As I drive down to work every morning, I cross the bridge at Ghatkopar to get to the West side. On the dug-up pavement, I see people walking quickly with a purpose, a couple of cows seemingly without any purpose, and always a few children in the background, defecating as they squat and watch the passing traffic with interest.
On two ends of the short wall along the bridge are painted advertisements for English coaching classes. Expert from New York on one side and on the other is Hi Fi English Classes along with a painting of a man in a suit, whose face always reminds me of similar faces across the country on the doors of public toilets, saying Gentlemen / Purush (both these ads are written in English).
And I wonder every day about whether people even see these ads. And believe them. And intuitively I know the answer- the people these ads are targeted at believe them – they see English as a necessary tool for social mobility.
In advertising research, apart from testing for factors like comprehension (does the consumer understand the ad and the message), relevance (is the message of relevance to the consumer), enjoyability (does the ad create interest or boredom), we also test for credibility – do people believe what the ad is saying?
The ideal situation is when people do – atleast the target consumer group – usually because the message is not entirely unbelievable (given that this is advertising we are discussing here). There are times it is obvious (even to the ‘objective’ researcher or the casual viewer) that the ad is making tall claims. In which case, the consumer is understandably put off by the ad and therefore the brand.
Yet, there are also times when consumers do not seem to notice. Or care. What is called ‘willing suspension of disbelief’.
Because they want to desperately believe.
So, when is the consumer willing to cast aside scepticism and buy the message – and the product / brand? Take a look at this matrix – and imagine the “tall claims” scenario in all four quadrants.
Low involvement : where the pay-offs for the consumer are not so significant, either at an emotional or functional level. Nor are the trade-offs or risk factors.
High involvement : as opposed to the earlier scenario, the consumer has a lot to gain or lose – the benefits sought are significant.
Humour : where the advertising is based on a light tone – either direct humour or even satire. Like this ad for Nerolac Paints)
Serious : the communication has a tone which intends to inform and convince.
Look now at the fourth quadrant – high involvement * serious tone of communication.
I immediately think of two business areas where we have been seeing the rise of tall claims, corresponding with an increase in demand for these, and therefore almost no questions about credibility of the claims from the consumers – beauty and education.
Quickly about the first – ranging from promises to find your prince charming – yes, the same man who ‘rejected’ you just six weeks ago when you skin was a few shades darker. To the new age man who is part of the “paradigm shift” (this phrase never fails to crack me up) from ‘dark and handsome’ to ‘fair and handsome’ – in the ad, men and women go from jeering to cheering within seconds (with the latter also lustily singing hi handsome to the tone of Pepsi’s awful Oye Bubbly). And creams which promise ‘glowing skin’ (which attracts your husband’s attention right back to you – why rove when the wife is so beautiful) to soaps which promise ‘younger looking skin’ (so young that women much younger than you are left feeling jealous).
So people desperately want to believe.
And the second – the education business. More depressing than the first. Going back to where I started this thought chain from – the English speaking courses that have sprouted across the country. Ads for which can be found not just on the Ghatkopar flyover but on walls across the city and the whole country. An ad for such a coaching centre in Dharavi (which has the ‘distinction’ of being the largest slum in Asia) proclaims, we don’t teach, we mould. While another says change your life in thirty days. For thousands of people in India, English = a way out. A better life.
So people desperately want to believe.
The countless private engineering and dental colleges found all over suburban and small town India. The coaching classes for IIT and CAT. And even for Class X and XII. Small and large MBA institutes offering degrees that are not worth even the paper the ads are written on.
Advertising for all of them promising jobs paying lakhs, trips abroad, international faculty, cottages by the seaside, real estate on the moon… Whatever.
Promising miracles. So people desperately want to believe.
Charles Revson, the founder of Revlon cosmetics said rightly, ‘In the factory we make cosmetics; in the drugstore we sell hope’
Hope – that makes people desperately want to believe the promises made by the marketing companies, the MBA institutes, the beauty parlours, the coaching centres…
Some more thoughts : from the comments to this post. Apart from english language and “higher” education, computer training centres figure prominently in the education bit – open what is called thinnai pallikoodam (literally meaning school on the verandah) in Tamilnadu with two ancient computers, and become a millionaire in thirty days – or less…
And religion. High involvement. Tall claims. Zero accountability. Hope.
Health-care. As part of the larger “beauty” business or as a separate money spinner in itself. Overnight weight reduction to smile rectification to breast enlargement. And even a cure for AIDS?
Very indsightful indeed…Have never thought too much about an ad except if it’s good or bad but this was helpful..now I can go beyond GOOD/BAD and start thinking of the why and how
Well written piece.
It is hope that is the driving force in our lives. Without hope and desire, we would not be what we are. You say “Some people desperately want to belive”; I would say “All of us desperately want to believe”.
The advertising industry knows the right buttons to push to tap these subconscious feelings.
Nice.
