Dear FRONTLINE,

It's clear to me that while the reptilian brain (as described in more depth by Carl Sagan in Dragons of Eden, and others) drives many, not all humans are stuck in this evolutionary stage. Many (though perhaps not a majority, as this election showed) act (mostly) on a rational basis, not in response to emotional button-pushing.

If critical survival factors such as environmental integrity, social cooperation, etc. are to be adequately addressed, the key for the cognizant might be in promoting critical thinking skills at all levels of education.

The current state of affairs reminds me of a B- or C- grade sci-fi film "They Live".in which a grotesque alien culture pushes human consumerism and blind allegiance to their limits via ubiquitous subliminal messaging. "The Persuaders" is like the special glasses which allowed a few to see the controls and remain free. Spread it around.

Roger Hoffmann
Loveland, CO

Dear FRONTLINE,

Really enjoyed the program, especially since strategies and tactics to achieve 'buzz' are a hot topic where I spend 9 to 5.

At the end of the day it's the product that produces the connection that various advertisers, agencies and consultants are so zealously trying to make. Companies like Apple, Harley Davidson and Southwest Air have achieved remarkable loyalty not through coerced cool, but rather by delivering features that meet needs in a differentiated way. Song's earnest claim that it is a way of life seems so hollow given their "us too" entry into the category.

Of course, some might observe that the recent election offers yet another example. You might say that 51% of America (in a lot of red counties across the country) chose 'tastes great' over 'less filling.'

Dave Whitmore
Lincroft, NJ

Dear FRONTLINE,

You didn't touch on how effective all this advertising is.

I am a 25 year old, right handed, athletic, caucasian married male. I live in rural America. I feel like I live in a 'small town.' I can't go to a store in town without seeing somebody I know. I don't know if everyone here is like me, but i feel that the advertising doesn't effect me much. A bit perhaps, but not much. When I find an ad that I like or that brings an inner euphoria, I don't feel that I am compelled to buy that Brand or product. I may like the advertisement, but i feel no compuction to buy that product.

I buy many products. I buy shoes, shirts, camera equipment, food, detergent, batteries, and other items. Why do I buy the brands i buy? For simple reasons. 1) They are on sale. 2) They have worked for me in the past. And in the case of clothing/shoes 3) The products fits and is comfortable. I don't care if I've seen a thousand Nike ads, if I try on a pair of Nikes and they don't feel good on my feet, I won't buy them. If DelMonte fruit is on sale and is cheaper than than Dole fruit, I'll go with the cheaper brand.

Having said that, I firmly beleive that you get what you pay for. If a Brand has a proven record of quality products, I will probably choose that brand again. Price is not an issue. Quality of the product is more important than which ads made me feel good.

Movie trailers and commercials are abundant on the Internet and daily television. How do these ads effect me? I watch the ads. I laugh at the ads. A co-worker and I will often times watch a movie trailer 10 times because it is entertaining or funny. Does this drive me to go see the movie? No. I can think of hundreds of movie trailers that I have watched and then have never seen the movie. Why don't I see the movie? I beleive that it is a waste of my $8.

Does all this advertisment add to the clutter? Most certainly. Does it work? It must. However, for this consumer, while ads are entertaining, I do not feel that they contribute to my buying experience.

Perhaps I am the exception, but I still must raise the question: What are all these people really selling if the ads have little effect? Marketers are selling their own services. They are just like everyone else. We try to do the best job we can so that we can have another feather in our cap. When the next job comes along, they are in a better position to get it. That is why we are bombarded with ads that don't work, or have little effect. Granted, some ads do work on some people. I just don't know who.

Austin James
Redmond, Oregon

Dear FRONTLINE,

Excellent program. I doubt much will change unless clients start smacking the truth out of agencies.

In the 90's I deconstructed the ad agency structure and was a pioneer in what was/is known as a virtual ad agency. It was just myself and an assistant. Billings were over $12M annually. It was an extremely successful venture that the advertising industry hated and the client loved. Low overhead, spot on strategy and results oriented creative.

From my perspective, the agency biz has way too much fluff and not enough strategic focus. They all work backwards from the budget as opposed to applied strategic action. Most CMO's are equally guilty. They have bought in to agency nonsense out of insecurity.

The two constants that still exist: 1) Ad agencies do not want the client to understand THEIR business (especially the metrics of the biusiness). 2) The clients want a unique selling proposition that moves the needle. Forget subliminal platitudes...spectacular creative is a blast, but it better sell product. I love enigmatic, soul stirring creative. But it only can work for a few. Now that the Corporate lemmings have swallowed the medicine and feel they must "lifestyle" everything the agency creatives are all jazzed as they propagate more noise and clutter. I predict the next big thing will be agencies "rediscovering" products & services features and benefits as a call to action. At the end of the day, if you have not moved the needle, you're dead.

scott dunlop
rsm, CA

Dear FRONTLINE,

Just imagine what kind of a world we might live in if all that high-priced research were aimed at preventing the destruction of the rainforests, developing alternatives to fossil fuels, recycling. But those products don't sell these days.

A few years back the disposable toilet brush would have been considered unimaginably wasteful. The program points up most painfully the road our society has taken--not striving to make the world a better place, but to make our own lives more comfortable. We are apparently so stressed out by the pace of daily life that we have become hyper-receptive to emotionally-charged messages of immediate comfort and security. Evidence: the election result. No one who attempts to appeal to our rational minds can expect to sell that product anymore!

n ellison
bainbridge island, wa

Dear FRONTLINE,

Thank you for the program.

