ADVERTISING

You work for Volkeswagen. You survey 10000 people and ask them to name 5 makes of car. The survey results show that on average, people name VW in 5^th position on their lists.

Obviously you want VW to be the very 1^st make of car that comes to people's minds and not the 5^th when they are thinking of buying a new car. So what can do you to achieve that?

You spend millions on an advertising campaign that covers newspapers, billboards, football stadium banners, TV ads, and you might also pay people to put the VW logo on sports shirts and hot air balloons. You will need to use constant and persistent repetition to increase people's exposure to and awareness of your product.

But why do you spend your millions? Because you know for a fact that what people see and hear actually affects both what they think and what they do. In short, constant repetition and exposure to information actually affects people's behaviour. Companies spend millions and millions on advertising because they know for an absolute fact that it works. If it didn’t work, they simply wouldn’t waste their money!

So, what happens when you expose people to hours and hours of TV and video games where there are constantly repeated acts of violence, vile conduct and foul language? Is it surprising that we have so many horrific acts of violence, lawlessness and sick behaviour in our society?

Did you know that film-makers often have to add "strong language" simply in order to have their films qualify for an "adult" rating and thus achieve far greater sales? How many people do you know in real life that will smash up everything in a room if they feel disrespected? Or commit acts of violence and attempt to intimidate others if they don’t get their own way? Although there may be a tiny number of mature people that are like that, where on earth have they managed to get such an idea of normal or acceptable behaviour? Our so called entertainment would have us believe that that is the way things really are. Unfortunately our youth may not know any different and can be more easily conditioned to think that that is the way the world out there really is.

Although children and young people are particularly susceptible (think iPod and Nike), adults also need to wake up and smell the gravy. It's YOUR mind. What you constantly take into your mind is likely to affect the way you feel about yourself and everything that is going on in your life. So choose very carefully what you read, hear and view.

Beware the subtle messages, even in sitcoms. Dishonesty and unfaithfulness are OK as long as you don’t get caught. They don’t really hurt anyone, do they? Happiness so obviously depends on how perfect and beautiful your home and your body is, dosnt it? Truly, there is no success in life that can compensate for failure in the home and family. Family life is the best method of achieving happiness in this world.