The great marketing blogger (and College Professor) Mark Ritson had a superb piece in Marketing Week about how, contrary to all the hotshots that give keynotes at marketing conferences, people hate advertising. All of it.
And yes, the fact that there’s this one ad that you remember fondly from 20 years ago doesn’t prove the opposite, it’s an (extremely rare) exception that proves the rule. Outliers are not reality.
What does this tell us non-advertising, non-marketing types?
It tells us (yet again) the First Law of Business: “NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOU.”
They don’t care about your widget. They don’t care about your passion. Or your family. Or your take on social justice.
What they care about, of course, is themselves, and maybe, just maybe what you can do for them.
This is why the First Law of Business is so useful. Because instead of standing there, preening yourself as you wax poetic, this forces you to think about them instead. Their needs. Their desires. Their hopes and dreams.
Which is a much more useful and productive conversation to have.
