On The Shoulders Of Giants

FastCompany had an interesting piece written by Dan and Chip Heath about marketers’ exploitation of shame. I unsuccessfully tried to find a link to the article, so I just quote directly from the article:

…Marketers deliberately construct stigmas for the sake of selling you a solution to the ensuing embarrassment and disgust. They smack you on the head so they can sell you an aspirin for the headache. Why do we put up with this?

…A commercial in Visa’s Check Card campaign shows a deli where people move through the line with elaborate, precise choreography… until the moment when one misguided schlub pulls out some cash. Then everything comes to a crashing halt. No more dancing, no more delight. The cashier looks disgusted.
Yes, Visa and its ad agency, TBWA\Chiat\Day, are trying to make you feel embarrassed for paying for your lunch with cash….

…Procter & Gamble, created the perception that dandruff - traditionally a non-issue for the Chinese - is a social stigma and offered a product (Head & Shoulder anti-dandruff shampoo) to ’solve’ the problem…

…stigma can have subtler effects. A depressed woman, for instance, who is aware of the negative perceptions of the mentally ill, may begin to act more cautiously for fear of the way others may respond to her. Stigmas breed self-censorship…

…That’s icky. Stigma should be reserved for people who violate community standards, like people who willfully park in the handicap spots. It shouldn’t be used as a too-cute-by-half way to peddle some dumb new product…

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 22nd, 2008 at 11:04 pm and is filed under Business, Ethics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.