The news recently has been full of the worlds worst. At home, our politicians back tracking on pledges to the youngest and most vulnerable in society alike, Governments overseas outstaying their welcome with peaceful protests meeting bloody ends. Even Mother Nature is wreaking havoc on nations, the merciless destruction leaving lives in tatters. This weeks Wednesday wisdom comes from a desire to show the importance and added value that honesty can bring to the commercially creative.
It is not simply the world of Politics or Environmental issues that can make the world a grim place at the moment, the realms of media PR and advertising has been guilty of crimes itself.
A buzzword of the moment is “Truthiness.” It is the idea that any untruth can be stretched to be truth. As described in
mediaweek by Sue Unerman,
"The worst sort of rabble-rousing journalism thrives on Truthiness, loving front-page headlines and dark leader columns that manipulate reality to deliver emotional diatribes beloved by the masses. Xenophobia, racism and the idea that the country has gone to the dogs are all fed by Truthiness."
A prime example would be the wonderful publication The Daily Mail. It consistently uses Truthiness in its articles and headlines. One particular controversial headline read:
1.6m benefits claimants have never had a job ‘because it does not pay to work’
As outlined in the article at
mailwatch.co.uk the actual article gives no evidence to back up this claim, it simply plays on the assumptions of an increasing air of distrust within society today. In fact the article doesn’t even quote a study on reasons as to why people do not work, as there has not been one.
”It doesn’t matter that there are no figures for why people have never had job. The Mail doesn’t even say how many of those 1.6 million are claiming any sort of benefit. It’s just pulled the headline out it’s a**e.”
This is not only is this rash of truthiness spreading through news reporting, consumer products are being caught out too.
An example close to my heart (I LOVE these drinks) is a recent ad for Coca-Cola’s Vitaminwater drinks. Claiming these drinks were “nutritious’ and had misleading information regarding serving size were conflicting messages had ads banned in the US.
This is a time where people are actively more educated in many aspects of their lives, more so than ever before with the transparency of information sharing on the WWW. Misinformation or corruption in politics, reporting and advertising, is something that obviously could be extremely damaging to a brand/group and its products.
I am under no illusions. I know the field I want to work in is cutthroat. What I don’t feel comfortable with is a certain lack of morality, rather than simply being honest about great products, they are being pushed with exaggerated claims of having a wonderful positive impact on the consumer’s life. I don’t drink Vitaminwater because its good for me –I can see this by reading the label, it tastes
GOOD! The fact is that there are many who listen to advertisements and take them as gospel, I'm not a fan of being lied to and I'm sure they are not either.
As people are becoming more aware of the products they buy, it is important to me as a problem solver, a creative to be just that, creative. Creating interest around a product that
IS the best you’ve ever had, promoting and educating people with ideas and campaigns to people who’s lives
WILL be changed for the better by political reform. This is when the suspicion will have a chance to fade away, when people will have faith in these messages once more.
This is where skill as a creative thinker comes into its own,
ANYONE can lie about a product, hype it up enough and have a-z list celebrity promotions. I want to be part of creating campaigns I am proud of, that a company can be proud of.
One example of the press that is having an honesty policy is Channel 4’s 10 O
’clock Live. Hosted by 4 wonderful presenters/comedians it is a straight talking summary of the weeks past news. Some have taken offense to the bluntness of its comments but to place politicians directly next to those they are constantly creating negativity about and having a (mostly) adult level headed debate around the issue is a breath of fresh air. It highlights to the public exactly what the problem is with our spin driven media today, full of ulterior motives and parties prejudices. This is apparent when politician asked for direct answers to controversial issues are routinely flummoxed and are reduced to blithering idiots on live television,
unable to string an intelligent sentence together. Additionally, an example of a campaign I am excited about is the
British Heart Foundation's Hope campaign, keeping the public informed about their scientific advances and appealing directly to them to help by donating or getting involved with fund-raising.
To get to the wisdom I have obtained from looking further into the existence of truthiness. It is the
clarity,
honesty and
upfront way of speaking to the consumer that I appreciate. This is what the informed public want to support and rally behind, these are the values they will (literally) buy into. It is the belief in a product that can be shared by all that can play a huge part in its success.
Till tomorrow for an update on my charity work!
V x
