But this is a bit of a chore, requiring hard work, dedication and a good publicist. Through contests like the upcoming presidential election, this method of self-promotion has become a bona fide communication genre. Although we've been privy to a relatively clean campaign so far, this week's Republican convention should unleash a flurry of counter-charisma efforts, as Dole and Clinton leave behind their roles as statesmen to don the hats of dueling mudflingers. If we hope to attain the wealth and power of our elected officials, we'll need to employ the same tactics, whether we're running for office, selling ourselves at a job interview or hawking fat-free widgets on television. And whether advertisers took their cue from politicians or vice versa, Madison Avenue provides ample instruction on how to elevate ourselves by stepping on the heads of others.
Advertisers are clamoring for a new strategy.
Many companies, unable to trumpet any verifiable superiority of their product, resort to simply making fun of their competitor's image. Their commercials present a overblown caricature of their rivals to grab our attention, then follow up with a soothing and sane portrayal of their own product's irresistible benefits. An example of this is a Ford dealer commercial which opens to a multitude of wind-up toy dentures. The rest of the commercial is packed with beauty shots of Tauruses and Mustangs as a sea of finance rates and disclaimers flash illegibly across the bottom of the screen. A national bathroom cleanser company took a similar tack in their commercial, capitalizing on consumers' presumed intolerance for trumped-up toilet cleaner promises.