to believe that your product will catapult them into an elite class, you raise expectations for your product that you might not be able to meet. Additionally, although bandwagoning is a well-established phenomenon, your audience may resent feeling manipulated if you push them too hard.

Lastly, it can be challenging to maintain the excitement necessary for a successful bandwagon campaign. It can doom your product to be a simple fad with a quick spike in popularity. In other words, fear of missing out (FOMO) can be exhausting, and your audience will likely move on if you can’t find other reasons for them to stick around and buy your product.

Learn more about advertising and creativity from Jeff Goodby & Rich Silverstein. Break rules, change minds, and create the best work of your life with the MasterClass Annual Membership.

Bandwagon advertising is a marketing approach that plays up people’s fear of missing out or desire to belong to the in-group. As an advertising technique (or, depending on the practitioner, as a type of propaganda), it relies heavily on an emotional appeal to convince people to buy a product or service.

The bandwagon effect is a psychological phenomenon whereby people naturally gravitate toward what they perceive to be the winning side—or, more broadly, toward a social group they view as desirable. There are several ways advertisers use this to their advantage:

• Appeal to aspiration: While snob appeal may sound unappealing, portraying users of your product as members of an elite class—for example, through testimonials from desirable-seeming people—makes viewers want to “join the club.”
• Appeal to popularity: If you can show that a certain number of people or percentage of the population use your product, you can make it seem as though people who don’t buy the product will be left behind in the wave. Everyone else will be the trendy ones, leaving them out of the group.
• Flood the market: Another application of the bandwagon technique is to make it seem like your product is ubiquitous and everyone is talking about it. This approach might involve well-placed digital marketing buys so that your product appears on all the marketing channels your target audience frequents.
• Strategic endorsements: Hiring celebrities who are popular among your target audience to promote your product creates the impression that if the consumer wants to be like that public figure, they need to purchase your product. Social media marketing often involves endorsements from beloved personalities known as influencers due to their ability to influence others’ actions via the bandwagon effect.

Bandwagon advertising comes with some built-in advantages. First, it has a time-tested appeal that gets at a base desire (or fear): People want to be part of the in-group. The bandwagon principle can be particularly effective in low-information markets, such as when you unveil a new product type. If consumers have difficulty distinguishing your product from the competition based on quality alone, emotionally based advertising could help you differentiate from competitors.

Bandwagon advertising can have an adverse effect when deployed sloppily. If you lead people to believe that your product will catapult them into an elite class, you raise expectations for your product that you might not be able to meet. Additionally, although bandwagoning is a well-established phenomenon, your audience may resent feeling manipulated if you push them too hard.

Lastly, it can be challenging to maintain the excitement necessary for a successful bandwagon campaign. It can doom your product to be a simple fad with a quick spike in popularity. In other words, fear of missing out (FOMO) can be exhausting, and your audience will likely move on if you can’t find other reasons for them to stick around and buy your product.

Learn more about advertising and creativity from Jeff Goodby & Rich Silverstein. Break rules, change minds, and create the best work of your life with the MasterClass Annual Membership.