For instance, if I were writing about health, the common enemy would be the FDA, drug companies, and major food corporations like Monsanto. I really believe they are the enemy, and I feel passionately about it. I would not be compromising my values at all to introduce this common enemy in my copy.

If, on the other hand, I invented some “straw enemy” merely for persuasive purposes, that would be ethically questionable.

this is what popped into my mind as I scan through this post. I am in no position to judge this article yet, though. I have yet to reread it entirely. What I’m saying right now are my initial reactions.

Anyways, thanks for sharing these ideas. God bless you!

Zach – Glad you like the site!

Charlotte asks: “Or do we do the best we can for our customers and let the consumers beware?”

My point of view: I’m a hired gun. I do the best I can to get the sale without doing anything that would compromise my values. This is often not as easy as it sounds. There are so many gray areas.

While I’m doing the best I can to produce a sale, it’s the consumer’s role to do the best he can to protect his wallet. As a copywriter, it is not my job to defend his wallet for him. If that were my job, I’d be writing for Consumer Reports.

Nice site. Looks pretty cool.

Z.

Creating a common enemy is a great way to bond with your readers, but the power of this technique also points up the underlying premise to all of your writing, Ryan: the need to be ethical in your copy, and never write for anyone you cannot present honestly.

Another score, dude. You’re on target as usual.

How then do we keep a clear handle on our ethics and principles so that we can always make the right turn?

Or do we do the best we can for our customers and let the consumers beware?

In my recent experience, not paying strict attention to princple put me at the bottom of a slippery slope that cost me more than I can easily calculate.

Advertising and government are both necessary structures to our society…but it is up to us to take responsibility in both cases to keep them from being evil, even though that is what we don’t like to do.

Much of what I read is outside of marketing and advertising, but I’m often surprised by how much of it is still connected with advertising.