Saturday, April 08, 2006
Politicians give marketers a bad name
"Don't tell my mother I'm in marketing. She thinks I am a prostitute." Old gag.
Why do advertising types, politicians and sales people wind up down the bottom of lists of trustworthy types when such surveys are conducted? Because we are seen as liars. Some people in marketing are liars. Many people in sales are liars. And everyone in politics is a liar.
Case in point: the Australian Government's "Work Choices" legisation. Sold to a gullible public as giving workers more choice and flexibility and as creating more job opportunities for them, the public sees now what it really means after the legislation came into effect.
It means more choices and greater flexibility for employers and fewer choices for workers.
The boss can now fire you because you didn't laugh at his joke. Or because he doesn't like your attitude. (Or because you won't have sex with him?) Bosses don't have to give a reason.
The lies told by Australian cabinent ministers and the Prime Minister about their knowledge of the Iraq food for oil scandal are now on the record... Australians don't care if their politicians lie. After all, what do you expect?
Levels of cynicism are high enough in our society without enshrining them in the public psyche as the ethical fabric of decent society. ¶ 2:16 PM
Why do advertising types, politicians and sales people wind up down the bottom of lists of trustworthy types when such surveys are conducted? Because we are seen as liars. Some people in marketing are liars. Many people in sales are liars. And everyone in politics is a liar.
Case in point: the Australian Government's "Work Choices" legisation. Sold to a gullible public as giving workers more choice and flexibility and as creating more job opportunities for them, the public sees now what it really means after the legislation came into effect.
It means more choices and greater flexibility for employers and fewer choices for workers.
The boss can now fire you because you didn't laugh at his joke. Or because he doesn't like your attitude. (Or because you won't have sex with him?) Bosses don't have to give a reason.
The lies told by Australian cabinent ministers and the Prime Minister about their knowledge of the Iraq food for oil scandal are now on the record... Australians don't care if their politicians lie. After all, what do you expect?
Levels of cynicism are high enough in our society without enshrining them in the public psyche as the ethical fabric of decent society. ¶ 2:16 PM
