By Maeva Ricardo

« C’est quoi l’idée » part 2 

As promised last time I will finish telling you the keys of communication that Philippe Michel reveals in his book. The next chapters are a bit more complex but worth reading 

Virtuous manipulation: 

« Let’s have the courage and the honesty to admit that there is nothing more delicious than to be fucked, if it’s done well of course » 

In this chapter Philippe, explain that the manipulation is a method of seduction. Without lying and without disappointing, we can deceive the people by playing with them. Because we get some joy from being fooled and it sticks in our memory. 

The job of the advertiser is to be a manipulator. We don’t lie, we just offer you our way of seeing things. 

Economy of discernment: 

This chapter explains that a point of view can build trust, the trust is a point of view. We are point of view maker so we are truth maker. 

The reality is what we see, the concrete things. The truth is the meaning. 

This chapter explains that by anchoring some truth we allow people to discern things quicker, in other words, we create an automatism of judgment. 

Popular culture: 

Our job is to connect culture, to create common culture. We create connections and an echo in people’s minds. Communication is not just a message like information and media, communication has to talk to people and show them the way to see things. 

Money of the wise: 

It’s simple, the money spent in the creation is an investment and not an expense. Offer and demand are not innate, it has to be created and we are here to maintain this market stability. 

« Publi-cité » like a public representation of an environment: 

Advertising is related to life, to people. 

It’s about transforming the perception of what people should think. 

Finally, it is the duty of public service to put our capacity of expression at the service of those who don’t have a voice. 

The civilization of brands: 

« Advertisers are the sum of our inventions, luck and ambition » 

Each brand civilizes the world in its own way, depending on the environment and the time. Philippe Michel explains that is why we have to catch before everyone else what is in the air. 

Death of need and breakdown of desire: 

Society has to create desire and eroticization to maintain the desire. We don’t consume anymore products but ways of being because we’ve arrived at a stage where we don’t consume anymore solely based on our needs. Now we need to target desire and even the desire to consume. 

I learned a lot from this book about the advertising profession. I learned to silence that voice that often tells us that our job is just wind and that we have a real important place in society. I also learned to put words on concrete facts and base them on reality. I learned that problems were not necessarily a bad thing and that ideas could come from everywhere. 

I hope this summary will serve you as much as me.