So. What's It Like Being A Roach?

According to Naomi Watts, author of "No Logo", (excerpt here) consumers are like roaches. They've been sprayed so much, they're beginning to develop immunities. Can't argue with that. How else to explain the emergence of alternative branding tactics of every ilk, everything from experiential marketing to product placement to television programming developed around brands.

Watts made her roach comment on the special 90-minute documentary on PBS called The Persuaders.

If those of us in advertising and marketing felt like bathroom fungus before, this show makes us look all but indistinguishable from that gelatinous alien ooze in Dreamcatchers. What is it with these people like Watts?

They just can never seem to get it through their heads, there is nothing fundamentally unethical about attempting to sell somebody something. Doesn't matter if the something is a roll of toilet paper or a political candidate. But still, the Naomi Watts crowd sees evil in creating desire. It's just not there, Naomi. Just like it wasn't there when you people were off on your subliminal advertising thing. Remember the uproar over the ice cubes in the whiskey glass? Yeah, okay. Like somebody's going to actually spell out s-e-x in a bunch of ice cubes. Like it would matter even if they did.