Perceptions are reality - that’s the long-held mantra of the advertising and communications industry.
Why then was there such scandal when Yang Peiyi with her flawless voice got changed out of the Olympic’s opening ceremony with Lin Miaoke for her flawless image and expressions.
I recall a furore and outrage that we had been duped by China’s Olympic organisers.
Where did they learn such tricks?
From western democracies I suspect. Look no further than Sarah Palin who is now the Republicans’ Lin Miaoke. She’s the wholesome, conservative.All-American Sarah-get your-gun poster girl for the re-election of the Republicans. Never mind her serious lack of experience.
When communicators sense that people have stopped thinking for themselves or that the message is too complex, there is a temptation for perceptions to get changed-out for reality.
Our challenge is to ensure that communications maintain substance. This is a steep task in a world that loves the one-liner, like the one I read yesterday. In lamenting the health woes of Maori, one columnist compared their changing eating habits over 200 years as ‘the journey from kereru to KFC’. We are easily seduced by the glib.
But that blog’s for another time.