I couldn't help but be struck by the clever determination of Frank Luntz to influence readers and listeners with his list of well tested words and phrases. It is one thing to get people shopping, but it is another thing when you influence policy makers and deceive voters by catchy, clever sounding phrases that hides the truth.

Hendrik Sadi
Yonkers, New York

Dear FRONTLINE,

A terrific show that captures the essence of an industry in the midst of a major transition.

Perhaps the only missing piece I noted was that there was no mention of or reflection on the measurement and evaluation of these increasingly complex and sophisticated efforts. Within the advertising industry, for example, the Advertising Research Foundation has forwarded an agressive agenda against the 'waste' in advertising: where is the accountability in the advertising effort?

The days of '50% of my advertising is wasted...' are over. Indeed, there are a number of ways to measure the impact of a dollar spent to a dollar earned via these complex advertising efforts. And some very clever companies are doing just that, to take advantage of the multiple ways to reach customers beyond just hammering away at them with the same TV ads. One wonders why this report failed to turn this up?

Raymond Pettit
NY, NY

Dear FRONTLINE,

"The Persuaders" was a good show. But, it only scratched at the surface of a broader topic -- Neural Linguistic Programming, known as NLP, based on the works of Richard Bandler and John Grinder.

"Reframing" concepts like "War in Iraq" to "War on Terrorism" tieing-in trigger response words to past emotions is old school to Bandler and Grinder fans.

Why not do a show, PBS FRONTLINE, on NLP and title it after a successful NLP book called "THE UNFAIR ADVANTAGE" by Duane Lakin?

Using the right words to trigger the desired response has been around for a long time.

The segment with G. Clotaire Rapaille was a real tease, showing how he came up with "the code" for "luxury". But, refusing to share any insights was a bust. Just hearing clients throw around the phrase "that on code" or "off code" wasn't very helpful nor insightful.

At least, when you do the NLP show, give the viewer some nuts-and-bolts principles (tricks) to walk away with.

Jim Tessier
Phoenix, AZ

Dear FRONTLINE,

As the planet gets smaller, the volume of their noise gets louder and maybe more desperate -- the airliner driving the "culture" approach in the Frontline segment a good example.

What hyperbolic nonsense the field of the neurotic symmetrically adolescent like figures, skipping through the pleasant scene, it's connection to the airline, I do not know -- yet narcotics are illegal. Every now and then, we as a society are granted a break from such stupidity and porn -- "Got Milk" campaign comes to mind. The maddness seems to be cyclical...such is life.

Mark Jetmir
Los Angeles, CA

Dear FRONTLINE,

What an excellent report!

Permit me also to say this documentary has economic and political implications more general and profound than the few developed here so well. In short, the mechanisms of "neuromarketing" go to the heart of human nature and the very thing we see as intelligence in human behavior.

To clarify, I suggest the following thread started 10/28/2004 on the ChinaDaily Online Community English language message board titled "The concept of transmissible intelligence, and why it matters to China".

http://bbs.chinadaily.com.cn/forumpost.shtml?toppid=220285

David Sicks
Anchorage, Alaska

Dear FRONTLINE,

Horrifying! And so intriguing, so brilliant, so strategic. As I watched your program, I kept thinking about all of those people you were showing at those interviews, meetings, seminars, on the street etc. All of those people have to support themselves somehow.

Our society has created a culture of unnecessity (read: entertainment, or false luxury) because we need jobs. (I think I just felt Bucky Fuller's ghost hand on my shoulder!) Consumers are too busy working to be savvy....at least about sizing up a products true value. I was sickened during that interview where that man was asked about his feelings when eating white bread. Please! If people were that aware of how they felt when eating anything, they would be making better choices. And if this last election's results were based on moral righteousness, then selfishness, greed, stereotyping, and deceit all just received a president's pardon (he's a conduit of God, remember). Where are the true creatives?

jill rohde
lawrence, ks

Dear FRONTLINE,

I found your Persuaders program interesting, very well done, and timely - thank you. Although I consider myself to be a "hard sell" I'm sure I've been influenced (victimized ?) by these advertising techniques so your exploration is of direct value to me.

A broader consideration is which came first, marketing manipulation or the cultural values that permit it to be effective? I believe they co-evolved and that this evolution is directly related to the general increase in affluence for most Americans. Our society seems to have moved from the social contract to "what's in it for me". Perhaps people will eventually realize that life is not chiefly about possesions and that their happiness is not proportional to how much they have.

John Piccirillo
Huntsville, AL

Dear FRONTLINE,

The code- and emotion-based marketing described in the program loses some of its persuasive powers when confronted with the fact- and testing-based information my employer, Consumer Reports magazine, publishes every month.

Marketers may win a lot of the battles, but consumers who can disentangle themselves from the clutter have a place to go when they want the unvarnished truth.

Ken Franklin
Pomona, NY

Dear FRONTLINE,

I was amused in the final Song segment listening to the corporate MBAers trying to be guerilla marketers. When will they learn it just doesn't work that way? Southwest got the identity it has organically, Song was grown chemically. They did some things very well, i.e. the design/look, but to have the hubris to create a "culture" overnight could only come with far too much education and far too little experience with real consumers.

Jack Acree
New york, NY

Dear FRONTLINE,

Advertising is still about the "ER" words, except now the message is geared toward the recipient rather than the product, i.e. smarter, coolier, hipper, cult member, partner.

Norm Minnick
Louisville, KY