:: adgruntie :: Everyone distrusts advertising

+Gallup's annual survey of US professions is in. And yet again, advertisers/people in advertising were just one point above car salesman. That's second to last for honesty and ethics...and that's rather sad.

I can't understand why advertising has to rank so low. There are some good things that advertising can do for the general public- make them aware of new products/services that can help them out. It's not all about deception and WOM and influencers and all the other garbage that so many seem to think is necessary.

It's clear that most people don't like to be lied to. And if you're going down the path of non-transparent viral/WOM, product placement, paid placements in editorial or any other type of "new" ways to try to get people's attention you're just going to end up having them get angry and hate you and your product. I can't think of any company that would want that. It's not good for the bottom line.

So what do we need to do in order to make a change?
Be honest. There's no shame in it. It's not going to hurt. Respecting potential and current customers is a good thing. In fact it might actually benefit you.
Be creative. It's not really as dirty a word as most would like to have you believe. Surprisingly enough, it might actually get people to pay attention to what you have to say so you won't have to dupe them into it.