tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33892521.post125525898693331842..comments2023-06-22T06:08:32.457-05:00Comments on The Opinionated Marketers: How Marketers Lie to Themselves: "They Love Our Advertising!"John Whitesidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11043220283018147707noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33892521.post-14370862199826598022008-01-23T10:13:00.000-06:002008-01-23T10:13:00.000-06:00John, I agree with your near-rant almost entirely....John, I agree with your near-rant almost entirely. I hope the ad revenue the supermarket gets from shopping-carts-as-ad-vehicles is enough to offset what it will lose from people like me, who will find a market that is still behind the times in its media bombardment savvy.<BR/><BR/>All that said--I personally believe that an ad message needs to offer a reward of SOME kind to the reader/viewer, whether it's valuable information, a pretty picture, or a chuckle. <BR/><BR/>We, for example, send postcards to prospects that poke fun at our own industry. Our intent is to get a laugh, and a bit of the prospect's goodwill. (And, just maybe, a little credit for understanding how the more ham-fisted of our cohorts look to someone on his or her side of the desk.) It has worked quite well.<BR/><BR/>I guess I'm simply putting up a mild defense of Forbes. Without knowing the full context of your example, I'd guess that the "Thought of the Day" is designed to do something similar. May not work for you, but it would for me. At least I'd read it, and sometimes find it worthwhile. But I certainly wouldn't trash them for insincerity. I'm sure that, to paraphrase Ralph Kramden somewhat: "they know that you know that they know that you know they're trying to sell you something." I don't think it's an attempt to hide that fact as much as it's a reward for paying attention.<BR/><BR/>The overall sentiment you expressed is dead on, John, and marketers had better pay attention. But as Luke Sullivan mentions in a book I use for the college copywriting courses I teach, "Nothing matters until they like you."Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14003991643281830650noreply@blogger.com