The Truth Has Become Everything In Advertising

On Wednesday Sue Unerman published a story for the Guardian entitled "Do consumers care whether brands tell the truth?" Her resounding answer being, absolutely."Of course consumers care about truth. We all do. So the best way to sell stuff to them is to tell them the truth. Half a century ago David Ogilvy said: "The consumer is not a moron, she is your wife"."


Unerman details how brands have put spin on the truth and "creatively" detracted from it. So yes the truth has become more and more important to brand integrity and this is something that marketers should be aware of. For her, the brands that are adapting well are showing this and as so too are the brands that are not.

But how important is the truth to well established brands?

I would argue that an advert depicting a gorilla playing the drums to a Phil Collins track will not put chocoholics off their favourite Cadbury's treat. Neither will dancing eyebrows. The fallacy in advertising of non sequitur, ie irrelevance in connection between the advert and the product, has become common place and acceptably so. These adverts are absurd yet entertaining and the brand is at a point in its growth that reputation is maintenance based. This is the exception to the rule.

So what about new or little known products?

The answer is as Unerman suggests - the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Paramount to building brand reputation is consumer respect. In today's social media dominated world, advertisers should not risk upsetting consumers by making false claims about a product or putting "spin" on the facts. The effect of losing one customer can roll over to initial sales in general once the disappointed shopper takes to Facebook to warn others. And as we know bad press can go viral like wildfire, just look at the Jimmy Carr tax scandal which was all over Twitter within minutes.

Old newspapers are not archives and forgotten like the old days,where reputation had a better chance of recovery because not everyone had seen that article. Online papers offer database archive search and so information is accessible and living forever. The Guardian has embraced the new truth based media arena with their "Open Journalism". Their new style of reporting is interactive and gives readers a chance to comment. This means that it is not only the journalists point that we have access to, and this further strengthens the sense that truth and integrity is becoming everything in media and advertising.

The Good, The Bad and The Fallacy

Gone are the days when advertising focused solely on the merit and functions of a product. This 60's Dr Pepper advert is a perfect example. The advert centres around the use of the product which is heavily featured and although sensationalised, remains on subject.

Advertising today has largely moved away from winning customers through logical argument. Although, Ronseal have maintained their no nonsense, "Does Exactly What It Says On The Tin" slogan, this is not logic. This advertisement cleverly uses the fallacy of division to make its point, "assuming that something true of a thing must also be true of all or some of its parts". It does, therefore it is. Most advertisements today commit at least one fallacy and they have become a fun part of brand engagement. Hopefully they get most of us thinking!

The most recent development in the use of fallacy in modern advertising is non sequitur. This is where the premise and conclusion of a campaign have no direct relationship. The Cadbury's gorilla and later the moving eyebrows advert were hugely popular. The advert is introduced as 'A GLASS AND A HALF PRODUCTION'. Then the classic Cadbury's purple and yellow is the only clue as to the brand throughout the advert. This is followed by the slogan "a glass and a half full of joy" at the end. There is no chocolate present in the advert. Instead there is a strong link built between the the brand Cadbury's and the emotion of joy. The association of pleasure here is highly effective without product overkill.

Advertising and Apps: Draw Something!

The mobile pictionary style app which was recently acquired by Zynga gaming for a staggering $180 million is still going strong with around 50 million downloads. It has been something of a phenomenon. The creators, OMGPOP had released several games prior to Draw Something, but only this enjoyed instant success. Under the new Zynga umbrella updates will ensure that the game is more advertising friendly. Previous attempt include side bars and flash up advertisements that are often instantly discarded by the player. This had marketers scratching their heads. http://www.talentzoo.com/beyond-madison-ave/blog_news.php?articleID=13856

How could brand interaction be incorperated?

The clue is in the question. Users will notice the addition of words relevant to The Hunger Games, a film due for release on 23rd April 2012. Whether a fan of the novel it was based upon or not gamers may be forced to guess character names. The opportunity to sneak pop culture or brands into the game is a major step forward. The new version also allows drawings to be saved, sent and shared on Facebook and Twitter through iOS. An update will shortly be available for android. Advertisers will effectively see the gamer spreading the brand seed for them.

Draw Something has no competitve drive which means that gamers are in it together and want to draw at their best. The rewarded coins are currency to purchase additional colours to draw with. This friendly tone has made the app popular and hot topic. The latest updates may act as a weather vane for future developements in interaction and marketing on mobile apps.

A collection of  'The Best Of' drawings is available online and seriously, we defy anyone not to be in awe!