ASMR is hitting the mainstream thanks to Michelob Ultra and their ASMR Super Bowl commercial featuring Zoe Kravitz. The video is titled The Pure Experience to promote their organic light lager, but you may have missed that due to the ASMR sounds.
The creative team here did a great job combining a soft whispering voice with some ear to ear triggers. You have whispering, liquid pouring, bottle rolling, glass tapping, liquid fizzing, and personal attention, combining for a great introduction into ASMR.
If the ASMR Super Bowl Commercial was your first experience with ASMR, here’s some information to fill you in:
What Is ASMR?
ASMR refers to the Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. It is a physical tingling sensation that starts in your scalp and moves down through your spine and to your limbs. It is often triggered by an audible stimuli, such as whispering or scratching, though it can also be triggered through physical touch.
You can learn more about the meaning of ASMR here.
The Science Behind ASMR
The science behind ASMR is complicated and hard to grasp. When viewers watch ASMR videos, they experience a kind of pleasure triggered by sounds in the video. The pleasure experienced can be equated to a brain orgasm.
In research done and published by Emma Barratt and Dr. Nick Davis, they said the science of ASMR is interesting as a psychological factor but also weird. They found that sensations are quite hard to describe yet it should be easy to explain it scientifically. They experimented if different people’s sensation can be triggered by the same triggers.
The duo found out that the triggering content was remarkably inconsistent with each participant. Most people said whispering was their trigger. Other contributing factors to the trigger were personal attention, slow movements, and crisp sounds. .
You can learn more about the Science Behind ASMR here.
What are some popular ASMR Triggers?
Whispering
This is the most popular ASMR trigger. Listening to a whispering trigger at the right time is generally the first way that we get to discover ASMR. Sometimes whispering sounds can be binaural. This means that the sounds are usually recorded in different channels which permit you to listen to voices that are spoken from a left side speaker to your left side. This usually creates a much more “real” experience. The trigger can sometimes be noiseless or unintelligible. This means that you’re not supposed to hear the words clearly so that you can concentrate on the sounds.
Scratching and Tapping
Microphone scratching as well as tapping on different surfaces are the well-known uses of this ASMR trigger. Many content creators tap on the objects that they are holding so as to come up with the extra sounds. Sounds from the nails are usually linked with tapping. Most women have long nails that they use to produce tingles. Scratching is among the powerful ASMR triggers.
Blowing
Blowing, mostly into someone’s ear, gives them the feeling of the cool air brushing against their skin and also the sound that your mouth produces as you complete this task. Moving from one ear to another helps to convey this trigger to the front for many people.
You can find other great ASMR Triggers here.
So, what did you think of the Michelob ASMR Super Bowl commercial? Did you experience ASMR?