These Words Don't Mean A Thing

I was thinking about advertising successes and failures. The failures blame the medium. And sure, that can lead to failure. But more often than not, it's a mismatch between what is being said; and what actually happens. Ever find that if a person or a company tells you how good they are often enough, you actually start to believe it?! Oh sure, such unabashed self-proclamations can be extremely annoying and even off-putting at first, but eventually that annoyance turns comical, and then finally to acceptance! Yes, even the most strong-willed person usually buys in eventually. It's like the car crash we can't turn away from. I've noticed two things can happen at this point. If we're not paying full attention, we may actually blindly buy in. Come on - admit it - even you have marked X next to a politician's name without knowing anything about them other than some words on a sign. But if we pay enough attention and become a buyer - now we move forward presuming and hoping that what is being said, is actually what is being done. This is the critical point in time. If actions don't follow the spiel, we are NEVER coming back to the store; to the business; to the website; or to the vote. GONE! In the world of advertising upon which I've built my career, I see it everyday. Advertisers striving to get just the "right" message. Words on paper designed to drive traffic to their stores; their websites; and their businesses. And finally, they've got us. We the consumer, buy in. But what if our experience is not "great"; the value is not as promised; we are ignored; the "perfect" shopping experience is everything but. When the experience does not align to the promise, we are gone. Forever. And those words in the ad are wasted. More importantly, so are the dollars spent. Because we're not coming back.