 "Photo: spud on Flickr")
I know some people I would call "schmoozers;" salesman types with syrupy voices and a sense of humor that comes across looking as natural as geisha makeup. I have a hard time communicating with these people, and with sales types in general, because they seem to constantly be crafting their message. They are almost political in their manicured states, yet act like they are aching to be your best friend.
I thought about these folks today as I was reading an article in The New York Times about how advertisers are channeling "consumer outrage" with the present economy in order to create more relatable ads. Two of the companies, Kodak and Harley Davidson, who tested this approach found that it increased their market share, sometimes beyond their expectations.
While the campaigns are meant to send a message of down-to-earth empathy, for me it just evokes the image of the schmoozer. However, schmoozers of days gone by promised to cure what ails me, prolong my happiness and answer my prayers. The move of advertising from playing on my good emotions to playing on my negative emotions is sort of overbearing -- like the date that is trying a little too hard to find all the things you guys have in common.
Negative emotions are there to help you appreciate the good ones, or inspire you to change a bad situation. They do sometimes lead to destructive behaviors, however, like excessive drinking, overeating or compulsive shopping.
Hmm.. maybe advertisers aren't really trying to relate to us so much as they are trying to get us to stay bummed out. So that we can take pleasure in the little things. Like cheap ink and discounted motorcycles.
Makes you wonder what the marketing teams for anti-depressant manufacturers are cooking up.
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