worldsupercaster

Advertising expert David Ogilvy once asked, "Can advertising foist an inferior product on the consumer?"
"Bitter experience has taught me that it cannot."
On those rare occasions when I have advertised products which consumer tests have found inferior to other products in the same field, the results have been disastrous.
"William Bernbach echoed Ogilvy's statement. "Advertising doesn't create a product advantage. It can only convey it.
"But it was Professor Charles Sandage who turned Ogilvy's complaint into a manifesto: "Advertising is criticized on the ground that it can manipulate consumers to follow the will of the advertiser. The weight of evidence denies this ability. Instead, evidence supports the position that advertising, to be successful, must understand or anticipate basic human needs and wants, and interpret available goods and services in terms of their want-satisfying abilities. This is the very opposite of manipulation."
Here is the link to the rest of the story:
http://www.wizardacademy.com/showmemo.asp?id=249