Persuasion and Foreplay

I reminisce of high school days, my English teacher assigned us to write a persuasion essay, "In this essay," she said "you can write about anything you want, but you have to try to persuade your peers to do something." Persuasion was something so simple to me then, and getting my classmates to sign up to give blood was an easy achievement.

The Persuasion industry today, is not so simple; billions of dollars are put into persuading the public to vote, act, or buy a certain way. In the documentary "The Persuaders," Anne Klein states "Consumers are like roaches you spray them and after a while it doesn't work anymore, we develop immunities." These immunities are a direct result of the persuader's attempt to catch our attention. "They are the ones that make clutter and they are the ones that have to break through the clutter," states Mark Crispin Miller. In order to break the clutter, the persuader must entice us, stimulate us; arouse our senses.

The persuaders therefore, have modified their techniques and evolved in this ever changing society. They have embarked upon an innovative approach to persuade people; this advanced persuasion is like foreplay. It isn't enough to introduce people to a product, thought, or idea--this will only add to the clutter without ever catching our attention-instead the persuaders make us hunger for it, crave it. The industry taps into our inner most desires, they say the right things, and show us what we want to see; they tease their way into our pockets and aren't satisfied until we are begging for what they've got; that's when they have us, that's when we let them in.

So what does the persuader possess in his quest for coveting converts? How is it that the persuader can have us begging for more without us ever catching on? How does the persuader succeed in his persuasion?