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Welcome to the August, 2002 issue of the Inner Brat Newsletter. Welcome, new readers. If you enjoy this newsletter, please pass it on to your friends and encourage them to subscribe.
If you have comments or questions, feel free to email me at .
IN THIS ISSUE
>Shopping, advertising and your inner brat
>Inner brats in the news
>How have you tamed your own inner brat?
>Inner brat tip of the month: Recognize the emotional appeal in advertising
>Distribution information
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Shopping and your inner brat
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Have you ever gone to the store for one or two items and ended up buying several bags full? Or have you promised yourself no more shopping, but ended up buying more than you can afford? You have just given into your inner brat.
The inner brat is that part of all of us that wants what it wants, and it wants it right now. It's a remnant from our infancy and early childhood when we had not yet learned skills of postponing gratification. And it makes decisions based on pure emotion, not reason.
The advertising industry is well aware of the inner brat, although they don't call it that. But they do spend billions of dollars every year to make sure that our inner brat responds to the emotional appeal of their advertised products. One ad agency even has a moving banner on their website that proclaims, "We focus on the real feelings and emotions of your target customers."
If advertisers listed only facts about products, we probably wouldn't buy much. After all, soft drinks are simply sweetened, carbonated water. Automobiles are basically metal compartments sitting atop engines and tires. Shampoo is just a mixture of surfactants and water. Of course, there are variations in these products. Soft drinks come in all sorts of flavors, for example.
But what distinguishes Coke from Pepsi? Some people can tell the difference and others can't. But if you've noticed the ads, the two rival soft drink companies don't make any mention at all of the ingredients or the taste of their beverages. Instead, they portray people having fun or celebrities (who supposedly have far better knowledge than you or I about what's good) drinking the soda.
We respond emotionally, not rationally to these ads. We are lulled into believing that we, too, can have fun or be glamorous if we drink a certain soda or a certain beer. (Notice there are no beer commercials showing a drunken fraternity guy vomiting into the toilet.)
Similarly ads for SUVs and shampoo (and for virtually every product on the market) appeal to our emotions and desires, not to our logic. How many SUV drivers do you know who actually need the off-road capabilities? Wouldn't a minivan transport them just as well? Ah, but the advertisers portray SUV owners as the more rugged, manly types, which appeals to the way many men would like to see themselves. And those shampoos - dozens of brands, each trying to convey an image of sexiness, sportiness, vivaciousness, etc., such that there is an ideal "shampoo personality" for just about anyone.
If you think about it, most advertising aims to instill in us a feeling of dissatisfaction with our own lives, and tries to convince us that if we only drank a certain brand of beer we'd have more friends; or if we ate a certain breakfast cereal we'd have a closer family. One of my favorites is a TV commercial for diamonds that usually appears around Christmas, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. The underlying message is: You're inadequate at showing her how much you love her, unless you give her this expensive diamond bracelet.
Once you're dissatisfied with yourself, the advertisers then try to create desire and urgency to cure that dissatisfaction. And what part of you knows desire and urgency better than your inner brat? The inner brat doesn't merely desire something - it craves and demands it right now. It tries to convince you that you need it. This desire doesn't even have to be conscious. Sure, sometimes you might see an ad and think to yourself, "I've got to have that," but much of the time the desire lies dormant in the back of your mind, until you're at the mall and the particular item catches your eye. At this point your inner brat is triggered.
For example, let's say a few days previous you were paging through a magazine and noticed an ad with a very attractive female model wearing a cashmere sweater and surrounded by attractive men. Or perhaps you were drawn to an ad showing the latest computer, promising not only that will you be more productive, but also that you will be the envy of your friends.
Fast forward to the mall. You notice that item again, and are almost magically drawn to it. Why? The ad has had an emotional impact on you, which stays with you. Research shows that people tend to have better memory for experiences associated with emotion.
Here's where your inner brat comes in. It has a mission to fulfill: It wants that item and will do what it takes to get it. After all, the advertisement implied all sorts of promises (i.e. if you wear this sweater you will be tremendously popular; if you buy this computer you'll be at the top of the nerd pecking order.)
So your inner brat starts to work on you. It might try nagging, as in "I must have this and I don't care how much it costs." Most inner brats don't get away with this. Your rational side would probably reject such a reckless thought. Consequently the inner brat tries a different approach: it pretends to use logic. For example, it might say to you, "Hey, how often do you get to treat yourself? Cashmere is expensive, but you work hard and deserve it." Or, "Think of how much money you'll save buying this latest computer now, because that means you won't have to buy another one for at least three years."
