NYIT Spring 2019
ADVG 101
Maiomie Rohoo
The Persuaders Reaction
Everyday there are more and more people trying to sell us things. Sometimes it can be things we actually need and would make life easier, however most of the time it's useless clutter that we still find ourselves buying. Why do we do this? What makes us think that we must have this latest phone or sneakers? It takes billions of dollars and thousands of people to sell us on the idea of a product or service. But to us it’s just a billboard in Time Square or an advertisement on television. The Persuaders documentary discusses the people behind our reasoning.
While observing the questioning of consumers it seems like the advertising companies lack basic communication skills. Their lack of interpersonal understanding is ironic since their main job is to know what people want and how to sell it to them. During the survey the questions asked by the advertising companies seems like they have no idea on how to communicate with a human being. Throughout the film it seems like they were all speaking a different language. Some of their questions during the survey seemed like it had no correlation to anything regarding the product. The question that caught me most off guard was when he asked does white bread make you feel lonely. I was dumbfounded by this because the question just made no sense at all. It seems like these advertisers want to sell their products so bad that they're overthinking the whole process and forgetting the human aspect of selling things. I think they have to think of the situation as if this advertisement wouldn’t work on me why would it work on anyone else.
Advertising is just selling you an illusion. In the 1990s advertiser picked up the method of replacing what the product did with what the product meant. This idea was extremely interesting to me because it's still something that is vastly used today. I think it can also be tied to the bandwagon method of selling. First the company sells you on the dream or experience. For example, Song Airline a subunit of the failing Delta Airlines tried this method. Instead of focusing on lower rates they tried to create a lifestyle experience. They tried to make Song a brand. I think the reason this failed was because they were seeing Song as if it was a product when it's just a service. It's not something tangible that you can walk around with and show off to your friends. Not everyone flies o...
