Is Guerrilla Marketing a Science?

That was superb!

Pretty cool marketing.

Modern marketng is derived from the statistical analysis of materials science first derived during WWII for usage in aircraft air frames and power plants, etc. and usage of men plus machines = real estate taken + body count as taught by a great professor I had as a kid in college. I cannot remember his name, however he was one of the statistical planners for D-Day. This is the reason why we have "target markets" etc.

I never envied that man his life for that reason, but what a teacher. How lucky I was.

In any event, it is the same mathematical concepts that give rise to the design parameters for engineering average life expectancy for mufflers to whatever based on coatings, metal thickness material, etc. Check out the story of the British Reindeer aircraft. There was an American professor which predicted failure rates on this non-alloy aluminum aircraft. James Stewart played he part in afamous movie about his aircraft.

Richard Dunn

Psychology is what many, even psychologists, call a "soft science". True they use scientific methods but it might be more correctly thought of as a hybrid of science and art. Marketing, Public Relations and Perception Management are all the same thing really though I feel like Perception Management is actually the most forthright descriptor.

Simply BRILLIANT!

Now I want to go out and buy myself a 6-pack of Carlsberg beer (and a huge chunk of Jarlsberg cheese to go with it!) and have one or two after cutting the lawn this afternoon!

Thanks! Great stuff!

My dad was a Mad man, and worked with Doctor Dichter on several campaigns. In this 1940 Time article, Dichter was just getting started, but he was going full tilt in 1960, when my dad was on Madison Avenue.

A seemingly simple slogan can be very effective at uncovering your own insecurities, while putting "you" with the good people and the others with the stinkers: "Aren't you glad you use Dial? Don't you wish everyone did?"

Advertising and PR are at the top of my thoughts now, because I am just starting to get the word out re my car. I was pleased to find this YouTube video taken by a stranger as I drove by. I'll have to remember to thank him/her for posting it. Now... the video just needs to go viral.

Try this, to see if this works with your computer the same as it does with mine. I Googled "zing car" and the YouTube video came up as the third link listed. I would have guessed that it would be somewhere several pages from the top, because very few people have even seen the video, let alone searched for it. I'll have to learn about search optimization.

you should post a link on the name the car thread

My apologies for a dissenting view... especially to K_Fry. I had a Dad, too.

To each his own, I guess. But brilliant? When I think of brilliant, I think of people like da Vinci, Newton, Einstein, etc. "Very clever" suits me better. In the eyes of the beholder...

I remember watching and enjoying the Clio awards. And I remember thinking that advertisements could be enjoyed as entertainment. At least some. Most are very annoying to me (again, eyes of the beholder). It's the main reason there is a Mute button on ALL TV remotes.

I also remember reading part of the book, "The Hidden Persuaders," by Vance Packard, and "Subliminal Seduction," by Wilson Key. Psychology is a large part of the "discipline" of advertising and marketing. These books have gotten more mixed reviews as time has gone by. I did become fascinated by the field of advertising and read, "Confessions of An Advertising Man," by David Ogilvy. Because of my interest in writing I began to think in terms of becoming an ad copy writer. (Just think of the power one might wield!) I later decided I wasn't so keen on manipulating people.

In recent months I came across a documentary called, "The Century of Self." I didn't finish it, because in some ways it is "dry" (probably the same reason I didn't read all of the first two books mentioned). But, almost by definition, advertising is "planned manipulation." And the unconscious mind is the field of battle, so to speak.

Referencing Dr. Dicther, demonstrates that psychologists are consulted and psychology used, in creating advertising -- and how important and in depth their influence. There is a level of cleverness that can be uncomfortable.

A political "manipulator" is Frank Luntz. He's an example of those who brought us phrases like, "collateral damage" instead of "killing innocent citizens." (See one of George Carlin routines about euphemisms like "PTSD.")

Do I think it is as important as some would have us "think?" Maybe. Maybe not.

Nothing against what you've said Anon, but I'd rather watch the Annual Darwin Awards and get a good chuckle out of it! Too bad they're not televised...

My apologies for a dissenting view... especially to K_Fry. I had a Dad, too.

My dad won a couple Clios, but your views are in almost perfect synch with my own... even down to the consideration of getting into the ad game. There have been some really good, entertaining ads, and an incredibly large number of real duds.

The level of manipulation can be disturbingly high. As if women didn't already get enough negative messages re body image back in 1967, along comes FDS. In 1966, I was 16 and intensely, insanely interested in girls. I think I would have noticed any off-putting smells. But not once did I think "Gosh she smells like vagina. I wish there were a spray for that." So in 1967, women turned the corner: now they are not only too fat and struggling to fight "ring around the collar", but smelly too.

A college friend and I came up with the concept "FartNot," a plug-in anal appliance that would both silence and deodorize. We did it in jest, of course, but I'm sure we could have taken it to an ad agency and they would take it seriously, and come up with a great campaign. How about this:

• There's a shot of a board room. There's a noise. All heads turn to one person. Close up of a nose wrinkling. Pull out to heads turning away. No voice over; just text: "FartNot. Helps you keep your job."

Many products have, in effect, been created by advertising. Sure there may be design and engineering involved, but the thing that makes the product go is advertising.

I sometimes don't know whether to chuckle or cry. I've worked to help launch new cars in which 5 million is spent on engineering a new safety device, and 50 million is spent on advertising about how safe the brand is.