Sunday, June 10, 2012

'Smart' Marketing

We live in a marketing blitz world. And it works! I know because I have 'Starbucks' quite frequently, paying about 5 times the price for coffee that I can practically pick up for free anywhere else. But it wouldn't have the 'Starbucks' logo. We have 'smart' phones, that give us a world of information. Most of the time a lot more than we need. There is a barrage of statistics to convince us all to go someplace or to buy something. A lot of times statistics are used as a drunken man would use a lamp post --- for support, rather than illumination.

And as some of my friends and I were discussing a couple of days ago, we also have 'smart' water! I don't know if the water is smart, or maybe it is supposed to make the consumer smart. But one thing is for sure -- the person who buys smart water, is perhaps not so himself! And have you heard about the face "Mud Mask"? There is a huge industry thriving on people (mostly ladies) wanting to put mud on their faces! Apparently to get a better complexion. Mud?! Really...........? Making you want to paste mud on your face -- now that is real marketing. Seeing those fancy ads for toilet paper almost makes you want to wear the toilet paper!

Have you seen some of those before and after pictures? Here's what the "Fitness" advertisers would do to the Statue of Liberty -----


 Before and after succeed at fitness

 Now don't get me wrong, advertising is required to make any business a success. Running a business without advertising is like winking at a girl in a dark room-- you know you are doing it, but nobody else does. But we, as consumers, have to be 'smarter' than the 'smart' products.

"Advertising may be described as the science of arresting human intelligence long enough to get money from it." ~ Stephen Leacock

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