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You really can make people believe a lie... with good advertising

by Mark Pescetti
14 replies
I thought this was an interesting, entertaining take on the whole engagement ring scam.

It's proof how good advertising can spark new rituals that become a huge part of how society functions.

Why Engagement Rings Are a Scam - YouTube

P.S. Here's another perspective.
#advertising #good #lie #make #people
  • Profile picture of the author kiwiz
    exellent easy to view to ready and well desgined anyone who could do the same design
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  • Profile picture of the author Tim R
    Interesting.

    How many on here think they could write a successful piece persuading women to give up the expectation of a ring?

    What approach would you take?
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    • Profile picture of the author Mark Pescetti
      Originally Posted by Tim R View Post

      Interesting.

      How many on here think they could write a successful piece persuading women to give up the expectation of a ring?

      What approach would you take?
      I think if you expose the ritual in a way that makes women feel like sheep...

      ...then replace the ritual with another one, you could displace their expectation by challenging them to be different.

      Maybe.

      But I think the whole diamond engagement ring is so ingrained in our society that most women just want what they want... even if it's total brainwashing... and they know it.

      Mark
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  • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
    Originally Posted by Mark Pescetti View Post

    I thought this was an interesting, entertaining take on the whole engagement ring scam.

    It's proof how good advertising can spark new rituals that become a huge part of how society functions.

    Why Engagement Rings Are a Scam - YouTube

    P.S. Here's another perspective.
    What an incredible cynical view...we share.

    Think of all the things that are culturally demanded, that were simply made up.
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    What if they're not stars? What if they are holes poked in the top of a container so we can breath?
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  • Profile picture of the author joe golfer
    Valentine's Day is full of embellishments:

    St. Valentine's Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. Several martyrdom stories were invented for the various Valentines that belonged to February 14, and added to later martyrologies.[2] A popular hagiographical account of Saint Valentine of Rome states that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to legend, during his imprisonment, he healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius. An embellishment to this story states that before his execution he wrote her a letter signed "Your Valentine" as a farewell.[3] Today, Saint Valentine's Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion,[4] as well as in the Lutheran Church.[5]

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day
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    Marketing is not a battle of products. It is a battle of perceptions.
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    • Profile picture of the author Memetics
      The ultimate scarcity tactic: Reduce supply and increase demand.
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      First we believe.....then we consider.

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      • Profile picture of the author Mark Pescetti
        Originally Posted by Memetics View Post

        The ultimate scarcity tactic: Reduce supply and increase demand.
        It's fake scarcity.

        At least it was.

        Maybe the fake scarcity created real scarcity.

        How many diamonds are currently being held back to drive up their value?

        Mark
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        • Profile picture of the author Memetics
          It probably did, someone at De Beers is most likely balancing the increased customer demand against the supply on an hourly basis just to keep that maximal revenue stream sweet spot.

          Reminds me of the plot from "Goldfinger" a bit (but without the nuclear bomb).
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          First we believe.....then we consider.

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  • Profile picture of the author ronrule
    Anyone can mine for their own diamonds within the United States. And surprisingly a lot of nice diamonds are found there.

    Diamond Mines - Crater of Diamonds State Park

    Always thought it would be cool for my son to propose to his girl with a diamond he mined himself when the day comes.
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    Ron Rule
    http://ronrule.com

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    • Profile picture of the author Memetics
      Now that would be romantic! Your son's partners friends would be sitting having coffee all saucer eyed in envy on hearing a tale like that from her.
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      First we believe.....then we consider.

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      • Profile picture of the author Shadowflux
        I think you can't understand the importance of the engagement ring if you haven't been married. I had all sorts of ideas about what an engagement ring was meant for until I got married, then my eyes were opened.

        An engagement ring is not a symbol of love or commitment. It isn't meant to "seal the deal". It's not even really a status symbol.

        Women care about engagements rings because other women care about engagement rings. When a woman says she just got engaged, the first thing her friends will say is "Let me see the ring!"

        The ring needs to be big and flashy. If it's small, trouble will soon follow. To a man, the "They're small but real diamonds" is a valid argument. It won't, however, hold up in the court of female friend's opinions. A small ring gets responses like "Oh, that's nice" and "Maybe you can trade up later".

        A big ring will continue to get attention long into the future. We've been married for a few years now and my wife still gets comments on her ring on a weekly basis. A big ring gets a woman into the "Big ring club" which is a coveted position.

