
Back in the 70s, the advertising of Saatchi & Saatchi and a dozen other London advertising agencies ruled the marketing roost.
It was the age when ITV was the only commercial channel. Ads shown in the prime-time Coronation Street slot, for instance, would be seen by millions. Back then, TV advertising was powerful – and ad agencies were sexy.
Today, there are dozens of TV channels (and many more commercial radio stations). Advertising budgets are spread much more thinly so the ads themselves rarely become part of the national consciousness in the way they once did.
With no Internet, newspapers had far higher circulations, so press advertising was much more influential. They were the perfect medium for ‘direct response’ off-the-page mail order ads – and ‘corporate advertising’ was always a good way for a big company to reinforce its brand advertising activities on TV.
This was the golden era of mass persuasion. Nowadays, marketing has taken on a far different persona. Now, it’s more a case of ‘mass collusion’. Audiences can no longer be targeted as passive recipients of mass marketing messages. ‘Persuasion’ was hardly necessary back then. Mass hysteria and/or hype ensured that stock would shift and bums would be placed on seats.
Persuasion is now a tad more difficult – and that’s not entirely due to economic recession. Audiences are fragmented. The Internet – and social media in particular – has empowered individuals and consumer groups.
Big companies nowadays are no longer the Great Persuaders. They have to watch their step. They know that one false move could bring a brand to its knees. Reputation is everything. Customer service and value is being carefully observed by the eyes of every mouse in every house that has a computer.
Back in the day, advertising was a powerful force. In some ways, it was an art form. Interestingly, the art of persuasion is now in the hands of patrons whose powers of persuasion are rooted in an entirely different marketing culture.











