It’s 1980. I’m 10 years old and the wait is finally over. I’m watching what is probably the greatest sequel ever made. I’m already riveted to the screen when the most amazing plot twist ever gets introduced to my young mind:
Darth Vader: If you only knew the power of the Dark Side. Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.
Luke: He told me enough! He told me *you* killed him!
Darth Vader: No. *I* am your father.I’m shocked. I’m appalled. I’m thrilled.
I’m pretty sure I had this hypnotic regression to my youth because it seems to be “Star Wars” month in the “persuasion” part of the Internet.
In the last couple of days I have been reading some articles while re-opening CovertCommunications.com and I’ve come across:
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The secret Jedi formula for irresistible persuasion by Peter Shallard
Mr. Shallard makes some good points in this “Reason Why” article. It’s worth a read.
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The Force that Powers Persuasive Content (And 3 Ways to Intensify It) by Brian Clark
Mr. Clark gives his take on ethos and relates it to the Star Wars franchise. This article ties in nicely with the idea of Perceptual Character. Here’s a quote:
A strong perceived ethos is powerful stuff, which is why many have faked congruent character for fun and profit over the centuries. Church, state, and aristocracy have all seen healthy amounts of character manipulation thanks to the persuasive power of ethos.
Plus
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A one-man propaganda effort against a “syndicate” and its fictitious-character creating leader spearheaded by a fictitious-character consumer advocate named the Salty Droid. Oh my!
Even though I know the plot device, I honestly would be simultaneously shocked, appalled and thrilled if Frank Kern was Salty Droid’s father.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010Learn about Roy Williams concept of “Seussing” and how you can use it to turn advertising from boring and bland to exciting and unique. Also find out about a boatload of Dr. Seuss illustrated ads that you can add to your swipe file. Continue reading
In 1924 a George Burton Hotchkiss copywriting book suggests that people use social proof in ad copy but calls it “imitative suggestion”. Are imitative suggestion and social proof the same and are they a form of hypnosis? Continue reading
October monthly update that includes a story on how the massive success of the Salty Droid blog has spawned a bunch of clones that make a mockery of the robot. Also how a motivational blog post by Frank Kern is really a disguised pitch. And finally some feedback I received on the Bill Bonner Video Sales Letter Post. Continue reading
Related posts:
Salty, I am your beach bum, Volkswagen van driving, Internet millionaire father.
Yeah, I can hear it now…
- John
Yeah…
SD: NOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Hey Christopher,
I remember that moment as well…. the shock! T’was brilliant.
As a star wars fan, any excuse to write a post drawing parallels between my Mind Tricks and Jedis is a good one! Plus, even the blogosphere is filled with geeks so you know a Star Wars post will go down well.
Thanks for the link and mention
No problem Peter. Thanks for stopping by.