50% of consumers don’t trust what they read or hear A couple of years ago, I saw a television commercial for a home builder who claimed to build ‘better’ homes. I emailed an executive of the firm to ask two questions: What does better mean? Will anyone believe you? My argument was that very few […]

50% of consumers don’t trust what they read or hear A couple of years ago, I saw a television commercial for a home builder who claimed to build ‘better’ homes. I emailed an executive of the firm to ask two questions: What does better mean? Will anyone believe you? My argument was that very few people would believe the claim, at least in part because very few people would believe an ambiguous and unquantified claim.I stand by this view and the view that such copywriting and advertising is lazy. As a result, it is a whole lot less effective than it should be.My experience suggests that the credibility of advertising and the likelihood of advertising being believed are strongly and negatively impacted by the use of: Platitudes Hyperbole Jargon I would suggest that the phrase ‘better homes’ qualifies as both a platitude and hyperbole. It is also instructive to consider recent…