[Organ music swelling] Last time on Sage of Persuasion:

Which Hollywood starlet’s father was a big time radio producer in the 1940s? (Hint, he would later create such prodigious television programs as The Today Show and The Tonight Show). Answer: Susan Alexandra aka Sigourney Weaver. Her father was Sylvester “Pat” Weaver.

YouTube or MeTube?

I never tire of amusing YouTube videos, and this book is ripe with those, including Me at the Zoo and Mentos & Diet Coke. Everyone, including grandma, knows that YouTube is entertaining, but not everyone realizes how it has changed the advertising landscape. Since it’s inception by the creators of PayPal in 2005, it’s leveled the playing field in terms of budgets and reach, has created a democratic environment and invited the audience to engage in the dialogue. It has spawned the creation and infiltration of viral video, as evidenced by the success of campaigns such as Dove’s Evolution and Burger King’s Subservient Chicken. O’Reilly builds on the foundation that content it king; that in this new world, ideas, not slogans, logos or catchphrases are the heroes.

Guerillas in our Midst

No sightings of Jane Goodall and her primate friends here; only the jungle of advertising and discussion of the little guy and their “little war” tactics. Small budgets don’t have to be a limiting factor provided you have a unique idea or device that will garner much attention. O’Reilly takes us through some brilliant (and not so brilliant) campaigns, including Medecins du Monde, Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Dr. Pepper. In this war, nothing is off limits including women’s cleavage and people’s foreheads. It seems that people will stop at nothing in a desperate attempt to break through the clutter.

The Lesson of Clark Gable’s Undershirt

We all know that celebrities can be very effective and powerful vehicles for persuading the masses. This can either be a good thing or a bad thing. In the case of Clarke Gable and his undershirt, it was the latter. Stripping off the last layer because it impeded the rhythm of his scene, when word got out that Gable ditched his undershirt, it is reported that sales of undershirts dropped by a whopping 75%. The lesson learned: whether warranted or not, celebrities can be very persuasive peddlers of people’s perceptions of brands. Typically, the closer the brands of the celebrity and product are, the better the chances of persuading the audience of the alliance. For two examples in the extreme, one very believable and one not so much, check out Sting’s Desert Rose and Paul McCartney’s Fidelity spots.

The Language of Persuasion

This is unequivocally my favourite chapter of the book thus far. Perhaps it is because it opens by poking fun at Starbucks. Perhaps it is the telling of the tale of Solomon in which two women claim to be the mother of one child. Solomon offers to give each woman half (knowing full well that the true mother would yield rather than harm her child). Remember that Seinfeld episode with the bike and Elaine and Kramer and Newman as Solomon? Ahhhhh what a show. To make us all interested in a show about nothing? Now that’s persuasion! But, I digress. It’s probably best attributed to the hilarious discussion of the progression of the language over the years in reference to the real estate industry, fashion, food and how such language influences our purchase decisions. O’Reilly argues that the language of persuasion has extended past words and into ideas. As a testament to this, and just in time for World Water Day (March 22), check out Dave Droga’s Tap Project.

Trivia: One artist who has capitalized off tying his music to particular brands is the artist Moby. Apparently, creativity runs in his family. Which famous author is he related to?

[Soap opera organ music swelling] Tune in next time for the thrilling conclusion of “Sage of Persuasion” and to find out the answer to this week’s trivia question.

A Cape Breton gal born and bred, Erin traded in the tar ponds of Sydney for the windswept marshes of Sackville, N.B. where she received her Bachelor of Commerce, Major in Marketing from Mount Allison University. In addition to her formal education, Erin enrolled in the school of life and has travelled overseas extensively, living in both Scotland and The Netherlands. With respect to her work at trampoline, as the old adage goes, "if Erin doesn't know, it ain't worth knowing." In her spare time, Erin owns and operates Step Lively School of Dance, and waits for Adam to propose.