Literary lie weighs heavier
A Joint Venture Between Advertising and Literature: A Comparison of Two Public Communication Platforms
Joint venture between advertising and literature: a comparison of two public communication platformsBy Anita VaucherOn the controversial topic of "Truth, lies, art and work - the advertising text under the microscope", literature and advertising came together at the traditional literature podium in Bern. As big as the differences may be, both depend on pleasing the audience.
The author Daniel Ganzfried ("Der Absender") flattered the numerous advertisers at the start of the literary discussion in the Kramgasskeller in Bern by saying that he admired the ability of advertisers to express themselves with brevity.
It would be good for literature to keep it short, then it would also be easy for it to be long, Ganzfried continued. The Zurich-based author, who made a name for himself by exposing the sensational autobiographical fraud of alleged Holocaust victim Binjamin Wilkomirski, is convinced that advertising does have literary qualities if it knows how to surprise and play with words.
At the literary discussion on the uncomfortable topic of "Truth, lies, art and work - advertising copy under the magnifying glass", Simon Freiburghaus from the Bern advertising agency Freiburghaus und Banderini represented the advertising side: exciting advertising is actually not witchcraft. Contrary to widespread opinion, there are many clients who give agencies a free hand and have the courage to go for the unusual.
The more sophisticated the strategy, the duller the advertising
Simon Freiburghaus, also a columnist for WerbeWoche, sees the real evil in the sophisticated marketing strategies, analyses and pretests that in most cases would give an originally original idea the coup de grace.
Advertising that uses the word "new" ten times and constantly brings the price of a product into play would pass such tests at best. In addition, the financial means play a major role, allowing a client to disseminate advertising so intensively that the consumer can no longer avoid it. A lot of money guarantees broad distribution, but does not necessarily correlate with good advertising. On the contrary: a smaller budget is the biggest challenge for any advertiser in terms of ideas and implementation. He himself has only been severely held back once in his creative work by a client, namely when he created the slogan "A place for animals" to advertise a garden barbecue. This was too macabre for his client.
More metaphors, more
Entertainment in advertising
"Nobody wants advertising, it comes at the viewer unbidden and unexpectedly," explained Freiburghaus. For him, entertainment value is therefore one of the most important quality criteria for advertising.
It should appeal to people as intelligent beings without always wanting to use deep psychological mechanisms. The current washing powder advertising is a prime example of how people can be taken for fools. However, they achieved brilliant results in pretests and marketing analyses.
Freiburghaus is convinced that advertising should never be about the product per se; advertising needs more metaphors. In order for a woman to buy a particular shoe, she should be addressed via the beautiful leg and not directly via the product.
In contrast to advertisers, writers are apparently given a free hand when it comes to commissioned work for newspapers and magazines. Daniel Ganzfried explains that there are only restrictions when it comes to sensitive topics such as the Second World War, anti-Semitism or feminism.
Otherwise, he feels like he's in a big playroom in his industry with a lot of freedom. He believes that literature has a more lasting effect than advertising, but reaches fewer people. Advertising often likes to make use of provocation - an important means of achieving an effect, but one that rarely ensures quality. In contrast to short-lived advertising campaigns, a literary work can survive for centuries, and this remains the case as long as people understand a language.
Judgment as a mental process is disappearing
What both advertising and literature have in common, however, is that they take place in public. For this reason, the criterion of truth is of great importance, according to Ganzfried. He believes he has noticed a tendency for the will to perceive judgment as an intellectual process in public life to diminish more and more and for the pursuit of authenticity rather than literary quality to increase. This is shown by the example of Wilkomirski, who was published and received uncritically and without questioning. Advertising has the specific characteristic that it is recognized as such and is more likely to be forgiven for untruths and distortions, even deliberate lies. In literature, the responsibility towards reality and the readers is greater, says Daniel Ganzfried. It is therefore more difficult to lie and be good at the same time in literature.
Advertising is subject to strict controls by the competition
Simon Freiburghaus countered this by stating that advertising cannot simply be cheated, as the competition checks advertising claims very carefully and ultimately the enlightened and critical consumer cannot be easily fooled. There is no comparable control in the literature.
