No the idea is quite the opposite, until advertisers realize that too much is going in to saying the same thing, in so many different ways, the perception of what is actually being sold, based on style, performance, ideas, simplicity, perfection are really taking advantage of the consumers intelligence. Take for instance the new Kenmore commercials, where the song that was sung for the Obama Inaguration "At Last" is featured for the superior performance of a vacum cleaner. "At Last" seems an unlikely candidate to make a impression for something that is hardly appealing in the way "At Last" is implied. I would llike to see an average person, who just thinks the vacum cleaner is a gem. But advertisment is continous in being ablle to persuade consumers, and remember catchy slogans, but for how much? and to what part iof the cost is passed down to the consumer?
- 1
- 2
Advertising Overload
Email To A Friend
Please fill in the following information and we'll email this link.
You point out that companies are adding "green" options to please a customer that wants a fast "ethical fix." What do you make of the debate over
Fiji brand water
? Can the company get away with saying it's "green" when its selling water in plastic bottles that's been flown halfway around the world?
There's been a lot of press that there might be a backlash against bottled water. Fiji is just the most extreme. There's nothing they can do to change their business model, the whole point of the product is that the water comes from Fiji and that's what makes it pure and expensive. Fiji's sales have been strong. What's notable is how aggressive their campaign is to persuade people that they're green. There are some people who say the consumer won't stand for it. But the marketplace is offering so many signals, adding the green, eco idea just adds to the confusion and consumers are just trying to get through their day. Fiji is trying to convert the act of drinking bottled water into a virtuous act.
That reminds me of the Dove soap campaign about women who are super-wrinkled or freckled being beautiful. What did you think of those ads?
Dove is making a statement about what beauty is. What's shocking is how big that conversation has gotten on the basis of a marketing campaign. Dove has commissioned a play in Canada with a serious playwright about older women. It's an example of how the difference between culture and advertising is becoming murky.
You like the word murky.
I do. That's why I use the word "murketing" to describe the many ways the lines between marketing and culture and everyday life have become murky, from Dove producing a play to grass-roots movements to create a brand.
Advertising has always been so obsessed with youth. Will that ever change as the country gets older?
Youth are always going to be susceptible to brands--because it's a time of identity formation and brands help. At some point, you lose interest in identify formation--you've figured yourself out--but the timeline has extended. Culture is cajoling us to stay young, which works to the advantage of marketers. But consumers demand it themselves--we want to think that if we wear a certain pair of Nikes we'll stay young. We want to identify with a younger version of ourselves.
© 2008
- 1
- 2
Discuss