Saturday 5 June 2010

The Manipulation of Child Mentality as a Marketing Tool

What are the morals of marketing? Is that even a concept in marketing?

I'm sure that for some companies, the morals of their marketing companies are very close to the company values. Those are the companies I respect. But in a world where sex and violence are increasingly present in advertisements and other media, where should the line be drawn?

The thing is, this type of marketing works. Ask me to talk about a car advert, and I'll tell you about the Twingo Advert, which contains a girl who gets a job as some kind of sexy dancer.Ask me about a shoes and the first thing that comes to mind is the Reebok EasyTone advert with the many female posteriors on display. To be honest, I don't mind this advertising. It's entertaining, appeals to our instinctual desires, and well, it's more interesting than a car driving along exotic roads for sixty seconds...

The Projection of False Identities onto Internet Friends.

Have you ever met someone online, who you've never met in real-life?

For some of you, the answer is no. But if you're the kind of person that managed to find this blog, then the chances are that you have at least one online friend. But how much do you really know them?

Talking online every day for a month can make you feel that you know them, like you know them better than anyone else possibly could. But of course, you know that they know barely anything about you. In fact at some point you've probably discussed the dangers of online friendships, how either of you could be some wierdo that we hear so much about in the media. But you know you aren't (at least, I would hope so).

A brief stint of online chat with somoene gives us a false impression, one that is very often completely different from the real-life person. I know, for example, that I am much more confident, much more talkative online than I am in real-life. I'm more risqué over email than I might be face-to-face. I'm much shyer in person than I am over IM. It stands to reason that they are different too. Perhaps not all of them. Possibly I'm the only one. But I doubt it...

Who is "The Written Assassin"?

It's a good question. And one that isn't going to be answered at this time (Unless you look at the name of the poster...). Another good question, is what is this blog for?

That question will be answered. But not very well. There isn't much reason for this blog, except to store the musings and ramblings of a student that's still awake at 4:00 AM..

Some posts will be deep, some will be shallow. Some will be scientific, some will be political, some will be incoherent and pointless. Some may only exist mentally, never to see the backlight of the internet.

It is not a blog that will be advertised, it is not a blog that will be aimed at the world. If you're reading this; congratulations, you've found the virtual lair of the Written Assassin. Tell others if you like, or don't. To quote Burger King, "Have it your way".

Hmmm, I think I'll use this as the blog description....

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The Written Assassin