All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin

Just saying it doesn't make it true

For some reason, it seems like I pick on Red Lobster. It's not a personal thing, it just happens.

Gordie Meyer sent this over (from Restaurant News):

 Red Lobster Says It's From Maine

 ORLANDO, FL -- Nearly four decades after it was launched in Florida, Red Lobster has decided it hails from the state of Maine--despite there not being a single unit in the Pine Tree State.

 "We've given consumers a lot of clues over the years we're from Maine," president Kim Lopdrup told a group of analysts. "If you look at our menu, it's the only state identified on the menu. That is where consumers are convinced we're from.

 "We're from Maine," Lopdrup stressed.

 That may come as a surprise to Maine residents, who have to venture well out of state just to enjoy a meal at Red Lobster; the nearest unit is in Wethersfield, CT--some 137 miles away.

 Maine restaurateurs weren't buying it either. "They were from Maine and they pulled out," said Scott Belanger, manager of the Sea Basket Restaurant in Wiscasset, ME. "Why aren't they here serving the great people of Maine?"

 "If the company would like to claim their roots, like ours, are on the shores of New England," added Susan Paquete of the Weathervane Seafood Restaurants chain, "then perhaps they should try living with and serving the fine people of Maine."

Lying in court

Duncan from the UK writes:


I am from Brighton in the UK and read your blog on a regular basis. Last night I saw the concluding episode of the Michael Peterson 'Death on the Staircase' trial in the US (Durham). This morning I read your 'Liar's Blog' and it got me thinking. It seems to me that the prosecution told stories that matched the worldview of the jury. The defence however seemed to focus on the facts. Who won? The story tellers! Even the prosecutions own witnesses told stories. The defence pretty much refuted everything the prosecution came up with. It's not just marketers and politicians who are liars. I understand that stories are acceptable for marketing ?? we all expect that. But should it work in court too? Why can't a judge assess whether a lawyer is 'marketing' to the jury? It seems that the media are driving lawyers toward a marketing approach to justice. To focus purely on facts is to risk losing the case. All a lawyer has to do is understand the prevailing worldview of the jury (even select a jury with the appropriate worldview) and then tell the right story. Frightening!

It takes a real man to change a worldview

Craig Knight points us to Welcome To Charles Atlas Ltd..

Atlas (not his real name, I'm guessing) was in the right place at the right time with the right message. Before he came along almost a hundred years ago, the idea of bodybuilding was largely unknown. You spent your life trying to get lucky enough to avoid physical labor and exercise, after all.

The success of efforts like his makes many of us believe it's easy to change the way the world thinks about an industry. It's not.

Now on the comic page

A reader sent this one, from the Denver Post, just this weekend.

The $9 story

Check in to the $300 a night room at the W Hotel in San Francisco and this high tech device is waiting for you on the desk.

No, it doesn't run the Windows Tablet OS. Yes, it is a cheap way to tell a story about the hotel's attitude. If you don't "get it" they don't lose much, but they weren't talking to you in the first place.

a sign story

This is the PULL THE DOOR sign from the local Pain Quotidien organic bakery and cafe.

Even though an illiterate person has at least a fifty fifty chance of getting through this door on the first try, the sign on the door serves a valuable purpose. It tells a story about the attitude of management, a story that fits the worldview of many that would choose to come.

An error

a few people have written to point out that on p. 68 I make a reference to MS and dopamine.

I'm going to go through my archives for the source, but it appears as though I got the ailment wrong. My apologies to anyone who has a friend (or is personally) suffering with MS. I'm sorry if I caused any concern or false hope.

Thanks for writing and I'll have this confirmed or changed for the next printing.

The promised book list

At the end of LIARS, I give you a list of further reading.

Thanks to Todd, I don't have to type it in!


Link: 800-CEO-READ Blog: More Reading from All Marketers Are Liars

Five page free excerpt

No registration required, either.

Link: Small Business - Be a Better Liar - FORTUNE SMALL BUSINESS - Page.

"One Lucky Store!"

What, do they think we're idiots?

Oh, that's right. We are.


From Convenience Store News, from Darren:

Same Store Sells Winning Lotto Ticket for Third Time

ST. LOUIS -- A south St. Louis QuikTrip store is proving lucky for Missouri Lotto players.

For the third time, the store at 8205 Gravois has sold a winning Lotto jackpot ticket, the Missouri Lottery said Monday. The most recent winning ticket sold for the April 9 Lotto drawing matched winning numbers 13, 14, 15, 17, 39 and 42, and is worth $1.3 million.

"This is one lucky location," said Gary Gonder, spokesman for the Missouri Lottery.

Same Store Sells Winning Lotto Ticket for Third Time.

Of course, in order to believe this lie, you've got to have a worldview that says that there's some sort of skill or some sort of actual, real luck involved in winning the lottery. If you've got this worldview, then the story is perfect. Get in line, buddy.

Next thing you know, Gary Gonder will start telling us that people with certain Zodiac signs are likely to do better at video poker machines.