Advertising is a colourful business. On its good days, it helps to find missing children, rebuild disaster-ravaged countries and give mom and pop a shot against the big corporations.
On its bad days, it poisons.
Throughout history, there have been some nefarious techniques that marketers have employed to cut through the clutter and make their products seem more appealing.
This includes changing the colour of the product itself.
For years, pistachios were red. For the consumers of the heavily processed 70s and 80s, this was nothing more than a great idea. It was an accident to begin with, but it proved to be a lucrative discovery: red nuts sold better than green ones. Unfortunately, this dye was later suspected to be a carcinogen.
Regular lemonade just didn't seem to leap from the shelves. It wasn't until they were dyed it pink that a phenomenon was created. Pink Lemonade became synonymous with wholesome summer picnics and kids at the park on a sunny day. Too bad it's unnatural. To this day people associate pink drinks with lemonade without really putting two and two together.
Butter is not naturally yellow. It's white. But yellow sells, as strange as that sounds. In Canada, only in Quebec is it illegal to dye butter yellow. If you buy a stick, it comes with a little packet of jaundiced goo so you can do it yourself. They have strict rules on advertising there. No ads for children. And there are none of those annoying inserts in magazines. It's a good start.
Norway is also against putting poison in food, especially candy. You cannot buy blue candies there because there is nothing in nature that is that colour of blue. While this may seem strange to North Americans, they have nipped a very important rule of advertising in the bud - thou shall not lie to the consumer.
Advertising is a lot like fire. It can keep you warm and cook your food, but it can also ravage cities and burn down homes if allowed to get out of control or in the wrong hands. It is simply a force of nature, like water or electricity. No more, no less.
On the positive side, advertising bolsters the economy. It gets people spending money, and brings lesser-known products to the attention of consumers - making it possible for new businesses to develop. It increases competition between companies, which keeps prices down and fuels inventiveness. It brings millions of dollars to relief funds like the Red Cross when countries are ravaged by hurricanes, and a text message is the easiest way to send help.
However, advertising also has a dark side. There is a belief that advertising is the art of deceit. It has been used to perpetuate half-lies, hide the truth, downplay the dangers and change the very structure of its products in a way that is actually harmful to consumers. It has been used to instill fear, shame, doubt and anger - in order to make people buy.
Back in the day, changing the colour of a product with a poisonous dye did not seem like such a terrible sin. Advertising was widely accepted as a necessary evil, and the tactics used to perpetuate sales were not tied with the reputation of a brand.
Today, that has changed. The public is more media-savvy. They are tired of being lied to. They are selective. Today there is the Advertising Standards Council, AdBusters, censor groups and consumer watchdogs that make sure dangerous products stay off our shelves. At least that is the idea.
Advertising can be intrusive, annoying and irritating. But it can also be useful, entertaining and informative. It all comes down to how well the writers do their jobs, and the principles behind those making the campaigns.
Mark Twain once stated that: "Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising." He's right. Advertising is the act of bringing a single product or service to the attention of the public, through a sea of information and noise. It's a force in itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment