chiyo - 5:13 am on Mar 26, 2001 (gmt 0)

yes i tend to agree with Rc that the evidence suggests it does work... but with whom I dont really know, and havent got the time to check the research study data...

One thing is for sure. My week's visit to the US last week provided major culture shock of selling and advertising in the US.

TV ads did seem to use the same system as the pitch we are discussing a lot. It is SO different from the ad and promotion pitches in the Asia Pacific and Europe which are more subtle, "refined", and (OK shoot me!) - intelligent - despite the US being one of the most educated cultures in the world. (No value judgement here.. just struggling to describe the differences - and also leaving "effectiveness" on the side for the present.)

My lesson was to be careful when marketing internationally. Different cultures, markets, and customers, react differently to the same appeals, and it may not be in the way you presume.