        When you buy an engagement ring, you're buying something she's going to talk about for the rest of her life.

        Now, where am I getting with all this?

        Engagement rings fulfill a number of major emotional needs. It doesn't matter if diamonds have any real value. The diamonds don't even have to be real as long as they're passable. You don't buy a ring for the diamonds, you buy it for the emotional fulfillment they bring.

        When you think about it like this, you can start to see why people will pay ridiculous amounts of money for a more expensive alternative to something that doesn't have much inherent value.

        That right there is the heart of marketing.

        I could go to the grocery store and pick up a huge steak for about $10. I could also go to Peter Luger's and pay $100 for the same thing. The difference isn't the steak, it's the location. That doesn't mean Peter Luger's is a scam, just that the value isn't in the steak itself.
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        • Profile picture of the author Mark Pescetti
          Originally Posted by Shadowflux View Post

          I think you can't understand the importance of the engagement ring if you haven't been married. I had all sorts of ideas about what an engagement ring was meant for until I got married, then my eyes were opened.

          An engagement ring is not a symbol of love or commitment. It isn't meant to "seal the deal". It's not even really a status symbol.

          Women care about engagements rings because other women care about engagement rings. When a woman says she just got engaged, the first thing her friends will say is "Let me see the ring!"

          The ring needs to be big and flashy. If it's small, trouble will soon follow. To a man, the "They're small but real diamonds" is a valid argument. It won't, however, hold up in the court of female friend's opinions. A small ring gets responses like "Oh, that's nice" and "Maybe you can trade up later".

          A big ring will continue to get attention long into the future. We've been married for a few years now and my wife still gets comments on her ring on a weekly basis. A big ring gets a woman into the "Big ring club" which is a coveted position.

          When you buy an engagement ring, you're buying something she's going to talk about for the rest of her life.

          Now, where am I getting with all this?

          Engagement rings fulfill a number of major emotional needs. It doesn't matter if diamonds have any real value. The diamonds don't even have to be real as long as they're passable. You don't buy a ring for the diamonds, you buy it for the emotional fulfillment they bring.

          When you think about it like this, you can start to see why people will pay ridiculous amounts of money for a more expensive alternative to something that doesn't have much inherent value.

          That right there is the heart of marketing.

          I could go to the grocery store and pick up a huge steak for about $10. I could also go to Peter Luger's and pay $100 for the same thing. The difference isn't the steak, it's the location. That doesn't mean Peter Luger's is a scam, just that the value isn't in the steak itself.
          I am married.

          And everything you just said is proof that good marketing can change the way people think, talk... and believe.

          Mark
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  • Profile picture of the author sethczerepak
    My girlfriend used to sell luxury jewelry...she'd rather invest the money in an awesome honeymoon.

    She's a keeper
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  • Profile picture of the author max5ty
    You can make people believe (a lie?)...

    There's something in psychology known as the Barnum Effect.

    You give a class a list of questions to answer about themselves.

    They answer the questions.

    They get a profile back about themselves.

    Here's the profile based on their results...

    now, pay attention to the results, everyone in the class gets the same exact results back...and overwhelmingly everyone in the class thinks it's a reading that describes themselves exactly.

    Read the following and see if it describes you too:
    _____

    You have a great need for other people to like and admire you.

    You have a great deal of unused capacity, which you have not turned to your advantage.

    Disciplined and self-controlled outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure inside.

    You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations.

    You pride yourself as an independent thinker and do not accept others statements without satisfactory proof.

    You have a tendency to be critical of yourself.

    At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing.

    At times you are extroverted, sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, reserved.

    While you have some personality weaknesses, you are generally able to compensate for them.
    ______

    It fits all of you.

    My point is this:

    There's a couple concepts in marketing that work without fail.

    1. People will believe almost anything if they think it's coming from a reliable source.

    2. In order to market a product you need to start a movement.

    There have been a lot of books written on starting a movement, a following, a cult, etc.

    The basics of starting a movement are you need to recruit at least one reliable person or source.

    The person or source you recruit then takes over as the spokesperson for your product. I.E. they start the movement. Once the movement gets started others join in.

    If you're into marketing a product, the whole movement thing is a must read.

    In the De Beers example, they used movie stars to promote their message.

    Now, having said all that about the post, engagement rings were actually not started by De Beers, but they were definitely pushed into the mainstream by them.
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