Saturday, Jul 19, 2008
The return of the hidden persuaders
BY RUTH SHALIT
(09/27/99)
Ruth Shalit's series is the most brilliant -- and stomach-churning -- work you've ever published. When I was a grad student in the '80s, I was all ready to jump on the semiotics bandwagon. But look what it has led to: better ways to sell soap! If Roland Barthes could rise from his grave, he would shit all over these people. Thank you for giving us insight into this bizarre world!
-- Jim Philips
What a surprise. The hypnotist (I'm trying to make a buck) stroking the ego of the corporate executive -- make that the forward-seeing executive -- claims that (untold) profits can be increased by regressing the consumer (in 30 seconds) thought process to simpler times (using my proven method, not that other psychoanalyst's).
Well, my first memory of a gas station had to do with a (cute, fluffy) corporate-icon tiger. It was warm and cozy (in my mother's womb) inside the car when we pulled up to the gas station on that cold, cloudy day. I remember the (full-service) attendant filling the gas tank and checking the engine. Then (oh, the wait was worth it) I got what I really wanted -- the special prize given (free) for filling the tank. The attendant brought out a "Jungle Book" pop-up book for me. Oh the happiness! (Mental note: When I'm old enough to drive, always buy gas from this company.)
Fast forward some 20 years later. That same gas company has just destroyed the ecology of Prince William Sound. Ten years later, said company is still filing legal briefs to delay the full settlement it agreed to pay.
Sorry, I won't buy it. No amount of consumer research, psychological or otherwise, will ever compensate for the harsh realities of real life when weighed against imprinted memories -- no matter how much these hucksters charge. ($60,000! No wonder my preferred brand of yogurt is so fucking expensive.)
-- Marc Plaisant
Atlanta
Ruth Shalit's article shows us that all the informed rhetoric marketers toss around has less to do with effective selling and more with justifying people's positions and salaries. If you represent DaimlerChrysler, are you going to direct $100 million of your hard-earned cash at a rumpus room full of tattooed 25-year-olds riveted to the screens of their blue and white Power Macs or a handful of suit-wearers who use words like semiotics in conversation? Never mind that the actual grunt work of putting DC's ad campaign before America and the world will actually be done in the rumpus room.
As a casual follower of the auto industry, I can assure you that there's more, and less, to the Chrysler PT Cruiser story than the self-serving quotes those agency folks told Shalit. Retro styling and marketing has been a long-running story line in the auto industry, going back to the recycling of old auto names to describe new unrelated models; Mercury's Cougar, for example, started out as a '60s pony car and ended up as a line of sedans and station wagons before finally getting back to its roots last year. The PT Cruiser's styling, especially the front clip, is based in part on its predecessor, the Plymouth Prowler hot rod (DC sells about 3,000 copies of it annually).
The PT Cruiser is simply a more affordable iteration that also capitalizes on the sport utility trend and will be classified as a truck -- despite the fact it's built out of the Neon parts catalog -- so that DC can sell more Jeeps under the federal fuel-economy statutes. It was built as a show car and got the green light for production mainly because people who saw it in car shows began waving checkbooks at DC. Common sense tells me that you don't have to market real hard to people who are standing in your store with $100 bills sticking out of every orifice.
The Prowler originated in almost the same way -- a show car that people demanded Chrysler build. Just to show how little these folks actually know, the Prowler was supposed to put a fresh shine on the Plymouth brand; industry scuttlebutt now tells us the Plymouth brand will cease to exist after 2001, which is why the PT Cruiser was not built under its original moniker, the Plymouth Cruiser.
-- Francis Volpe
Carlisle, Pa.
The Artist you better not call Prince
BY DAVID RUBIEN
(09/27/99)
Prince is only one of a list of juvenile "artists" that includes Elton John and Billy Joel (who wisely, is getting out of the business -- we don't want him to lose any more money). I say juvenile because after the age of about 25 you're supposed to show some maturity and common sense. You're not supposed to fuck up your millions earned. You're not supposed to throw hissy fits against record labels.
I have lost respect for Prince. I'm no longer a fan and probably will not buy any more records. He's got a lot of explaining to do; he's alienated those who have grown up with him. Maybe his appeal is with the younger youthful generation upcoming who think all his temper tantrums and vanities are cool.
-- Li Wright
Chicago
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