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In this age of skeptical consumerism, traditional advertising
vehicles are facing roadblocks that have many companies seeking
innovative, if not extreme, alternatives. While a more sophisticated
and discerning breed of consumers has inspired innovative
approaches to slipping past consumer radar, it has also resulted
in undercover marketing operations that are avoiding detection
altogether.
Whether or not it is considered a fresh approach to product
endorsement, or protested as a deceptive form of commercialism,
stealth marketing is being unobtrusively infused into our
daily lives.
Silencing a sales pitch
Captivating anyone with practically anything
appearing on its screen, television was once both a technological
wonder and an extremely powerful advertising tool. However,
as the fascination faded and the commercials gradually lost
their appeal, the remote control became the new wonder that
could either silence or "channel surf" past pesky
ads with a simple press of a button.
According to the Time Magazine's article, "It's An Ad,
Ad, Ad, World", the thirty-second TV commercial is becoming
so much less effective that Jamie Kellner, CEO of Turner Broadcasting,
is one of several executives who claim that commercial-supported
free television is an endangered species.
As well, Gary McCarron, Asst. Communications Professor at
Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, says the public is already
immune to most mainstream advertising and new research indicates
that advertising that doesn't seem like advertising, is the
new way to reach our jaded minds.
"We have already seen an increase in the use of celebrity
spokespeople for pharmaceuticals and we are also witnessing
an increasing amount of 'below-the-radar' practices. A common
example is record labels that hire young people to pose as
fans of a particular band by logging onto websites and creating
hype about their latest album," says McCarron. "Covert
marketing has even been integrated into the music itself,
and is especially prevalent in the content of mainstream rap
lyrics."
However, teenage music fans aren't the only ones being targeted.
In addition to celebrities casually endorsing drugs on afternoon
talk shows, Time Magazine also revealed that television producers
are being paid to build story lines around particular products.
Inspired by Revlon's part in a three-month story line on the
daytime drama, All My Children, many companies are aggressively
seeking opportunities to cast their products in television
and film roles.
Beware the secret salesman
While the mainstream media still has the power to hit huge
demographics, consumers have also developed an awareness of
its objectives, and it is the guerrilla tactics of 'live'
stealth marketing that has become a prevailing issue of controversy.
Friendly tourists ask you to take their picture with an impressive
camera, a sultry bar patron asks you to buy her a drink of
her favorite brand of alcohol, groups of mothers talking about
a certain brand of laundry detergent at their children's baseball
games are what Time Magazine cites as examples of an increasingly
popular alternative marketing strategy known as "buzz
campaigning".
Operating in thirty cities across the United States and Canada,
Big Phat Promotions has attracted a lot of media attention
for leading this contested trend of marketing. The company
defends their tactics as "spontaneous" and "virile"
approaches to product promotion. Media critics however, argue
that paying actors to engage unsuspecting targets in "friendly"
encounters is unethical.
According to a recent article, "Are You For Real"
in the Montreal-based publication Massoneuve, the media isn't
the only one who has a beef with Big Phat. The article reported
that although Big Phat's lack of disclosure is raising issues
with the Canadian Competition Bureau and the U.S. Federal
Trade Commission, they haven't been able to charge Big Phat
with anything other than bad taste. Meanwhile, company President,
John Ressler, continues to guarantee his events to be "absolutely
invisible".
What the "big guys" think
While "absolutely invisible"" may be a lucrative
guarantee in North America, it is not a wise slogan for Australian
and UK advertising businesses. Following a ruling forcing
multinational tobacco giant Philip Morris to pay a huge fine
for a cigarette campaign targeted at unsuspecting young women
during a fashion show, the New South Wales government has
enacted legislation further preventing tobacco companies from
using similar stealth marketing practices. Under the NSW Public
Health Act, the state can impose a million-dollar fine on
any company violating the Act's strict tobacco advertising
regulations.
After catching British American Tobacco's internet buzz campaign
designed to lure young consumers into specific bars and nightclubs
promoting their cigarettes, the British government has become
even more determined to rule out tobacco advertising altogether.
Adam Salacuse, CEO and President of Alt Terrain, LLC, a Boston-based
agency specializing in alternative promotion services, stresses
buzz campaigns should only be used in conjunction with larger,
more traditional advertising campaigns. "It is always
best to be honest with people and if used properly, alternative
marketing can be a unique and relevant experience that the
consumer will always remember".
Tom Shepansky of Rethink Advertising in Vancouver favors
a more traditional approach. "The mandate of our company
is to use conventional marketing vehicles more creatively
and simply do a better job. There is no reason why advertisements
can't be engaging, entertaining and something that people
want to watch." Proof of this is the recent success of
a television commercial making "whaz-up" an international
phrase associated with Budweiser. It was both appealing and
effective while simply remaining upfront and honest.
Aside from the potential legal issues, unethical stealth
marketing can be bad for business in general. McCarron warns
that if advertising becomes so sneaky that it is unrecognizable
from the everyday experiences of defenseless consumers, it
will damage corporate credibility and the resulting state
of distrust could have an extremely negative effect on social
interaction.
When all is said and done, and in the absence of a clear
legal mandate for total transparency in advertising, "Caveat
Emptor" or "buyer beware" is still the guiding
principle for consumers.
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