Marketing By Mantra.

Just before Christmas, I listened to a fast-food marketing honcho justifying his company's decision to pre-empt the forthcoming advertising ban.

Rather than address the child obesity problem that underpins it and thereby portray his company in a socially responsible light, he engaged in repetition of the PR line - "retaining the trust of our customers" - which in true "marketing" style had been determined to be the message to be delivered.

It sounded mawkishly contrived the first time and latterly became listener short-hand for "this guy is saying nothing and thinking less".

Marketing by mantra may reassure the marketer, but it ignores the fact that it is the recipient of a message who interprets it. Moreover, it blinkers your thinking - so much so in this case, that he didn't once challenge the interviewer's continued description of his product as junk-food!