VIEWPOINT: Time for a little breathing space, and to give the consumer a break

One theme which repeatedly gets brought up whenever you speak to anyone working in the advertising industry is "clutter". Everyone spends all their time devising creative advertising or media campaigns designed to "cut through the clutter" and "stand out from the crowd", which is a laudable aim, of course. But what no one really considers - or, if they do, they sure don't like to talk about it - is that every campaign, however cut-through it is, adds to that clutter. Put that together with the explosion in media options (never mind fragmentation) and what you have is a massive amount of advertising on the streets, in your homes, on your PCs, in your magazines, everytime you open a newspaper or walk down the street, and so on and so forth. This is great for the fortunes of the industry, of course, and hopefully, for clients as well. But what of the consumer? Bombarded daily by more and more advertising, the average consumer is getting increasingly cynical, with the risk of this cynicism developing into outright resentment. Advertising plays an important role in our lives: it makes possible what would otherwise be impossible, it informs, it entertains, it educates. But it can also annoy, irritate and anger. At the end of the day, advertising is an intrusion, and this is something which seems to have been forgotten in the mad rush to exploit target markets and potential profit. There are times when less is more, and there are definitely a lot of marketers (and their agencies) out there who would be served well by remembering this truism. Sometimes, we all need breathing space. Sometimes, the shouting needs to stop. Sometimes, a carefully-timed whisper speaks volumes where a loud tirade would have no impact. So when we start talking about "permission marketing", perhaps it is time to apply this to advertising in all its forms, and give the consumer a break.

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