In all honesty, advertising (the course I am currently
majoring in) was never my first, my second, or my last choice for college.
My
heart was set on literary arts, my second, liberal (psychology), and my last?
Well, though I’ve never thought of more than two, I can assure you, it would
have been anything but advertising.
To briefly explain, I live with a predominantly artistic
family.
I have a mother with a degree in advertising; an older
sister who, similar to my mother, also has a degree in advertising, and lastly,
an older brother, though taking up architecture, someone who was also fairly
artistic.
This was not a carefully planned out attempt at creating our
very own small time family run advertising/design firm.
No.
In my case, in fact, it was like a humongous looming shadow
that always followed, like a persistent itch that you couldn’t get rid of. Not
fate, simply something we we’re inclined to give into sooner or later.
Why bring this up so suddenly?
Well...
For our Earth and Life Science class, we we’re asked to talk
about Natural Science and Advertising and the relationship between the two in a
blog.
Let me say this straight.
I am the worst person to ask this of.
That is, if this was three years ago.
You see, what attracted me to the prospect of studying literature
and psychology was not simply the idea of being able to immerse myself in books
and close my antisocial self off with the excuse of taking my studying very seriously
(though that may partly be the case).
But the absolute joy of understanding the human puzzle. To
comprehend the differences from what is said, and what is implied. To hear what
is not spoken, but acted out. To be able to know people, not vaguely interpret
them.
That said, Advertising didn’t feel like the type of major
for me.
It was the absolute opposite of what I wanted.
Instead of catching the baseball, I was being asked to throw
it.
Advertising was like a complete 180 degree turn.
Here, the first rule was. To sell, it doesn’t matter what,
an idea? A product? A service? Sell! That’s all there is to it.
It was the speaking end of a conversation.
My words, my ideas, my whole self being bared to the public,
open for acceptance or criticism.
A one way game of persuasion.
It took me quite a while to realize that there was more to
it than a gaudy presentation and pretty words strung together.
Quoting the great Sun Tzu “In order to defeat the enemy, you
must first know your enemy”
In order to effectively sell, you have to first, understand the
target market. Their way of thinking, their level of understanding, the
worries they have, and the words they want to hear.
It was a game of catch.
A science that dealt with the human mind.
A more involved form of what I was seeking from a psychology
or literature major, and much, much more.
Advertising dealt with so many sciences, my mind was in a
pleasant state of confusion (which I plan to organize once I get all the
information in)
Before I knew it, I was having fun.
Like a chess game, near a stale mate, I was always eager to
take my next move.
There was a permanent question mark floating about in my
head at the end of every sentence.
“Would they buy it if I said this? Would it catch their attention
if I presented it like this? Is it better to go for print? or tv?”
Advertising and
natural science are inseparable.
A puzzle I plan on piecing together no matter how
unsolvable.