>Hope – that makes people desperately want to believe the promises made by the marketing companies, the MBA institutes, the beauty parlours, the coaching centres…
Imo fear is the driving force – not hope.
There is always a fine line to handle between promising and over-commitment. A senior copywriter is needed to make sure the ad is tandem with the client’s abilities.
I remember just after I graduated from engineering school and was killing time before I could come here for my master’s, I was invited by a friend to teach C++ in his “institute”. His “institute” was the porch of his house, separated from the rest of the atmosphere, using 4 mats draped around it, with space for 2 students at a time. He advertized, saying he had contacts with body shoppers in the US and that he could send students to the US on projects, when in fact all he had was an aquaintance in the US. But the most amazing thing was, he managed to fill the 2 student space within the draped mats.
Great post, Charu.
There is a variant that is floating around in the newspapers in the South (and perhaps in the North as well, but I have no way of checking): Fluentzy of Fluentcy — I am not sure which, but the ‘t’ is definitely there!). This one promises to take someone with some facility with English into a fluent conversationalist.
Every one of us wants to believe. Only the degree varies. Take, for example, popular psychology / self help books. Studies have found some — and only some — positive results produced by such books in people with mild depression, but most of it comes just from reading it! But that’s not how the buyer (any buyer, not just a depressed one) views it at all — he / she expects huge improvements in his/her mental state. The only saving grace is the low price; if the book fails in its ‘mission’ the buyer is not thrown into deeper depression!
so true. when i teach my advertising course we look at a set of appeals – right from self preservation (buy my product or you die) to construction (let’s make things better) and everything else in between. And the the thing is that when you use the right appeal for the right product 9 times out of ten, your product is home and dry. Use the wrong appeal for the wrong product …. your product is invariably dead and buried. Its great fun teaching this programme coz it is the one which students can directly relate to 🙂
great post btw.
excellent, excellent post.
Unfortunately, for some reason, the fourth quadrant has some of the most dubious businesses in it (in India), and too many people fall for it too easily.
Fear, hope, desparation……whatever.
Good point about hope making one want to believe, but I think the hope is mostly restricted to improvement of personal well being to the extent of perseverance even in the absence of success. Sadly, most of us Indians have little hope when it comes to anything other than our own immediate personal well being and abort action even before its contemplated. Ask anyone about their hopes on larger issues like the prospects for improvement of politics or removal of poverty/corruption – no points for guessing the answers. We need to have some hopes on the larger (non-personal) issues as well, but we also need to work on them even if there’s little hope of seeing change within our lifetimes.
As Charles the Bold is supposed to have said “It’s not necessary to hope in order to undertake, nor to succeed in order to persevere.” That’s the tag line on my blog – to keep reminding myself 🙂
Great post, by the way. You know I really hope all this IIPM fracas leads to some transparency in advertizing, at least in the educational sector. But then, it might just be wishful thinking on my part.
Hey all, thanks for your comments. I didn’t find it necessary to add on the original post that all this was triggered by the IIPM ads.
The Comic Project – would be interesting to know how you classify ads on good and bad – is it based on just how much you like the ads (enjoyability) or how much the ad makes you want tot buy the brand (impact). just curious – once a researcher, always 🙂
Rahul, true… we all want to believe. on the other hand, we all also learn to press the right hot buttons with respect to other people when we need something done!
eV, I dont know what you mean by fear – fear of what? maybe you mean insecurity…?
Kapil, uh oh, a good copywriter will want to write a good ad. period. not an ad that necesarily makes the product more attractive or an ad that suits the client’s abilities (whatever that means)
Gawker, I have seen the kind of “institutes” you describe – computer training is another big con area – again connected to the hope for social and economic betterment. thousands of people have become bankrupt paying for fly-by-night (and some not even so, well-established by con jobs all the same) computer centres…
as for transparecy in advertising, all I can say is the IIPM ads are transparently fake 🙂
Abi, oh yes, fluentcy! true about self help books – tall claims and zero results – again driven by hope – of a better life, better personality, more money, better sex life whatever…
Harini, advertising theory is such fun. but i think, 9 out of 10 right hits is sheer genius – advertisers get away with much less…
Sunil, yes, the fourth quadrant should be the one where ideally there should be no “fooling” – but that is where some of the biggest money making enterprises work… the biggies in the beauty / healthcare busines, education…
Satya, our country is still in a place where people are forced to think about their own welfare before and above everything else… when people are living in slums, their first wish is to get out of that themselves – and nto community good. this is sad but the truth…
Excellent post Charu! Coming here after a long time(offlate have been busy/lazy alternatively). I just want to say that when we have fairly educated people still believing in astrology and matching kundalis for marriage proposals, or celebrities believing in numerology/tarotcards/any other shingdang — in such a scenario, any ad which promises anything will sell.
