The power of positive advertising pressure

I’m sure we all got the same speech when we were younger.

It probably had to do with drugs or alcohol, or maybe getting some part of our body pierced, or perhaps even a tattoo.

We were sat down by some scary adult and told we should “not give in to peer pressure.”

I’m sure that, at the time, it scared us into submission. It is only later in life that we realized that this is a bunch of malarkey.

Let me introduce to you the new phase of advertising and party planning — positive peer pressure.

No, this isn’t an alliterative contradiction.

It isn’t even really new in the world of advertising.

It is a form of engagement as old as man itself.

You see, when Eve ate the forbidden fruit, she gave some to Adam.

And why did he eat it? Well, the hottest girl in the world was offering it to him, so he was obviously going to say yes.

Although he got kicked out of the Garden of Eden, he got the girl and, according to advertising, that is all that matters.

No matter what the issue in question is, people are afraid to do things by themselves.

They are afraid to be alone, which is why those creating events and activities need to be able to use the “Well, all of your friends are going” approach. Who hasn’t said, “Well, everyone else is doing it”?

The invention of Facebook events revitalized this idea.

Whenever anyone is invited to a party or social gathering, the very first place to look is the list of who else is invited and who else is going.

If five of your best friends are going, well, you are definitely going to be there.

If one of the stars of the school football team is going, there is the chance for an autograph.

If no one else is going, it doesn’t matter how cool the party is, there is absolutely no chance you will be seen there.

This, of course, leaves a much bigger, almost philosophical question.

Who is going to be the first person to sign on to an event?

Major advertising campaigns are even getting in on the action.

Budweiser has a series of advertisements that show a sports team taking the field with a banner saying, “Grab some Buds.”

Even though the play on words is so vividly obvious there, the real call to action is that their beer tastes better if you are drinking it with a friend.

This doesn’t mean you have to give up on being an individual.

It just means that you have to find other people to be an individual with.

If you can’t seem to get anyone to do things with you, find the largest group of people who are willing to get on board.

Who knew that the big and scary threat we thought was going to end our social lives back in elementary school would actually make our events and parties hopping as adults?

­— azoot@indiana.edu