With constant news of a global pandemic (heard enough about swine flu?), home foreclosure rates and stock market swings, is it any wonder we’re all a bit desperate for some good news? Sites like “The Good News Network” provide just that. Interest in the site dedicated to, “the gathering and dissemination of positive news stories from around the globe”, is up. NPR’s All Things Considered dedicated a piece on March 17th 2009, GoodNewsNetwork: No Gloom, No Doom. The CBS Evening News has commented about it in Katie Couric’s Notebook, March 26th, 2009.
With the public hungry for good news, what does that mean for us—the creative thinkers, the image makers and marketers of the world? How do we give the public what they want, but at the same time avoid making it so sugary sweet or far-fetched it becomes unbelievable? It’s that age old challenge of striking a balance between reality and fantasy. Once again, the middle ground. How can we push that, “I want it” button in a time when consumers are increasingly hesitant to pull the “I need it” trigger? Let’s face it, peddling a non-essential is tough these days.
The times of showing the unattainable in advertising are on hiatus. As consumers are forced to scale back due to a dismal economic forecast, they want to be appealed to in an honest straight-forward way. We all still have desires and aspirations, in most cases they’re just scaled back a bit. Instead of the three piece leather sofa set, we’ll go with the canvas recliner. Instead of the guided eco tour of the Galapagos Islands, we’ll opt for a road trip to Uncle Mike’s in Montana.
But wait, isn’t this really about knowing your audience? When is it appropriate to show the unattainable; fashion, travel? Isn’t a little taste of fantasy and escapism a good thing, even healthy—especially now? We’d love to hear your thoughts too. Do these times call for fantasy or reality? It can be argued that amid all the bad news, our dream for “more” hasn’t gone away, it just looks a little different.
Where has all the good news gone?
With constant news of a global pandemic (heard enough about swine flu?), home foreclosure rates and stock market swings, is it any wonder we’re all a bit desperate for some good news? Sites like “The Good News Network” provide just that. Interest in the site dedicated to, “the gathering and dissemination of positive news stories from around the globe”, is up. NPR’s All Things Considered dedicated a piece on March 17th 2009, GoodNewsNetwork: No Gloom, No Doom. The CBS Evening News has commented about it in Katie Couric’s Notebook, March 26th, 2009.
With the public hungry for good news, what does that mean for us—the creative thinkers, the image makers and marketers of the world? How do we give the public what they want, but at the same time avoid making it so sugary sweet or far-fetched it becomes unbelievable? It’s that age old challenge of striking a balance between reality and fantasy. Once again, the middle ground. How can we push that, “I want it” button in a time when consumers are increasingly hesitant to pull the “I need it” trigger? Let’s face it, peddling a non-essential is tough these days.
The times of showing the unattainable in advertising are on hiatus. As consumers are forced to scale back due to a dismal economic forecast, they want to be appealed to in an honest straight-forward way. We all still have desires and aspirations, in most cases they’re just scaled back a bit. Instead of the three piece leather sofa set, we’ll go with the canvas recliner. Instead of the guided eco tour of the Galapagos Islands, we’ll opt for a road trip to Uncle Mike’s in Montana.
But wait, isn’t this really about knowing your audience? When is it appropriate to show the unattainable; fashion, travel? Isn’t a little taste of fantasy and escapism a good thing, even healthy—especially now? We’d love to hear your thoughts too. Do these times call for fantasy or reality? It can be argued that amid all the bad news, our dream for “more” hasn’t gone away, it just looks a little different.