…when advertisers conducted follow-up interviews and market research, they learned that consumers rarely connected the fantastic images on the screen with the products that the images were supposed to help sell. The images were actually making people tune out the message. –Writing for the Web 3.0
I never really thought about how much pictures detach us from our reading. Look at children’s books. While the words are important, the pictures tend to tell the stories for the kids, because they are more visual learners than audio learners. Take Green Eggs and Ham. Dr. Seuss accurately portrays the story with words and pictures, so children of all ages can appreciate it.
The same principle can be applied to online writing. When I look for information on the web for a paper or just because I’m curious, I always start with images. They give me the visual representation that I need to later connect the dots with linear text. When I’m researching for a paper, however, I try to avoid sites that are loaded with graphics and extra links because I know I’ll be destracted by them.
Kilian is on to something here. Look at any commercial these days. Let’s use a Three Muskateers Bar. The commercial talks on and on about how creamy and fluffy the candy bar is while viewers are more overwhelmed by the visual representation of the candy. The word “Muskateer” floats across the screen in an eerie way, but for whatever reason, thousands of people now have grumbling tummies, hungry for that candy bar.
Oh, and I admit, I just got that inspiration from seeing a commercial on tv…I’m guilty…and hungry…see…pictures are and aren’t worth a thoushand words…