This is not to say that in western countries people don’t fall for these claims. Here in the US, you have ads for ‘Smile makeover'(http://www.dentistaustin.1888smileinfo.com) in which they promise that they’ll get ‘your confidence’ and ‘your life’ back up there…on the Himalayas. One wonders what kind of desperation, low self-esteeem, depression (or mixture of these and some more?) drives customers to such shops? I wouldn’t know. In the end if you see, they are nothing but a bunch of dentists who will align your front teeth(pretty much like the roadside ‘bone-setter’ you’d have seen ;)), but hey ‘Smile makeover’ with a pretty blonde lass transfixed with a 32-bit white smile, 5″ away from the videocam….now THAT is something I’ll believe!!
Suhail, seeing you after a long time (notice the new enlarged comment box? :))
yes, religion is another ‘business’ that ought to figure in that fourth quadrant. and health-care – the whole range from weight reduction to smile makeovers
(will add insights from all these comments as an ps to the post)
Your mention of the cosmetic/beauty industry remind me of the ‘Sunscreen’ article/song by Chicago newspaper columnist, Mary Schmich. In that there is this line, “Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.” This same theory in some way is used by the Politicians as well.
Hi Charu
Yet again, a brilliant and insightful piece. My 88 paise (2 cents at today’s exchange rate):
I think the reason why people fall for all sorts of scams (education, computer, self-help, etc) is the absence of a welfare State in India. In Europe and the US, if you have a query, there is always someone in the Government or the system to answer it. Here it is sorely lacking. The vast majority do not know what to do with their lives, and if they do they don’t know how to go about it. Some guy comes along and says hey do an MBA and you’ve made it, one herd runs after him. Another says pick up English fluentzy and the world’s yours. Bas, another herd is in his custody. So many guys I know threw away perfectly good jobs to do SAP and Oracle courses that promised the moon. MLM is another scam that has millions of takers in India. Why? The promise of easy money.
I think the psychology of our people is that someone has hit upon a secret formula for success, let’s follow him. It’s always someone else, never themselves (geniuses like Arindam Chaudhuri are an exception). People are not encourage to think for themselves. Look at our IT industry; all these buggers do is work with someone else’s tech. What has India contributed to the world of IT by way of tech? Nothing. But you’ll find millions joining the IT workforce because all they have to do is obey instructions. Of course the lure of regular income is the driving force, which brings us back to the original point — lack of welfare State, unemployment, irrelevant education, blah blah blah…….
Sakshi, true… you suddenly become aware of “deficiencies” and insecurities when you read such communication!
Ram, thanks 🙂
I don’t buy your argument because such manipulation is very common in the west too. there are dubious education institutes, beauty products, technical and vocational courses – every single con job that exists in India – in the west too.
but yes, the follow the leader mentality is stronger in india – maybe that is what makes getting many people into the bandwagon so easy
“Kapil, uh oh, a good copywriter will want to write a good ad. period. not an ad that necesarily makes the product more attractive or . . .”
Hi Charukesi, that was from one of your comments. Im not from the Advertising industry and I couldnt really appreciate what you meant by that. Would you kindly explain?
Hi Charu
Agreed that con jobs exist everywhere, and always have. Perhaps it’s part of human nature to get suckered, to get tempted at the possibility of easy money or achievement without having to work hard. I don’t know. One thing in common with suckers the world over is that they are all either lazy or gullible. India has a good proportion of people who are both. And we have loads of people who are fatalistic too. Ergo, more scams per capita than any corner of the planet. People here will clutch at any straw.
Krish, I meant that copywriters, like all other professionals live and write to further own cause – and sometimes – often – churn out crap that sounds extremely creative and cool but does no good for the client’s product. (I wonder exactly which part of the sentence you were not able to appreciate.I love it when people read my entire post and then pick out one sentence from a comment and write about it)
Ram, true… clutching at straws is exactly what it reminds me of – desperate to try anything and the possibility of a qiuck and easy (but not cheap) route seems too tempting, I guess!
Hi Charukesi, Thanks for the clarification. I wasnt talking about any part of the sentence however (I might have fancied breaking sentences into parts if you had chosen to use lengthy sentences – not these, perhaps 🙂 I was referring to whatever was within the quotes in my previous comment. Your comment clarifying it makes sense.
Nicely written. It’s all a huge vicious circle. I read ‘Where the suckers moon’ and still am unable to fathom as to why W+K fucked up and the later agency didn’t.
writecinema, thanks! and er, what is W+K…
Really good article about advertising. And about Fluentcy, its “Fluentzy”. Before you bad mouth it, have you tried it? Do you know anyone who has tried it? My father is a Civil Judge. He himself isn’t sure how he got there without knowing how to speak proper English. My sister bought these books for him, and you should see how he speaks now. It took him six months of work on them, but believe me, these books really work. He’s so much more confident now in his job, and I’m not embarassed to have my girl friends speak to him now. I recommended this to my friend’s dad (Civil Servant) and now he’s an angrezi babu too.