Heartstrings are very delicate cords. When they are touched they set off deep feelings of compassion within us, sometimes reducing us to tears. The interesting thing about them is that the smallest of things can set them to vibrate like the simple and prevalent television commercial.
You may recall that I have mentioned the strange and nonsensical commercial and its touch on our inner-consumer. Here, I discuss the way in which the television advertisement can pull at the heartstrings and touch our humanity.
Over the last week, the TV has bombarded me with a commercial from the American Society** for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Every time it is played I become mesmerized by it and my eyes verge on tears. I know it pleads with my love for animals, and I know the song in the background emphasizes the terrible conditions these animals are in. It is a commercial that effectively calls the viewer to action and makes her want to donate to a noteworthy cause.
I have to admit that marketers understand us skillfully—to a point that borders on the frightful. They have done their research into the human psyche well enough to know what buttons to press, what knobs to turn, and what songs to play that will make each—and every—one of us want to open our wallets. This is true even when their talents are used for the non-profit organization, a business that sells beneficence.
I once knew a man whose motto was, “We are all sheep.” And when I think, or mention, the idea that someone, or some group, has done enough research to know the ways of human beings—enough to manipulate our behaviors—then I remember this man’s motto. It’s a rather cynical aphorism but, at times, it seems rather true.
When I pause to consider the effect of this commercial, its ability to make me pick up the phone to donate, then I also have to muse over the idea that perhaps the manipulation of our behaviors, in some instances, isn’t bad. Perhaps, it is a way to wake us to those things we are not aware of as we move along in our lives. When I look at it this way then maybe being a sheep, at times, isn’t bad after all.
** View this commercial in the media window above.
Copyright © Tyler Gant 2010 for Just Moving Along .com
No related posts.
