All good lies are mixed with some truths
The new Prime Minister took office in Japan last month (September, 2020). He was the most unpopular candidate early this year, but now boasts a high approval rate of more than 70%. I think this is a good example to explain the power of an advertisement. It shows how easily advertisement manipulates people’s impression, in other words. One of the secrets behind his popularity is a fiction made up by advertising agents. They advertised he had been born to a poor farm family and attended university while working. Lies and truths are well mixed in this story.
Truth about the Japanese Prime Minister
The truth is he was not born in adversity. His family is a farmer wealthy enough to send three children to private universities. It’s definitely judged to be quite wealthy according to Japanese standards. And also, it is said that he is substantially a hereditary politician, because his father served as a town councilor. A good lier mixes some truths in its lies. The advertising agents must be good liers. Don’t worry. I’m not revealing his scandal. Anyone can obtain all the above information on the Internet.
Media manipulation
The previous Prime Minister and other candidates, all of them are hereditary politicians. People have a deep antipathy for such politicians these days. They strongly believe such politicians grown up in a rich family can’t understand the needs of common people. In order to differentiate himself significantly, the advertising agents of the new Prime Minister may have made up this fiction: he is a man of the people. Unfortunately, the agents succeeded in manipulating the public very well.
Pay for products or advertisements?
Today’s topic may sound like about politics, but it’s not. This is about illusions made by many advertisements. I’m too embarrassed to write, but we can’t afford smart ad-copies, gorgeous images, well-produced videos, etc. Accurately, it’s consumers that bear the costs of such nice advertisements. This may sound like sour grapes, but I want consumers to compare and recognize furniture for what it is. Like Morpheus said to Neo, this is your last chance. Let’s take the red pill and go see how deep the rabbit-hole goes!
Shungo Ijima
He is travelling around the world. His passion is to explain Japan to the world, from the unique viewpoint accumulated through his career: overseas posting, MBA holder, former official of the Ministry of Finance.