It's a Barnum and Bailey world,
just as phony as it can be
but it wouldn't be make believe,
if you believed in me.
--from It’s Only a Paper Moon, by Rose/Arlen
It’s not just fake news that’s fake. As Michiko Kakutani writes in The Death of Truth, “it’s also fake science (manufactured by climate change deniers and anti-vaxxers), fake history (promoted by Holocaust revisionists and white supremacists), fake Americans on Facebook (created by Russian trolls), and fake followers and “likes” on social media (generated by bots).” Fake is spreading and I worry it will infect our advertising.
It’s not such a stretch. Advertising reflects the world we live in, the way consumers are thinking and behaving, their trends and values. Nike’s ad with Colin Kaepernick could not have run 10 years ago; the absurdity of Skittles would have frightened my grandparents; post-modernism had to be proceeded by modernism. (Likewise, those Wayfair spots would have been perfect in the '70’s.) If our culture has a general disregard for facts, won’t that lead to a general disregard for benefits and credibility? And, if at the same time we see in politics how effective a super emotional spiel can be – however baseless and overblown - how could it not tempt us to stretch a claim, go low, omit an important factor or gild an execution. It is, after all, the “easy road.”
I imagine it would surface the way most ideas do. A team is playing around with some thoughts, relating to the problem and the potential consumer – what if this, what if that, and so on – when something sparks, a feeling that promises to lead somewhere fresh:
What if we don’t talk about the product at all but rather make fun of the competition, you know, an ad hominem stab, like “Candy Crush is totally rigged!” or “IBM’s Watson has an extremely low IQ!” What if we make fun of the competition’s consumers: “Have you noticed how many crazed, crying lowlifes drive Subarus?” or “We ought to call for a total and complete shutdown of all Red Sox fans entering Yankee Stadium.” How about we rile up our audience, spark their prejudices -position a sandwich with white American cheese as an act of patriotism! History is under attack, so why not re-write it –“Steve Prefontaine didn’t wear Nikes – he wore Skechers!” And Science is under attack, too, so… “Helmet Head hairspray will never hurt the ozone.” If the FDA doesn’t approve, we’ll claim that the FDA is corrupt. Then, we’ll hammer our message home, over and over, until people surrender to our side. We don’t have to show the world as it really is, hell, we can shape it. What power!
Of course I exaggerate to make a point, but as influence is often subtle and subconscious, we will, to some degree, be affected by all the disinformation. We ought to be alert. Maybe we ought to make doubly sure that we’re being true to our products, immerse ourselves in them to the extent that we feel obligated to be true to them. Maybe we should make sure we put forth a real benefit and aim to spark the right emotion to the appropriate degree. Maybe we ought to cut back on the cynicism and post modernism, make an extra effort to creatively create some sort of sincerity.
Look, ultimate value of what we create depends upon awareness, understanding all the influences working on us. Personally, I want to feel good about what’s created and how can we feel good about treating people like idiots? Right, Mr. President?
