????再過一個月，索契冬季奧運會（Sochi Olympics）就要開幕了。本周一，旗下擁有汰漬（Tide）、幫寶適（Pampers）、吉列（Gillette）、金霸王電池（Duracell）、邦蒂紙巾（Bounty）等知名大眾品牌的寶潔公司（Procter & Gamble）發布了索契冬季奧運會期間的宣傳廣告，同時也是寶潔公司“感謝媽媽”系列廣告中的最新一則。這段時長兩分鐘的廣告講述了運動員們從蹣跚學步的嬰兒變成奧運贏家的過程，結尾的廣告詞是：“您教會了我們，跌倒只會讓我們更強大。謝謝你，媽媽。”

????截至周二一早，在視頻網站YouTube，這段廣告就被點擊了約130萬次。網友們的意見基本是一邊倒：蕩氣回腸、感人至深。澳大利亞報刊AdNews在Twitter上轉發了這條廣告的鏈接，同時提醒網友：“觀看之前請準備好紙巾。”其他Twitter評論也都認為這則廣告“非常感人”，“絕對催人淚下”。

????然而，在社交媒體上快速搜索一下后你會發現，網友們雖然深受感動，卻并沒有立刻跑去買一袋汰漬洗衣粉。

????人人都喜歡溫馨動人的瞬間，但是從商業的角度來說，讓觀眾熱淚盈眶是否真能帶來利潤呢？

????答案是：確定無疑。

????美國雪城大學（Syracuse University）廣告學教授愛德華?羅素說，賺人熱淚的廣告雖然不會立即提升銷量，卻會在公司與顧客之間創造一條情感紐帶，激勵消費者購買這家公司更多的產品。羅素說，以寶潔為例，如果其廣告傳達出了它對消費者及他們經歷的深切理解，觀眾很可能會得出結論：寶潔的產品比其它公司的產品更適合他們。

????一些產品本身比較平庸的公司如果想要成功，也可以用撥動消費者的心弦這一招。“大家可以參照一下賀曼公司（Hallmark）”，羅素說。在他看來，賀曼公司的感性廣告“在消費者與賀曼品牌之間創造了一條情感紐帶，而賀曼的產品其實相當一般。他們賣的不過一張該死的卡片而已，但消費者卻會被這種情感紐帶所維系，心甘情愿購買更多的產品。”這番話對于寶潔也同樣適用，正是使用了這一策略，寶潔才保持了洗衣粉、剃須刀、電池等家居用品的長期穩定銷量。

????據寶潔估計，2012年倫敦夏季奧運會中，“感謝媽媽”活動共為公司增加了500萬美元的收益。當《財富》雜志問及寶潔對索契冬季奧運會的銷售預測時，寶潔北美營銷與品牌運營副總裁喬迪?艾倫回應道，她還沒有準備好要討論公司的銷售目標。

????據寶潔稱，這則索契冬季奧運會的宣傳廣告反映了所有母親在培養孩子的韌性和堅定信念方面的探索。據喬迪?艾倫說，寶潔正在往它的廣告系列中加入一些單一品牌廣告。這些廣告講述的都是符合寶潔“品牌價值”的“真實故事”，比如由美國滑雪運動員泰德?里格蒂出演的維克斯（Vicks）品牌廣告。艾倫說：“我們發現，消費者一旦知道某件產品是寶潔生產的，就會產生積極的聯想。”

????感性廣告在奧運會期間尤為普遍。觀眾們被奧運會 “戰勝重重困難終獲成功”的主題所感染，這時候會更喜歡看一些感人的小故事，即使只是一些銷售紙尿褲和紙巾的小廣告。很多商家在奧運會期間的廣告都有這種 “讓人起雞皮疙瘩”的風格，如全球支付技術公司Visa的“Go撼動世界（Go World）”，耐克（Nike）的“活出你的偉大（Find Your Greatness）”，百威淡啤（Bud Light）為1984年夏季奧運會制作的“中心地帶（Heartland）”廣告等等。

????On Monday, a month before the start of the Sochi Olympics, Procter & Gamble, the company behind household brands like Tide, Pampers, Gillette, Duracell, and Bounty, released the latest commercial in its Thank You Mom campaign. It's a two-minute spot that follows athletes from their childhood tumbles to their triumphs at the Games and ends with the tagline, "For teaching us that falling only makes us stronger. Thank you, Mom."

????By Tuesday morning, viewers had watched the ad about 1.3 million times on YouTube, and the reaction was nearly unanimous: It's an emotional roller coaster. "Tissues at the ready," tweeted AdNews when it linked to the spot. Other tweets called the ad "touching" and a "guaranteed tearjerker."

????Yet a quick search on social media yielded no responses that indicated that it had moved someone to immediately run to the store and buy some Tide.

????Everyone loves a warm-and-fuzzy now and then, but from a business perspective, does it pay to make your consumers teary-eyed?

????In a word: definitely.

????Ads that turn on the waterworks don't translate directly to increased sales, but they create an emotional bond between a company and its customers, says Edward Russell, an advertising professor at Syracuse University. That bond encourages consumers to pay more for a company's products. In P&G's (PG) case, if the ad communicates that the company understands its consumers and what they're going through, viewers are likely to conclude that the company's products fit them better than others, Russell says.

????Tugging at consumers' heartstrings is also a way for companies with somewhat run-of-the-mill products to stand out. "Look at Hallmark," Russell says. Its emotional ads "bring a bond to a particular brand that's fairly generic in its category. It's a friggin' card," Russell says. "But consumers feel that bond to that brand and are willing to pay more for it." The same could be said for P&G and its stable of household products like laundry detergent, razors, and batteries.

????P&G has estimated that its Thank You Mom campaign for the 2012 summer Olympics in London resulted in a $500 million sales lift. When asked about sales projections for the Sochi campaign, Jodi Allen, P&G vice president of North American Marketing and Brand Operations, told Fortune she wasn't prepared to discuss the company's goals.

????P&G says that the Sochi ad was created to tell the story of all moms in their quest to teach their children resiliency and determination. The company is supplementing its P&G ads with individual brand ads that tell "authentic stories" consistent with "the equity of the brand," like the Vicks ads featuring U.S. skier Ted Ligety, Allen says. "We have learned that consumers have a positive association when products are made by P&G," Allen says.

????Emotional ads are especially prevalent during the Olympics -- an against-all-odds-themed television event that primes viewers for sentimental stories, even if they're aimed at selling diapers and paper goods. Visa's Go World campaign, Nike's Find Your Greatness ad, andBud Light's 1984 Heartland commercial have all struck a similarly goose bump-inducing tone.