FELDSTED -- The vendors products and services may be inferior, but we are distracted from examining that. It is insidious, but it works

Have you been FUDed?  FUD is an acronym for Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.

It is a psychological marketing tool that is used (and misused) to sway our minds from a reasonable alternative, whether that alternative is a competitor or an idea. The appeal is to our emotions not to our intellect.

It gained acceptance as a marketing tool in the 1970s. The concept is for a vendor to get potential clients to question the quality of a competitor’s products instead of selling the benefits of his own. It is the reverse of sales based on promoting a vendor’s product and service quality.

FUD is the basis of selling us on action to combat climate change. We are told that if we do not act, the planet is doomed, oceans will rise and swallow islands and coastal areas while a million species of plant and animal life will die out. Millions will die in droughts, wildfire infernos, floods, tornadoes and other weather incidents.

The object is to instill fear which will make us compliant with whatever our governments tell us we have to do to avoid the horrors predicted.  

Political parties are expert at it. They inundate us with messaging aimed at undermining trust in their competitors.

They appeal to our emotions, claiming that an opposition political party will do things that harm various groups and demographics.

They avoid direct comparison of their actions and policies which would appeal to our intellect and reason.  

The main thrust of the 2015 election campaign was to cast doubt on Stephen Harper and the Conservatives. If we would only get rid of that deeply flawed person, sunny days, prosperity and a new way of government would emerge.

Uncertainty and doubt undermined Harper’s conservatives and we got a different government; perhaps not what we expected - a PMO mired in cronyism, deceit and scandal.

The purpose of FUD marketing is to distract us from direct comparison of products and services and turn our attention to alleged flaws in a competitor’s products or services. Then we are not examining the vendors flaws so the comparison is unfair.

The vendors products and services may be inferior, but we are distracted from examining that. It is insidious, but it works.

The latest FUD fad is a vegetable-based substitute for beef. It is marketed as a healthier alternative to beef.

There is no evidence that eating beef burgers is unhealthy ... or that the swill of vegetable fibre, synthetic colours and chemicals used in the vegan burger is healthy.

Direct comparison is avoided because there are no studies to support the claim that vegan burgers are healthier. We are distracted from making the obvious direct comparison. The campaign subliminally raises doubts respecting the health of eating beef burgers.

Social psychologists are hard at work establishing what motivates us and our penchant for accepting what we are told without critical examination.

Think about ads for ‘over the counter’ medications that have someone dressed like a medical professional extolling the virtues of a product. They are actors but advertisers know we are more likely to accept claims by someone who looks like a professional.

The psychology underlying FUD marketing is to get us to make decisions based on emotion rather than examining and comparing facts. 

The antidote is healthy skepticism combined with common sense. We need that during the ongoing federal election campaign.

John Feldsted

Political Consultant & Strategist

Winnipeg, Manitoba