Inconsistencies

I went for a walk in Valencia today, mind all tangled in this and that and in someone i've met... Or rather, am starting to meet. Then at El Corte Inglés i came accross this poster:



Of course, we're surrounded by publicity all the time, but there's something about famous faces that draws our eyes, right in. I suppose this is why actors and actresses are in such demand when it comes to selling stuff. In fact, before i got back home i came across these other two:





Now, i love Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law; great actors both of them, particularly Paltrow. George Clooney's less inspiring, but of course, he's got his charm, too.

Yet we all KNOW that Paltrow must put on make up and cosmetics that have nothing to do with Estée Lauder, and no matter what the add says, i'd still be willing to bet that Clooney drinks much else, and not only Nespresso, even where coffee is concerned. As for Law, even if he is the representative of Dunhill in the whole of Asia, i bet he is partial to other clothing, too.

So what is the mechanism behind this kind of publicity?

Yes, the known and pretty faces attract our attention. Then we notice the product being endorsed and tie the two together. What are the possible thoughts later, when faced with the product again?

"This is the coffee that Clooney drinks"
"Must be good if he drinks it"
"I'll be a little like him if i do, too"

I guess these thoughts, if we have them at all, go mostly unregistered by our conscious attention, like so much automatic crap we think throughout the day. Same goes for the analogous thoughts corresponding to Law's and Paltrow's products of choice.

Or maybe we don't even need these thoughts at all, maybe it's simply the association that does it.