A man sat down at a classy restaurant. It looked great.
There was a plant next to his table. A big ficus.
“I’ve got one of these at home,” the man said. He passed his fingers over the leaves and—
He realized they were plastic.
The plant looked real, but it was fake. In fact, on closer examination, the man realized the plant looked fake also. There were things that gave it away.
Suddenly, the man found himself questioning the whole restaurant, even before he had a chance to order.
Speaking of ordering, I got a couple questions recently. They were on the topic of, “What do you think of using fake stories in your copy?”
One question had to do with the claim that fake stories are illegal to use.
I don’t know about that. I’m not a lawyer. But I doubt it’s illegal. At most, I think you might have to add some kind of disclaimer, like they do at the bottom of TV commercials. “These are paid fitness models, and they have never used the Ab Rocket and would in fact never use the Ab Rocket.”
So I don’t have a problem with fake stories from a legal standpoint. But I have a problem with them just because they sound fake and made up. Because people will spot a fake story, just like they will spot a fake plant. And then they will doubt everything that follows.
“But what about parables and fairy tales?” That was the second question I got on this topic.
That’s something completely different, I think. Parables are powerful. Pop culture illustrations are great also, even if they come from a comic book or superhero movie. Fairy tales work too, whether you made them up or somebody else did.
The key is the subtext.
A fake plant in a restaurant signals tackiness and makes you doubt the quality of the food.
A fake plant as part of theatrical scenery, during an engrossing play that leaves you with some sort of lingering moral… that’s a welcome aid to imagination, understanding, and maybe, to being persuaded.
Now if you feel persuaded by this fairy tale:
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