People who were scared by clips from the movies ‘The Ring’ and ‘Salem’s Lot’ felt more emotionally attached to a brand of sparkling water that had been placed on their desks than did others who watched clips from exciting or sad movies or happiness-inducing scenes from the series ‘Friends’ (3.70 versus 2.11, 2.54 and 2.28, respectively, on a 7-point emotional-attachment scale), say Lea Dunn of the University of Washington and JoAndrea Hoegg of the University of British Columbia. Fear makes people want to share their experience with others, and if a brand is present it can satisfy this desire, almost as though it were a person, the researchers say.

(Source: Journal of Consumer Research)