We would like it not to be so, we are in a professional contradiction, on the one hand the pleasure of work and we would like what we do and what we do as an industry to have a positive meaning, but if we had to give a black and white answer, good and bad, it's hard for me to say that marketing and advertising are fundamentally good
We are going to explain it with 2 points this time: History and sociological
Fight for me
One could mention it as the birth of advertising along with the birth of mass communication, but that would be giving it an unnecessary neutral point.
Advertising is a method of persuasion and was born together with military propaganda. From 1914 to 1918. The First World War is carried out by two sides, the Central Powers and the Allies.
In Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, things were very clear: you go to war because you go to war.
But in *America Fuck Yeah* and various countries that made up the Allies, as far as possible they had more individual liberties, so we had to convince them to go die for the interests of what runs the country.
From here we can make a small disclaimer to think of this as a cause or rather a consequence that American patriotism is something so well-founded in the gringo media, because there is something inside of me that I cannot explain, but I feel that I believe that we can do of this world a better place, a place like America.
-They are seen in low opacity propaganda of American patriotism
Returning to the issue of war, we understand that the challenge of convincing an entire population that war is good to defend their interests, as much as to send their children, husbands, parents to die was a good idea.
The persuasion that we talked about is born since it is a message that is not explicit, there is no talk of going to take lives in the name of inexplicable interests, there is talk of peace of mind for your family and it is that it would become the future focus for advertising , it is not about what it is, but about the dream that could be, where many times it is not even close to the purchase, subscription or registration in this case to the original cause or product.
It looks like a cigarette?
The first world war passes, the second and we can say that we already have a methodology for advertising, but now, without the myth of honor that selling to the population becomes a free tool for the free economy that would be experienced in subsequent years.
I have always thought that marketing is nothing more than applied sociology, it is the study of behavior, subconscious analysis, individual and group behavior, why do people do what they do?
When Freud's postulates arrived, it was a great opportunity to open ourselves up to understanding the subconscious, practices such as psychoanalysis help us to better understand people... and that's it, it's incredible we can understand human beings, the investigation of the psyche it is for the investigation itself, data, books, understanding, there is no reason for knowledge.
All fools, said Sigmund's nephew, Bernays Froid, understanding his uncle's investigations first hand, decided to give him an application, an application that gives a lot of weight to the profession's lack of ethics, "How with all this information from human behavior, their strengths and weaknesses that they don't even understand, can I make money?
and it is that we can see the uniqueness that Bernays was for advertising.
In one of his books, Bernaice wrote
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in a democratic society. Those who manipulate this hidden mechanism of society constitute the invisible government that reveals the true power that governs the destiny of our country.”
Those who rule us, shape our minds, define our tastes, or suggest our ideas to us are largely people we have never heard of.
This gentleman not only manipulates commercials, the consumption habits format, bacon was not part of the "balanced" breakfast before him, watches not on the wrist were not such a differentiated masculine element, he turned the cigarette into a naturalness in women who were looking for a better future, apparently "communist" countries, whatever that means, that are not with our economic values, should reform the concept of public relations, after the Germans burned the concept of propaganda and applied many of the concepts that he himself coined.
They controlled people's irrational desires, because with the right approach, they checked for sugary drinks, unaffordable cars, I think I craved a cigarette, a great house and then I was off to war. All of this of my own free will, moved by I don't know what I think is the right thing to do.
"Until the unconscious becomes conscious, the subconscious will continue to direct your life and you will call it destiny." Carl Jung
I feel that it is easy to conclude that advertising is not ethical, as a communication industry, as a tool for convincing, as an area of study, a very deep reflection is not needed, in fact, I find it more difficult to justify, I need arguments that are not very valid or I need to build a pyramid of justifications that are validated only because they exist in layers that advertising comes to bring good to the population.
And although it is more difficult to justify, it is more difficult, to justify ourselves, we want to believe in advertising, we want to believe in dreams, nobody wants their coffee but a clock that only tells the time, the world is complicated, mostly difficult and if some Jordan can change the perception of others about me about me!, well, pass the card, I want it and it is difficult to justify myself, but it is easy to live it.
I'm not saying we're a bunch of idiots who want you to feel compelled to buy your individuality along with your belonging, because maybe we do, but it's not for idiots.
In the marketing career we are always told, needs cannot be created, only ways to satisfy them and that is very clear to us.
-Maslow's pyramid,
No one can sell me that I need to eat, no one can sell me that I have to go to the bathroom, sleep, no one can give or take away the need to be part of a group to feel accepted, wanted, respected... loved.
Marketing investigates, campaigns are not created to make you need the Ford Fusion Hybrid, to move, that is the need and perhaps more importantly to be, to belong, that is the need.
When was the last time you saw a realistic coke commercial?
It seems to me that we all have an unsaid agreement that says that advertising can lie, indeed, it must lie and it seems very strange to me as a person who speaks only good things about himself and it really is not like that, he does not give the idea of a charlatan , but we openly allow companies to create concepts that are not true, false investigations and censuses,
It seems that dentists only talk about colgate and like I'm sure those 10 cats prefer whiskas, but they prefer it over what, over colgate.
Maybe there are 10 cats and 10 dentists and their only job is to be surveyed.
It is as if advertising had its own line of good and evil, where it does not contemplate a human reality, but a reality of , they are not human habits, they are consumer habits, it is not cow, it is beef when it is dead.
Conclusion
We do not believe that there is an obvious solution to the problem that arises, but as professionals in an area we feel that it is our responsibility to judge the ethical framework of our guild and expose its shortcomings, because if we do not do so, there will be no resources to sell or people What to buy, the world is going to buy dreams until the planet is dry and from the promises we made we will remain as clowns.
We believe that the absence of an answer, speaking about it is a good first step, making the subconscious conscious and making responsible decisions, at least if it is not possible as an industry, as professionals, as employees or businessmen.