the Inception of insidious marketing campaigns

In a class some 15+ years ago at Dhahran Academy, my classmates and I sat huddled in a semicircle watching as the P.E. teacher knelt on the floor to show us a magic trick of sorts. He began waving his hands about briefly, in a seemingly random fashion, after which he stopped and placing one hand on the arm that was supporting his weight while he intently gazing at the patch of floor above which he had drawn an imaginary number, asked the class to guess what number it was. After a couple of rounds, I remember the teacher explicitly instructing those students who had figured it out, and guessed the number correctly, NOT to give away their secret. I also remember, quite vividly in fact, being the first student NOT to follow his instructions*, awkwardly ending the game and spoiling the discovery process for my fellow classmates. NOT one of my proudest moments.
Fast forward to about two weeks ago when I was confronted by a similar feeling, which I now believe provoked my disobedience* all those years ago, after having watched a video on youtube entitled, coincidentally some might say, “Real Beauty Sketches” by branD.
If you haven't seen or heard about it yet, and even though I don't recommend you watch it, be aware that what follows will probably spoil the experience for you.  Actually, I'm hoping it foils the intended experience for you or at least forces/invites you, if you've already seen it, to think about it differently.

This video showcases, in my opinion at least, some of the most sophisticated marketing campaign production techniques in the business, and to be clear, that is NOT a compliment. From the various comments I've read, this video seems to be weaving its magic with frightening efficiency, something that ordinarily wouldn't have bothered me so except for the fact that one of my dearest friends on facebook posted it to her timeline. Her comment read something like “I know this has to do with a brand, but its totally real. We're more beautiful than we think we are, or worse yet, to what they've led us to believe” a sentiment far too similar to my own and other people´s first reactions that I couldn't continue to ignore it. Actually, having rationally, although briefly, studied the video, I might have gone on ignoring the message, confident in the knowledge that I had outwitted the creation team´s efforts and more or less easily avoided any lasting impact my initial viewing might have had on me in the future, maybe.  I could list, point by point some of the observations I've made relating to what the video doesn't show that might help you in decoding and decoupling the emergent brand/emotion connection formed or forming in your mental circuitry while watching the video, but that would cause me to re-live feelings I personally don't want to dredge up.*

Instead, I'll ask you to think about branD´s commercial in the context of a movie, Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy and Ken Watanabe If you haven't seen it, here´s another spoiler alert, but for those who have, as you'll recall, the team lead by DiCaprio is hired to plant the seed of an idea into the businessman´s head (played by Watanabe), so that when it came time for him to make a crucial decision, to sell his company, DiCaprio´s employer could be assured a predictable outcome.

In conclusion:

I hope that thinking about the commercial in the context of the movie was a helpful enough hint to grasp the insidious nature of these kinds of uber sophisticated marketing schemes. If not, I'll leave you with a couple of questions to consider, dear reader, in the hope that they help shed more light on the gravity of these psy-op tactics. ¿how does it make you feel NOW knowing that the same emotions you experienced while/after watching the commercial could potentially be linked to every future instance of that same feeling for the rest of your life? ¿what impact might a seemingly tiny memory/experience have on your own self image now and how could that influence your behavior both in the present and 15 years from now?

Effects of coherent convictions/actions on a human brain

I recently switched to adding almond milk in my coffee in an effort to end my reliance on an industry which at best employs suspect practices with regard to the treatment of cows. As I was preparing myself a cup, I realized that the instant coffee grains no longer floated to the surface as they had the first time I prepared this combination.

Although seemingly a non event, it quickly dawned on me that along with the substitution of the type of milk in my coffee, and with little or no dedicated conscious thought on my part, I had unwittingly also changed the order in which I added each ingredient, a phenomenon that piqued my interest and led me to wonder how that modification in behavior might have emerged?

Admittedly, in my haste to jot down those fleeting impressions, and after having attended to the summonings of the cats I cohabitate with, I did forget to add sugar to the mix.  Being that I was already in my bedroom by the time I realized this, about to sit down to write the first draft of this blog entry, I decided to just go with it.

I guess my point is, if there is any new knowledge to be gleaned from this seemingly insignificant experience, is that it led me to wonder about whether some change had been made in my brain.  Some change which although triggered by having followed up on a decision I had previously made, might somehow have inexplicably (to me) led to subsequent changes which are more coherent* with a related conviction I maintain, even though I don't always live up to, regarding the destructive effects large “farms” have on our environment, the well being of the cows and bulls and the dehumanizing conditions the people who work at these mega installations subject themselves to in order that 1; more people may have access to pasteurized cow milk and 2; they may maintain, for themselves and their family some modicum of comfort and by extension contribute positively to the communities they live in.

That* I think/thought was/is a marvelous idea (worth further examination), which I am/had to write about and share on the internet, regardless of whether or not the topic might seem laughable.

In conclusion:

I ask you, my dear reader, to consider the following question:

¿What changes have you made recently that have had a similar positive reinforcing effect on your personal convictions?

and time permitting, share with me and whomever happens to come upon this page a comment or link to your own site in the section below.