Film+Annotation+2

Arunesh Ghosh, Annotation #2 10/24/11 The Persuaders

1. Title, director and release year?

The title of the piece is //The Persuaders.// The segment was aired on PBS on November 9, 2003 and was directed by Barak Goodman and Douglas Rushkoff.

 2. What is the central argument or narrative of the film?

The film exposes the frightful and frankly absurd tactics and culture of the media industry, in particular the advertising sector. The segment details the extent to which corporations go to researching the mind and trends of the American public so as to better market products to them. In essence it details the astonishing lengths to which corporations go to instill demand for a product within the American public and how they subsequently create advertising to meet this artificial demand in a never ending cycle that has become the consumer norm.

3. How is the argument or narrative made and sustained? How much scientific information is provided, for example? Does the film have emotional appeal?

The narrative is made and sustained through a variety of different methods. One of the main themes that continues through the documentary is the research behind the birth and promotion of the low fare airline Song, a subsidiary of Delta airlines. The film features interviews form former advertising heads of big name brands as well as authors of books on the matter. The film most certainly had emotional appeal as many of the commercials featured in the film were from the time period when we were growing up and viewing them through the lenses of young consumers. It was very interesting to see the scientific and psychological basis for many of the commercials, particularly the “pseudo-spiritual” aim of much of the advertising in the 90’s.

4. What sustainability problems does the film draw out?

The film detailed the never ending loop that advertising has dug itself into as it has evolved from the earlier era of commercial products. Advertising morphed from persuading audiences of the success of the product to appealing to something higher. At one point or another it no longer was a question of whether or not different brands could accomplish what they claimed to do because all brands could do the same thing. Thus locked, in a competitive cycle with other brands, advertising companies began appealing to the consumer in different ways. In the 90’s marketing shifted to correlating brands with certain lifestyles, all of this at the expense of the consumer. Surprisingly however, such marketing campaigns met with great success. As we enter a new wave of technology with smart phones, in conjunction with social networking sites as well as search engines; advertising companies are already hard at work thinking of new ways to ensnare the consumer once more. From a purely sustainability perspective, the creation of an incessant and artificial demand for newer and newer “stuff” is never a good thing and drains the natural resources of many countries. This demand for more and more stuff is also coupled by the need for more and more space to store the waste from all the stuff that is being replaced at increasingly rapid rates.

5. What parts of the film did you find most persuasive and compelling? Why?

The interviews with the experts along with footage from the brainstorming sessions of the Song marketing campaign were particularly convincing. It was highly convincing and eye opening to witness the gradual evolution of the Song campaign over time. The research behind the campaigns birth, particularly the main vision of introducing it in a manner completely devoid of any airlines was a creative risk that ended up failing. Regardless of this failure, it’s a testament to the lengths and heights modern advertising are willing to go to in an effort to reach the consumer.

6. What parts of the film were you not compelled or convinced by? Why?

I was not entirely convinced by some of the “research” and “philosophies” the marketing guru Dr. Rapaille claimed to be true. Dr. Rapaille claims that humans have irrational desires and impulses, almost a code connecting emotion to different words and images. To me, much of the research and methods seemed very skeptical and shoddy at best. Rather, it seemed like Dr. Rapaille very skillfully has settled into a niche created by the desire of advertisers in large corporation to “decode” the human psyche.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">7. What audiences does the film best address? Why

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The news segment would be well received in audiences who are somewhat skeptical of the free unregulated capitalist market. Those who are at least wary to a certain degree of the intentions of corporations would be more understanding of the message the film is trying to get across. Individuals who have a more pro corporate look would probably dismiss the news segment as over exaggerating the research and intentions of the marketing sector.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">8. What could have been added to this film to enhance its environmental educational value?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The film did not focus much on the environmental damage or consequences of advertising; rather it focused more on the cutthroat mentality of the marketing industry. If the film were to even mention the environmental effects of the marketing and the incessant demand that it stimulates in consumers for “stuff”, then its educational value would be increased dramatically.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">9. What kind of action points of intervention are suggested by the film. If the film itself does not suggest corrective action, describe actions that you can’t imagine being effective.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The film much like many documentaries serves as a warning and eye opener to the problems within our market infrastructure. It does not really suggest any course of action in specific because quite frankly, no one really is aware of a direct solution. Are we already too deeply entrenched in the vicious, non-terminating cycle induced by advertising companies? If anything, this segment makes us more aware of the practices of advertising companies so we ourselves do not fall under the spell of newer and more innovative forms of advertising.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">10. What additional information has this film compelled you to seek out?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The film inspired me to actively seek out some sort of statistics on the amount of resources actually spent by companies on advertising. Furthermore, I wanted to take a look into what new kinds of advertising companies are starting to look into. According to an article published on marketwire. There is an estimated 25% growth in online digital video advertising. This media type includes advertisements played before or in between clips on media sites such as YouTube. This seems to go in accordance with the facts presented in the news clip with technologies such as DVR allowing consumers to simply fast forward through traditional advertising. Even media organizations that are typically comfortable as far as revenues are hitting a slump in traditional advertising. According to an article on ABC news “the print advertising will eclipse any gains from digital fees”. However, increasing costs for digital subscribers is a tell tale sign and predictor of where advertisers will strike next.

=<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Links=

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">"Digital Video Advertising to Grow 25 Percent Over Next 12 Months According to Casale Media <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Research -." <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> //MarketWatch - Stock Market Quotes, Business News, Financial News//. Marketwire, <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">26 Oct. 2011. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. <http://www.marketwatch.com/story/digital-video- <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">advertising-to-grow-25-percent-over-next-12-months-according-to-casale-media-research-2011- <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">10-26>.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Kulp, Leo. "Analyst: Digital Fees Not Enough to Help NY Times - ABC News." <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> //ABC News//. Associated Press, 26 Oct. 2011. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. <http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/analyst-digital-fees-ny-times-14822039>.