Joe Klein has a really beautiful column in today’s issue of Time, you can read it here. Although he’s talking about the effect of consultants and poll takers on the current state of American politics you could easily substitute advertising for every mention of politics. The current abysmal state of the great majority of advertising we are subjected to these days can unhesitatingly be laid at the feet of research. OK, I know it’s been around nearly forever, but I think over the years it has become even more pervasive. As long dead Bill Bernbach once said, nothing good can come out of research because success is predicated on what has already been done… So anything new is bound to test badly. Amen to that. I have sat behind that one-way mirror far too many times to have any faith left in focus groups that involved asking people such questions as… “If this sanitary pad was an animal, would it be a gazelle, or a gorilla.” And, believe me. I didn’t make that up!
What was that question again?
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Exactly.
Research tells you about now, its useful to know but it cant predict anything with more than vague potential accuracy in that exact demographic.
Posted by: Rob Mortimer | April 10, 2006 12:49 PM | Permalink to Comment