I came across an interesting post on the power of words this morning. Let’s play a little word game, shall we?
Check out the two combinations of two words each.
1) “moon” and “ocean”
2) “floor” and “hood”
Now…count backwards from 100 to 97.
OK….name the first laundry detergent that comes to mind.
Now name the first automobile that comes to mind.
If you’re in the majority, the detergent you named was Tide. And the automobile you named was Ford.
That’s because those word associations set you up to make those choices.
(Note: The following is from the post that I read this morning. I neither confirm nor deny that I share the political beliefs of the post below. However, I don’t think that anyone can argue the fact that words are powerful.)
What the panelists were discussing was a new book called What Orwell Didn’t Know: Propaganda and the New Face of American Politics by Andras Szanto and Orville Schell.
They were pointing out how successful the Republicans are in using a vocabulary that carries with it a controlled message. Examples include Bush’s constant linkage of Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden. The two had no contact to speak of, and one had nothing whatsoever to do with 9/11. But the constant linkage has caused Americans to infer that they are one and the same.
Similarly, the constant usage of the phrase “war on terror” fits right into the Bush vocabulary based on one single concept: fear.
Walk into an airport and you’ll hear an announcement saying that the current threat advisory level is something like “orange.” What does that mean? Who knows? But it contributes to the atmosphere of terror…an atmosphere that has kept the Bush administration in power.
The Republicans are geniuses at coming up with the vocabulary to lead people to the responses they [the Republicans] want….just as “moon” and “ocean” may very well have led you to Tide.
Reagan did it with his “comfort food” vocabulary….”Star Wars” was going to be a protective shield to prevent any invasions…”Morning in America” was a world of hope.
As communicators and as consumers, we can learn so much from these choices of words and phrases. They demonstrate the value and importance of wisely choosing an appropriate vocabulary, repeating it frequently, and making certain that it is evoking the responses and associations that you seek.
I was reading Adrants this morning, and came across a post about Home Depot. I pasted a snippet below…
This unnecessarily long article by Forbes, chock-full of handy-dandy survey data, tells us one — well, two — important things:
- A new concept is born: “shopper marketing.” (Known to you traditionalists — har har — as in-store advertising.)
- Concept shopping carts are getting outfitted with a text messaging device, courtesy of Modstream. It’s appearing at Home Depots in 8 states.
Basically, the carts in these select Home Depots will sent text messages to shoppers’ carts as they troll the ginormous store providing sale and promotional info.
I like the idea if (and Adrants agrees) the messages are relevant to what I’m shopping for and where I’m located in the store, but if not, I don’t feel like hearing about saving $1.29 on caulk that’s 57 aisles over.
It would be cool though if my cart could somehow scan what I’m putting in it and provide recommendations on other items…
I can see it now…
“Bought a hammer? Bet you need nails. Aisle 6. 25% off with purchase of hammer. Purchase them or be eliminated in the revolution. All hail Supreme Ruler Atari.”
Remember that email that I just sent out to you? Well here’s where a lot of the magic’s gonna happen between meetings. I want y’all to post thoughts, concerns, links, vids or anything else that you wanna share with the group right here. For those of you unfamiliar with wordpress, how to post, etc, just lemme know and I’ll teach you – it’ll take no more than 15 minutes, I swear. In case you lost the linked article that I sent to y’all before, I posted it here, too. Give it a read and let me know what you think. Better still, POST what you think in the comment sections here!
