Cornish Steve
31st October 2005, 08:58
I happened to be here in Britain when news broke of an indictment against Libby somebody (not Purves) in the US government. I'm reading and hearing all these news articles about it proving that the war in Iraq was built on deliberately false pretenses. This is amazing! The indictment came as a result of an accusation of leaking the name of a covert intelligence agent. After two years of investigation, all that was learned is that she was not a covert agent. During his testimony, Mr. Libby contradicted himself, for which he is being prosecuted. The issue has absolutely nothing to do with the war in Iraq (whether justified or not). I would argue that some of the major news outlets are taking advantage of news stories to market their own ideas and opinions.
This reminds me again of the power of advertising and marketing (and the media in general). I remember Sir Robin Day once on Question Time. A member of the audience once stated that the people of this country were being brainwashed by what ministers said. Sir Robin asked him if he was brainwashed; his answer was "no". Sir Robin continued: "So are you saying that you are smart and everyone else in the country is stupid?"
I've often thought about this exchange and tried to relate it to real examples. Were the German people stupid because they believed Goebbels? Am I stupid for believing that claims of marketing messages? I don't think I'm stupid, but maybe we all have our gullible moments. Only the cynic disbelieves everything, but I do think we are beginning to accept what we hear a little too easily.
Marketing is becoming more and more important to the aspiring entrepreneur.
This reminds me again of the power of advertising and marketing (and the media in general). I remember Sir Robin Day once on Question Time. A member of the audience once stated that the people of this country were being brainwashed by what ministers said. Sir Robin asked him if he was brainwashed; his answer was "no". Sir Robin continued: "So are you saying that you are smart and everyone else in the country is stupid?"
I've often thought about this exchange and tried to relate it to real examples. Were the German people stupid because they believed Goebbels? Am I stupid for believing that claims of marketing messages? I don't think I'm stupid, but maybe we all have our gullible moments. Only the cynic disbelieves everything, but I do think we are beginning to accept what we hear a little too easily.
Marketing is becoming more and more important to the aspiring entrepreneur.