While such statements appear logical, they are merely rationalizations. You know when your inner brat is rationalizing when the apparent "need" seems to materialize suddenly. In this case, it means that first you had the desire, which was planted by advertising and picked up by your inner brat. The reasoning or justification comes later, as an afterthought. (Contrast this with a situation where reasoning comes first, desire second: "My socks have holes in them; I need new ones.")
So, next time you're out shopping, remember that retail marketers count on your inner brat to make a profit. But what's more important: contributing to the economy or staying within your budget? I wouldn't leave that decision to your inner brat if I were you.
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In my new book, "Taming Your Inner Brat: A Guide to Transforming Self-defeating Behavior," you can read more about how your inner brat is influenced by popular culture.
There are 4 ways to buy this book:
~Visit your local bookstore
~Order online from my web site, http://www.innerbrat.com
~click here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1582700508/qid%3D1015021163/sr%3D8-1/ ref%3Dsr%5F8%5F67%5F1/002-3648041-9748811 (if this link doesn't seem to work, highlight the whole link, including the part that wraps to the next line; then copy it and paste it to your browser URL window.)
~Order by telephone directly from the publisher toll-free: 800-284-9673
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Inner Brats in the News
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McDonald's and three other fast food chains are being sued for creating obesity and other health problems in people who, by virtue of frequent visits to fast-food restaurants, become addicted to foods high in fat and salt. The lawsuit is building into a class action suit.
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A survey of 450 office employees across Britain found that "office rage" is alive and well. In this study, over half the respondents (more women than men!) admitted to feeling on the brink of punching someone. The most frequent reasons given: loud-mouthed colleagues, equipment breakdowns, excessive workloads and interruptions. Self-control may be a growing problem: Britain's latest crime survey reports 1.3 million incidents of violence at work.
For more stories about brats in the news visit my website http://www.drwallin.com/news.shtml
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How have you tamed your own inner brat?
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L.M. from Pennsylvania writes:
"Some time ago I stared at a not so flattering reflection of myself. Noticing that, it's true, the physical evidence is in...i'm getting older. I then experienced a cold sensation with the thought of "but I still behave like a spoiled child". This has had me obsessing and questioning about all my behaviors. The biggest question of all being..."so what are you gonna do about IT?" This book is exactly what I needed to do about "IT". I can't tell you the last time I absorbed a book so fast and intensely.”
Read other stories of people who are working on taming their inner brats. Contribute your own story. You can remain anonymous. Go to: http://www.drwallin.com/innerbrat_contrib.shtml
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Inner brat tip of the month: Recognize the emotional appeal in advertising
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Advertisers use a variety of ploys to get you to buy their products. They either try to make you feel inadequate or insecure, or else they try to get you to identify with the product in some way. Here are some typical examples. Look for them next time you watch TV, listen to the radio or read a magazine:
1. Humor. This puts you in a positive frame of mind that hopefully sticks with you and becomes associated with the product.
2. Celebrity representation. Celebrities are often used in advertising because they convey authority. For example, if Michael Jordan, a star basketball player, wears those sneakers, they must be the best. But sometimes celebrities push products about which they have no expertise (e.g., golfer Arnold Palmer is a spokesman for motor oil) and the ploy still works. Celebrity status seems to have some sort of "halo effect" radiating beyond the person's specialty.
3. Folksy representation. Sometimes large corporations try to portray themselves as personal and down-to-earth. Example: Motel 6, a chain of 360 motels, uses a country music background and the good-old-boy voice of Tom Bodett to plug its slogan, "We'll leave the light on for ya."
4. Fear or anxiety. This is especially useful for products like insurance and personal care products. First they present the "what if?" scenario: for example, what if you lost your wallet on the beach? What if you went into a job interview with dandruff all over your shoulders? What if you just happened to meet the most gorgeous girl and you have bad breath? Once the anxiety is established, the advertisers present the solution, which happens to be their specific product. Anxiety is also induced by presenting an item as hard-to-get, e.g. "Only a few left in stock. Hurry before they're gone." or, "Available for a limited time only."
5. Presenting partial or obscure information: In the US, there are strict advertising regulations. For example, it is not permissible to make verbal or written claims that are untrue. Advertisers get around this by suggesting or implying the benefits of their products, such as a TV commercial showing an image of a thin person who lost a large amount of weight on a diet program. You might assume that you will have similar results, unless you read in very fine print, flashing quickly on the screen, the disclaimer that "These results are not typical."
6. Sex appeal. Scantily clad people, or those with sexy voices are guaranteed attention getters. Once they have your attention, they can make even coffee, shaving cream or electronics seem highly desirable.
There are many more techniques that advertisers use. To see more examples, check out what this online ad agency has to say: http://www.adcracker.com/creativeideas/
Until next month,
Pauline Wallin, Ph.D.
http://www.innerbrat.com
