Advertising and Mind Manipulation

I have always had an enormous curiosity about advertising. I used to wonder what was the great formula that made it so effective. So I became a copywriter to find out for myself.

The other day an old friend asked me what I had learned.

I suppose it boils down to one question:

Q. Is advertising messing with my brain as much as I think it is?

A. Yes. But mostly no.

Advertising is like this: It is mostly business. So you have to cater to the whims of the clients who are paying for it in the first place. This means that powerful emotional sway is immediately at risk because the more people involved, the more likely it is to get watered down to bland, tepid familiarity. Just imagine how Shakespeare would have turned out with a dozen editors. That’s one of hundreds of obstacles as to why advertising is not as effective/dangerous/mind manipulating as one would think it actually is.

Here are some other reasons:

English copywriter link

However.

The ideas produced in agencies are done so by some of the smartest, most creative and most cunning people I have ever met. They have a strong idea of what makes people tick and how to move them. They are excellent salespeople and keen observers of human nature. Their ideas work. They are intuitive, yet logical, and artistic, but their ideas click with people through a combination of experience in identifying what will work, and a natural ability to use words/images/ideas in a way that has a resonating effect.

This includes everyone from the writers to the client by the way.

Basically, these are people who have put an enormous amount of thought into how ads work. They understand the process, and in turn, they have a talent for messing with your brain.

So there is no set formula, just a lot of gut instinct from a few people.

Of those few, there are hundreds of others with opinions. And everyone with an opinion also has a fingerprint that they want to put on someone else’s concept. Sometimes this helps the idea. Most often, it doesn’t.

Suffice to say. Advertising is persuasive. But only at its best. And only because of the talent usually found in the halls of the biggest shops. In the same way a great book can move you, or an incredible song – there are a few people out there that are artful at creating sway. But in advertising, there are a lot of people who think that they have this capacity, but they actually don’t. This is why there are so many casualties. And this is why there are so many terrible ads out there. One part is having the ‘touch’ and the rest is fighting to prove it. Those that make careers out of this game are either really talented, or really aggressive, or both.

The great ads are what clients pay the big money for. They pay the big money to big agencies because big agencies have the resources to hunt down the top talent. It’s like a sports team.

Everything else out there is pervasive media. A repetition effect. And this is just mindless plastering to foster familiarity. Of course repetition works. Of course repetition works. Of course repetition works. Familiarity works! But that’s only half the game.

Sophisticated brands demand more. And they pay more. And that is why creative agencies exist in the first place.

But who’s to say if you’ve got the touch or not? Only time and consistent good ideas/work will tell.