"Fight the Propaganda" - John's Rebuttal

If you are just now joining us for the "Fight the Propaganda" Blog Debate between Paul Williams and John Moore, begin your reading here.

Paul you ignorant slut. You have been bamboozled. And, you have been hoodwinked into believing that there is a discernable difference between political advertising and product advertising. The principles behind each are the same -- both are about building awareness and driving preference. Even the measurements of success are similar. For product advertising, it’s ultimately about generating sales and increasing market share. For political advertising, it’s about generating votes and increasing market share.

I fundamentally disagree with Silverstein’s comments. Essentially, he is saying that marketers should use their persuasive powers for good -- product advertising. And not for evil -- political advertising. I do not think its that easy to distinguish “good” from “evil” in this case.

As long as marketers and advertisers create messages that are genuine, meaningful, and truthful … then all is fair. Creating genuine messages is not about being boring. It’s about creating marketing messages that do not over-promise. Too many marketing messages in the advertising world over-promise and ultimately under-deliver. And we wonder why consumers have become cynical towards marketing messages?

As long as marketers have the discipline and the integrity to create compelling marketing messages that TELL THE STORY and don’t MAKE UP A STORY, then there shouldn’t be any controversy over advertising agencies creating political ads or product ads for that matter. I cannot stress enough, marketers today must TELL THE STORY and not make up a story about the brands and products they promote.

DEBATE MODERATOR
Mr. Moore, your character spaces are up. Time is up...

And, if elected Marketing Czar of the Free Enterprise World, I promise to pass an amendment to the Marketing Constitution that will require companies to engage in meaningful marketing. Under my leadership, companies that continue to violate the trust of consumers by engaging in meaningless advertsing and over-promising on their brand proposition will be prosecuted to the fullest exent of Moore's Law. To all advertisers that resisit, I say boldy and confidently, "BRING IT ON!!!". Because all marketing messages are not created equal. Furthermore, I promise to reduce the brand deficeit that...

DEBATE MODERATOR
Mr. Moore, your passion is admired but your time has expired. Mr. Williams, you have 200 words for a rebuttal blog.
{Mr. Williams' entry follows below.}