Mediacology

A while back a very friendly journalist contacted me about an article he was working on about advertising. We did a little interview and the results are in. I’m always surprised by what comes out of my mouth, but I’m glad it’s at least intelligible. Thanks to Sergio Burns for writing a nice article

Through the Looking Glass: The Art of Ads and Brands:

“Ads seek to bypass the rational mind through the use of symbols that generate quick emotional reactions,” Antonio told me. “They appeal entirely to the irrational. I like to think of advertising as corporations dreaming your mind.”

Later, as I sat in the cafe Florentin in St Giles Street checking my notes, I was struck by how awesome the image produced by Antonio’s line ‘Corporations dreaming your mind’ was. This also resonated with what Dr Solomon had said about coporations not building share of the market but that their ’strategic goal…is to build share of mind’.

“Ads are there to build mindshare,” Antonio continued. “They usually have nothing to do with the product, but rather the corporate brand and its logo. This is to boost the value of the brand’s stock value. The ad tries to wink and flatter the consumer by pretending to identify with his or her needs.”