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| No | 18% | 71 votes | Total: 391 votes | |
| Yes | 82% | 320 votes |
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Add to FavoritesAs fascinating as this topic is, and as much as we humans like to think we make our own choices based on logical, well-thought-out decisions, the fact of the matter is that at the end of the day, product recognition seems to be the key. As a former psych major, I studied the psychology of advertising, and learned some unsavory things. (Granted, these nuggets of wisdom weren't really shocking, per se, but rather discomfiting to have confirmed).
The bottom line is, advertisers don't need to make loads of true claims and wonderful promises to get us to buy their products. They know this, and they capitalize on it. They just need to get us to REMEMBER their product. Whether they pretty it up, sex it up, or yell at you via an obnoxious man in a suede cape and crown about King Bob's Furniture Farm, they get their product noticed. And whether we like to admit it or not, we humans are more sheep-like than cognizant at times when it comes to deciding what products we care to purchase. Add our penchant for multi-tasking, and you've got another plus in the advertiser's column. We're much more likely to grab for a name we recall, for whatever reason, when we're busy chatting on our cell phones or texting on our Blackberries as we stroll through the store.
Product recognition is the key. Heck, I'm tempted to buy some new carpet for my rented apartment after hearing the Empire song enough times. We may bleat our protests, but in the end we sheep will choose what we "know".
Learn more about this author, Mary Dueweke.
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Yes
I agree about becoming suspicious of advertising. My suspicion comes from working in retail part time for awhile. One of the gimmicks of the store was if you found the same model for sale at lower price within a certain time frame, this retailer would give you back the difference in cash. What the consumer didn't know was the supplier of this product sold different models to different retail chains. So even if the specs were dead on exact, because of a digit difference in the model number,no cash backs were ever rewarded.
Another reason is all the disclaimers and small print you see on the advertisement. My favorite has to do pharmaceutical products. "This product will end your suffering, however vomiting and headache has occurred in test groups." So let's see I have a problem with knee pain and this product is supposed to end it, but I risk vomiting? Hmmm I think I'll stick with knee pain as opposed to vomiting.
A favorite is car dealerships. Last year I was looking for a particular model of a car to buy. I log on to the local dealerships web page and see the list of available cars. I find exactly what I was looking for. I was psyched. My dream car just down the road a few miles. I hop in my trade-in, check book in hand and take a drive. So I asked the salesman about this particular car they advertised. He said they were all not on the lot. So I asked about others and he pointed to the stock of the particular model I was looking for. I was disappointed needless to say. Maybe an eighth of what their web page said was there. Of course he tried to direct me to another model.I politely thanked the salesman, hopped in my van and left. I placed a call to the sales manager of this dealership and explained what transpired. She told me that they had those cars available, meaning they could get it from another dealer if need be. I said thanks but no. I ended up going 30 miles up the road to another state and getting a better deal on the exact model I wanted.
So you see even with doing my homework I almost bought what I didn't want.
Jaded? You bet I am.
Learn more about this author, Dean Fischer.
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