Interactions - March/April 2009

But as we are supposedly increasingly enlightened and empowered as consumers, where do we draw the line with what advertisers are allowed to do? A couple of years ago I was back in my hometown of Toronto. Walking down Bloor Street late one night, we were invited into the cinema for a free screening at a documentary film festival. The emcee introduced the movie and thanked the sponsor, then introduced the director for a few questions, and then rolled the film. We got the usual film-festival promo trailer, a few acknowledgments screens, and then an ad for Cadillac, the sponsor. The audience began to boo. And while I wouldn’t normally do this, I shouted out against the booing, “You’re seeing a free movie, so shut the $@^& up!” The exchange (watch an ad, see a movie) seemed perfectly reasonable, and the booing seemed more like hipsters on autopilot (“advertising = teh suck – pwn3d”) than a considered objection. Sure, I have all the latest ad-blocking software in Firefox, but I’m not joining the Billboard Liberation Front or subscribing to Adbusters. I’m happy to limit my exposure but don’t generally need to become an activist either.

Photograph by Steve Portigal

Yet the first time I found myself on an airplane where the tray table was plastered with an ad, I reacted angrily and peeled it off. I was responding to a previously virgin part of the service—one that I paid dearly to utilize—being sold and sullied.

Of course, advertising as an effort often lives entirely outside the delivery of the product promise. Witness Microsoft spending copious amounts of

Photo by Steve Portigal

money on an extensive advertising campaign to staunch the failure of Vista. Mightn’t that money have been better spent to fix Vista’s shortcomings and convoluted line logic? How can Target continue to get away with aspirational advertising about the emotional impact of design while the in-store experience is such a complete failure (and many of the products are of such poor quality?). When advertising uses truthiness to tell a story we want to hear, we’ll grant it endless permission to be in our face. Apple’s ubiquitous advertising— hot colors, black silhouette, white earbuds—demonstrates

that wonderfully. Until then, I’m remaining vigilant against the noxious invaders, staying curious about the delightful informers, and hoping for savvy judgment so I can tell the difference.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Steve Portigal is the founder of Portigal Consulting, a boutique agency that helps companies discover and act on new insights about themselves and their customers. He is an accomplished instructor and public speaker, and an avid photographer who curates a Museum of Foreign Grocery Products in his home. Steve blogs regularly for All This ChittahChattah, at www.portigal.com/blog.