The Trouble With Ads That Tell You What You Want to Hear
July 12, 2010<br/> NEW YORK -- Coke wants you to "Live Positively." Its website urges you to "put yourself first," "get involved," "protect the climate" and "make healthy lifestyle choices."
In a section on McDonalds website entitled "Food to Feel Good About," we are introduced to McDonald's director of nutrition, Dr. Cynthia Goody. We find she has a Ph.D. and an MBA and has served as faculty at Harvard and the Culinary Institute of America and she wants your kids to make healthy food choices. Walmart is all about saving people money so they can live better.
None of these facts are negative in any way but you get the crawling sensation that companies have moved a few steps away from what they are and have started telling you only what you want to hear.
I confess, I drink Coke, occasionally eat at McDonald's and even shop at Walmart when the spirit moves me. But I don't for a moment believe that Coke gives a teaspoon of sugar about how I live my life or that McDonald's really cares about my nutrition.
As for Walmart, I believe they want me to shop in their store. I do not believe they want me to shop in their store because it saves me money and I can then live better.
A recent study by Alterian concluded that consumer trust is at an all-time low and that as few as 6 percent of consumers believe they can trust what the company says about itself. In this era of failing banks, oil disasters and high unemployment, should marketers and their advertising agencies take pains to create more balanced and objective advertising messages?
The motivation to create persuasive communication is great. Profit margins have shrunk, companies are battling for fewer dollars and there is great pressure on marketing executives to perform. The average tenure of a chief marketing officer is about 28 months, which is actually an increase from a low of about 23 months in 2006.
Contrast that with that of the CEO, which is almost eight years or even the CFO -- a job which Forbes magazine calls the "worst job in America"-- at about 30 months. Even more telling is the advertising agency-client tenure, which in 1984 was 7.2 years on average but today stands at just 4.
