1to1 Magazine
Newsletters
Web Exclusives
Webinars & White Papers
Events
Resources
Will There Ever Be Truth (and Trust) in Advertising?
Last week a U.S. court ruled that cigarette makers can no longer use the words "Light," "Ultralight," "Mild" or "Natural" to describe their cigarettes. Everyone know by now that cigarettes, no matter how they're labeled, are unhealthy, but it took a court ruling to get the ads changed. It brings up to me the question of trust.
Even in advertising, there should be a level of trust established between companies and customers. Companies that spend millions in legal fees for the chance to manipulate and deceive their customers are wasting their money. Instead they should use that money to understand the customers they do have, and figure out how to best build a loyal relationship. Selling a highly addictive product helps in the cigarette makers' case, but for other companies, efforts to control the message should instead be an effort to open the customer dialog and eventually build trust.
Advertising by far is creating that trust in the consumer to go out in the marketplace and ask for the product. Now this trust can have two faces: Firstly establishing the product attributes via strong audio viusual form. Secondly endorsements form celebs who carry an image to get the pull. Therefore if cigratte advertising stops using...light; ultralight etc.etc. then how does one create the impact or the pull in communication.