The Israeli Advertising Standards Council, headed
by Hebrew University Professor Channa Adoni, has formulated a
series of non-mandatory ethical principles for the advertising
world. The principles focus on the prevention of misleading
statements, and the obligation to display a positive attitude
toward various segments of the population.
The rules determine, among other things: "the
advertiser must be sincere, honest, and precise in the messages he
conveys. Advertisements must not contain messages liable to mislead
the consumer. Advertisements directed to minors must not take
advantage of their lack of experience, their ages and naivety. An
advertisement must really be an advertisement--and not propaganda,
etc.
Yet, the council did not relate to the rules of
advertising in posters and announcements geared to the chareidi
community.
An recent article in a Maariv supplement
deals with this issue. The message behind the article was that the
chareidi consumer is the "smartest consumer in the Middle East."
The writer points to all sorts of gimmicks used in
general advertising, which do not help, and sometimes even hinder,
in advertising to the chareidi public.
He also relates to the issue which Yated
Ne'eman has pointed out in the past. That is, the artificial
and forced inclusion of fragments of verses and maxims of
chazal in commercial ads. Not only do such strategies fail
to impress Torah-observant Jews, but they often only serve to
aggravate the community because of the flagrant desecration of
divrei kedusha and their exploitation for commercial
purposes. The author of the article, Chanoch Baum, who apparently
belongs to the National Religious party, prefaces his remarks by
saying "Nearly every large campaign, has an accompanying campaign
which is translated into 'Chareidit.' The chareidim speak
differently, buy differently and are motivated by different
needs.
Baum pokes fun at the lack of understanding of the
advertising firms which turn to the chareidi sector: "Every novice
ad man who wants to write a commercial for the chareidi sector adds
a word or two about tradition, and then claps his hands with
idiotic glee."
"The basic assumption is that if one writes
'kiddush' or 'shabbos' beside a picture of shampoo, he's aroused
the chareidi consumer's interest in the product.
"Well, fellow ad men, I've got bad news for you:
Even if you show the chareidim a real picture of a cellular phone
with a lulav instead of an antenna, or a car giving off
pesukim instead of fumes, they won't buy the product.
"On the contrary!
"The chareidi consumer is the most clever in the
Middle East. These chareidim are people who combine talent and
years of learning, along with voluntary poverty, something which
makes them experts in inexpensive consuming, and avowed savers.
"They'll examine the product inside out, do some
comparative shopping, and then decide.
"You can't pull the wool over their eyes."
Baum then attacks the preconceived notions of the
average secular Jew: "He sees the chareidi as an old-fashioned
dimwit who has squandered the tiny bit of intelligence he was given
on spiritual activity. But that of course is ridiculous.
"The stereotyped concepts of the ad man cause him
to concoct campaigns with supposed traditional ambiance, which,
while meeting the needs of the secular client, annoy the chareidi
one.
"As far as the religious sector is concerned, a
direct approach, without a religious barb is more potent. Such ads
might make less of an impression than those replete with Yiddish-
isms and mitzvos like a pomegranate, but they are far more
effective."
