I think many carry inside them a feeling that, when it comes to the world of marketing, the real money and success tends to be enjoyed by those people who are of a ‘lower ethical fibre’, and prepared to unashamedly tell lies and fabricate stories in their pursuit of progress. While, on the other side of the coin, those people who choose to care more about the direction that their ‘moral compass’ is pointing, holding themselves to higher noble ideals, inevitably consign themselves to a struggle destined to be characterised by limited success and meagre earnings.
And that’s why I made the first New Moscow Rule “Tell The Truth”.
Can you really tell the truth and be successful in your marketing endeavours?
Well, here’s a quote that might help you to think a little bit differently from how you’ve ever thought before about this important question… just as it did for me.
For example, you know a horse can jump a ditch, therefore you accept that it can jump the Grand Canyon.
This realisation accelerated my career faster than anything I have learnt since.
Providing there is a basic truth in the idea, you can dramatise it to infinity.
Here’s an example:
A radio commercial for suntan lotion. An Englishman’s voice tells of the product’s benefits. As he talks his voice gradually changes to that of a West Indian man.
Brilliant.
You know a suntan lotion won’t make you black, but you accept that it might make you brown.
Are those are the words of an over zealous multi-level-marketer talking about the techniques that lay behind the hawking of his latest ‘get rich quick’ scheme to the world?
No.
Rather, they are the words of a legendary advertising man from Saatchi and Saatchi who was responsible for nurturing many of the world’s super-brands, such as British Airways, Silk Cut and Fuji. A man responsible for creating timeless slogans such as “The car in front is a Toyota” … and…. “The Independent – It is. Are you?”, which are known worldwide and still in use today. Also a man who authored 'the world's best selling book'…
– PAUL ARDEN
[Source: It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be, page 34, ISBN 0-7148-4337-7]
Maybe Batman said it even better when he said, referring to the people of Gotham, …
What people need is a dramatic example to shake them from their apathy.
Personally, I believe that you can and should always tell the truth in your marketing and your advertising. However, if you aren’t prepared to ‘shake things up’ a little bit and dramatise the basic truth in such a way as to present yourself and your business in the best possible light, then you aren’t going to get the level of response that you deserve, most of the time.
There’s a HUGE difference between 'dramatising the truth' and 'lying'.
(Just as there is a huge difference between 'dramatising the truth' and ‘hype’, as well.)
Accentuate the positive. Help people to buy from you.
But where you ultimately choose to draw the line is up to you.
Please share your thoughts on this in the comments section below.
