The title of this spot.com.mentary installment is that of a seminal book by Vance Packard. Released in 1957, The Hidden Persuaders contended that a significant percentage of advertising was insidiously manipulative, deploying consumer motivational research and other psychological techniques, including subliminal messaging. “Many of us are being influenced and manipulated, far more than we realize, in the patterns of our everyday lives,” wrote Packard who passed away in Dec. 1996. He compared motivational research to “the chilling world of George Orwell and his Big Brother.”
The Hidden Persuaders was on The New York Times bestseller list for a full year. It was both praised and criticized, the latter coming primarily from the ad industry which claimed that motivational research helped advertisers and marketers better serve the public at large. Ad biz leaders denied the use of subliminal communication in the peddling of products and services.
But Packard stuck to his guns, particularly concerned over how politicians were being promoted to the electorate through unscrupulous marketing and advertising.
Now more than 50 years later, Packard’s concerns have been fueled further by a new generation of hidden persuaders spawned by the 2010 Supreme Court ruling dubbed Citizens United. The high court decision cleared the way for companies, unions and other special interest groups to spend unlimited funds to try to influence elections, often using money from anonymous donors.
According to an Associated Press report, independent groups that did not disclose the identity of their donors spent $132.5 million to influence elections nationwide last year, accounting for about one-third of all spending by outside groups in the 2010 election cycle. Anonymous or unlimited corporate spending represented 15% of all federal political spending in 2010. Such spending amounted to some $85 million in Senate races, $40 million of which went to the 10 most expensive contests. Ads paid for by groups soliciting anonymous donors were more likely to be negative than those paid for by groups that disclosed donors.
Groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees took advantage of the new rules, spending tens of millions of dollars on campaign ads in races across the U.S. Other groups formed expressly to make use of the new rules spent big bucks as well.
However, heavy spending by groups under the Citizens United ruling did not ensure victory. In three of the most expensive Senate races, candidates won despite heavy Citizens United-spawned spending directed against them.
The Supreme Court decision was based on freedom of speech protection for corporations. I’m all for freedom of speech, as long as I know who’s speaking.
In mainstream advertising, the public knows who’s behind an ad and can judge those brands and their messages accordingly, with people making their buying decisions as they see fit. Even the most manipulative ads critiqued by Packard had a readily identifiable advertiser. Now what’s “hidden” in the political ad arena extends all the way to the sponsors themselves.
Oscar Nominees Delve Into The Art Of Editing At ACE Session
You couldn’t miss Sean Baker at this past Sunday’s Oscar ceremony where he won for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Editing on the strength of Anora. However, earlier that weekend he was in transit from the Cesar Awards in Paris and thus couldn’t attend the American Cinema Editors (ACE) 25th annual panel of Academy Award-nominated film editors held at the Regal LA Live Auditorium on Saturday (3/1) in Los Angeles. While the eventual Oscar winner in the editing category was missed by those who turned out for the ACE “Invisible Art, Visible Artists” session, three of Baker’s fellow nominees were on hand--Dávid Jancsó, HSE for The Brutalist; Nick Emerson for Conclave; and Myron Kerstein, ACE for Wicked. Additionally, Juliette Welfling, who couldn’t appear in person due to the Cesar Awards, was present via an earlier recorded video interview to discuss her work on Emilia Pérez. The interview was conducted by ACE president and editor Sabrina Plisco, ACE who also moderated the live panel discussion. Kerstein said that he was the beneficiary of brilliant and generous collaborators, citing, among others, director Jon M. Chu, cinematographer Alice Brooks, and visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman. The editor added it always helps to have stellar acting performances, noting that hearing Cynthia Erivo, for example, sing live was a revelation. Kerstein recalled meeting Chu some eight years ago on a “blind Skype date” and it was an instant “bromance”--which began on Crazy Rich Asians, and then continued on such projects as the streaming series Home Before Dark and the feature In The Heights. Kerstein observed that Chu is expert in providing collaborators with... Read More