Are people awake enough to be shocked by a big idea in advertising?
Not shocked. We don’t want to shock them — we want to embrace them; we want to love them; we want to lead them into it. We want to entertain them, to stimulate them, to bring them in mysteriously. We see the world through our senses, and then the brain kicks in. That’s how neurology works; they tell you that you first feel an experience. So great Lovemark advertising connects that way before the brain kicks in. Most brand managers want you to get the product up front, the claim up front, the benefit up front, the demonstration up front. And immediately consumers will say boof, that’s a shampoo commercial, it’s going to show shiny hair, I don’t care, boom, I’ve gone. Before I’ve made a conscious decision. Absolutely. No question about it. It’s what the French call a coup de foudre, a thunderbolt. It’s like a love at first sight. You have that feeling: “Wow! I’m interested now.” And then you can go back to the Net and you can find out as much information as you want. It’s going to happe
