Marketing is about telling a compelling, unique, believable story. A true story.
Unfortunately, my generation of copywriters (over 40) missed the last bit. Instead, we were told that as long as the story was structured properly (logical, not too many errors) we could say anything we liked. In fact, we were encouraged to lie... told that the truth was too tame to sell. 'Everyone does it... so you'd be a damned fool if you didn't do the same.'
And we did and still do.
These days, advertising is dying faster than the CD -- the public knows we're lying and ignores our tall tales.
Unfortunately, we blame this lack of consumer response on changing media, not on our lies.
I swear, everyday I hear some company president say something like, "If I could only get my message on Twitter or YouTube... etc., etc., etc."
Bull -- a lie, a bad story, distributed on any media anywhere in the world is still a lie. It's not the technology that's killing you, it's the story you're telling.
As Big Daddy once said, "I smell the powerful odor of mendacity." Consumers have a better nose today than they did 20 years ago. Stop telling lies. Stop poisoning the water for all of us!
Or is your product so bad, so derivative, so unnecessary that the truth would be too painful to tell?
“Consumers want a new story... authenticity, not spin... participation, not propaganda.”
