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.
Trump Asks Supreme Court To Delay TikTok Ban
President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to pause the potential TikTok ban from going into effect until his administration can pursue a "political resolution" to the issue.
The request came as TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs to the court, in which the company argued the court should strike down a law that could ban the platform by Jan. 19 while the government emphasized its position that the statute is needed to eliminate a national security risk.
"President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute. Instead, he respectfully requests that the Court consider staying the Act's deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case," said Trump's amicus brief, which supported neither party in the case and was written by D. John Sauer, Trump's choice for solicitor general.
The argument submitted to the court is the latest example of Trump inserting himself in national issues before he takes office. The Republican president-elect has already begun negotiating with other countries over his plans to impose tariffs, and he intervened earlier this month in a plan to fund the federal government, calling for a bipartisan plan to be rejected and sending Republicans back to the negotiating table.
He has been holding meetings with foreign leaders and business officials at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida while he assembles his administration, including a meeting last week with TikTok CEO Shou Chew.
Trump has reversed his position on the popular app, having tried to ban it during his first term in office over national security concerns. He joined the TikTok during his 2024 presidential campaign and his team used it to connect with younger... Read More