The Persuaders

"The Persuaders" begins by questioning the increase in the amount of advertising we typically encounter in our daily lives. How would you assess the amount of advertising you see? Too much? Too little? Just right? In your view, what difference does it make to know that people today see much more advertising in their daily lives than people 20 or 30 years ago?

I would say I've been bombarded with advertising my entire life, and the question shouldn't be whether it's too much, too little, or just right, it should be whether I feel uncomfortable with the advertising in itself, not how much it is. I find advertising with things I think should be non-profit like politics and prescription medication disturbing, mainly because they are incredibly filled with half truths and lies, and it makes our society as a whole less intelligent and knowledgeable. The only reason we see much more advertising today is that it takes a lot more to get through to us. In a lot of ways we're like cockroaches. If you use enough bug spray on cockroaches, they'll become immune. It's the same way when advertisers bombard us with advertisements- we become immune to them as well. It therefore takes more and creative ads to get our attention.


What surprised you in the descriptions of how much demographic information marketers have about potential customers? What kinds of information would you be willing to share about yourself or your family in order to: enter a contest? Get a discount? Get online? Get a cell phone? Use a credit card? Would you be willing to reveal your name, address and phone number? What music you listen to or your favorite snacks? How much you earn? What medications people in your family take? What kinds of information would you want to keep private and why?

What surprised me was how they put all sorts of information together- census data, credit card statements, online surveys, etc and are able to separate Americans into a few hundred niches/demographics for advertisers and politicians to use to their advantage. They have much more information about each and every one of us then most people I think know.
I have no problem with companies taking my information as long as it is done anonymously. This way companies and politicians can actually figure out what I want, as opposed to trying to figure out what I want based on other people or focus groups, etc.

An example of a company that takes our information is Google. Through the use of cookies they develop a search that is customized based on your past searches. This helps you get better search results, helps Google figure out new ways to improve the experience, and give advertisers a way of knowing exactly what I want.

The only information I would not be willing to give is if the information is not anonymous. If it isn't anonymous, anyone can be able to search and find information about me. This can hurt getting a job in the future, as well as ruin personal relationships with people.