Tuesday, 23 October 2012

Methinks the Ad Man Doth Exclaim too Much.

I hate the ubiquitous exclamation mark that follows the bottom line of all shoddy adverts:

Buy It Now!

Order Now!

Download Now!

Join Now!

The only thing I hate more is that ‘accept’ button which says I’m In (with or without the exclamation mark!) The exclamation mark carries a note of cheap chivvying about it, but the I’m In button effectively says ‘We want you to think that we’re offering you something really special which you’d be foolish not to accept because then you wouldn’t be part of a privileged circle. You’d be left out in the cold, left behind, left rueing your timidity and your consequent isolation from the world of the with-it people. What’s more, we think you’re dumb enough to be fooled by our clever little ploy.’

Is it human nature marketing people don’t understand, or just mine?

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