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| January 1999
Image Blue Skies or Mood Indigo?A feeling of joyful exuberance permeates many ads these days. But some say consumers won't join the glee club There's no denying it: Madison Avenue has gone from glum to giddy. The models in Calvin Klein ads – who just last year looked strung-out and depressed – now laugh and play tug-of-war. And they're not just the happy few. In ads for everything from perfume to Prozac, the mood is bright, optimistic, happy as can be. But consumers don't feel all that great, according to a recent study by the American Customer Satisfaction Index, Milwaukee, WI. The study, described in BrandWeekmagazine, shows consumers are more cynical about the products they buy. Since November 1994, the index, which rates consumer satisfaction on a 100-point scale, has fallen by 5% to 71.1 points, says BrandWeek. Some advertisers think this feel-good marketing will backfire. They're running ads like the one Nike launched for its Air Sorb shoes. The copy reads: "You are sick of hearing it: 'You are a wife. You are a mother; you are an inspiration to all womanhood.' What if all you want to hear about is a comfortable walking shoe?"
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