As interesting and promising as the topic of the evening was, presenter Daniel Rothenbühler did not manage to draw his eloquent discussion partners out of their shells. This left the audience with an ambivalent impression, which was summed up by one listener: "I was actually expecting an interesting game in which the balls are passed, caught and passed on in quick succession, but instead everyone just threw their ball in the air."
The author Daniel Ganzfried ("Der Absender") flattered the numerous advertisers at the start of the literary discussion in the Kramgasskeller in Bern by saying that he admired the ability of advertisers to express themselves with brevity.
It would be good for literature to keep it short, then it would also be easy for it to be long, Ganzfried continued. The Zurich-based author, who made a name for himself by exposing the sensational autobiographical fraud of alleged Holocaust victim Binjamin Wilkomirski, is convinced that advertising does have literary qualities if it knows how to surprise and play with words.
At the literary discussion on the uncomfortable topic of "Truth, lies, art and work - advertising copy under the magnifying glass", Simon Freiburghaus from the Bern advertising agency Freiburghaus und Banderini represented the advertising side: exciting advertising is actually not witchcraft. Contrary to widespread opinion, there are many clients who give agencies a free hand and have the courage to go for the unusual.
The more sophisticated the strategy, the duller the advertising
Simon Freiburghaus, also a columnist for WerbeWoche, sees the real evil in the sophisticated marketing strategies, analyses and pretests that in most cases would give an originally original idea the coup de grace.
Advertising that uses the word "new" ten times and constantly brings the price of a product into play would pass such tests at best. In addition, the financial means play a major role, allowing a client to disseminate advertising so intensively that the consumer can no longer avoid it. A lot of money guarantees broad distribution, but does not necessarily correlate with good advertising. On the contrary: a smaller budget is the biggest challenge for any advertiser in terms of ideas and implementation. He himself has only been severely held back once in his creative work by a client, namely when he created the slogan "A place for animals" to advertise a garden barbecue. This was too macabre for his client.
More metaphors, more
Entertainment in advertising
"Nobody wants advertising, it comes at the viewer unbidden and unexpectedly," explained Freiburghaus. For him, entertainment value is therefore one of the most important quality criteria for advertising.
It should appeal to people as intelligent beings without always wanting to use deep psychological mechanisms. The current washing powder advertising is a prime example of how people can be taken for fools. However, they achieved brilliant results in pretests and marketing analyses.
Freiburghaus is convinced that advertising should never be about the product per se; advertising needs more metaphors. In order for a woman to buy a particular shoe, she should be addressed via the beautiful leg and not directly via the product.
In contrast to advertisers, writers are apparently given a free hand when it comes to commissioned work for newspapers and magazines. Daniel Ganzfried explains that there are only restrictions when it comes to sensitive topics such as the Second World War, anti-Semitism or feminism.
Otherwise, he feels like he's in a big playroom in his industry with a lot of freedom. He believes that literature has a more lasting effect than advertising, but reaches fewer people. Advertising often likes to make use of provocation - an important means of achieving an effect, but one that rarely ensures quality. In contrast to short-lived advertising campaigns, a literary work can survive for centuries, and this remains the case as long as people understand a language.
Judgment as a mental process is disappearing
What both advertising and literature have in common, however, is that they take place in public. For this reason, the criterion of truth is of great importance, according to Ganzfried. He believes he has noticed a tendency for the will to perceive judgment as an intellectual process in public life to diminish more and more and for the pursuit of authenticity rather than literary quality to increase. This is shown by the example of Wilkomirski, who was published and received uncritically and without questioning. Advertising has the specific characteristic that it is recognized as such and is more likely to be forgiven for untruths and distortions, even deliberate lies. In literature, the responsibility towards reality and the readers is greater, says Daniel Ganzfried. It is therefore more difficult to lie and be good at the same time in literature.
Advertising is subject to strict controls by the competition
Simon Freiburghaus countered this by stating that advertising cannot simply be cheated, as the competition checks advertising claims very carefully and ultimately the enlightened and critical consumer cannot be easily fooled. There is no comparable control in the literature.
As interesting and promising as the topic of the evening was, presenter Daniel Rothenbühler did not manage to draw his eloquent discussion partners out of their shells. This left the audience with an ambivalent impression, which was summed up by one listener: "I was actually expecting an interesting game in which the balls are passed, caught and passed on in quick succession, but instead everyone just threw their ball in the air."
