Once in awhile, a question would be posed to me regarding my reasons for working in an advertising industry that some might consider two-faced. The field of advertising and branding is (at times) perceived to be filled with spin doctors hoodwinking consumers to purchase their peddled poisons. It can be a valid perception and not entirely unfounded - if the core value of the product is not responsible to begin with. Nonetheless, we should not be quick to categorically dismiss the communicative abilities that advertising a brand may fulfill.
I would venture to say that they are parallelisms between the creation of a larger consumer brand identity and our own individual cultivation of a personal identity. By creating and enacting an identity, on varying levels we (as in 1. larger consumer brand + 2. personal identity) are both shouting out to the public sphere that "Hello! I exist!! And this is who I am".
Creating Identities = Branding ("This is who I am!")
Enacting Identities = Advertising ("Hello! I exist!")
Both are forms of communication and work to influence perception.
Some might say - hey, consumer brands are not people, they want you to buy their products. If we break the "buy their products" down to its basic components, what it really is is an entity trading one value for that of another. In some ways, people on an individual level are like that too - trading value for another, potentially in the form of respect, acceptance etc.
So, do you spend time grooming yourself?
Did you decide to put in some effort today, or none at all?
What do you like and what do you dislike?
Do you want people to know or not?
In my opinion, anytime you try (or don't), your (un)conscious decisions to represent yourself is an iteration of a part of your identity and everyone has multiple main or sub-identities depending on the individual. These identities can either all be at ease with other or cause a massive cognitive dissonance within the individual. This inner battle within the self will transfer itself into actions and bring about the perception of insincerity when received by others. For some facets of your identity to be accepted by others, it has to be true to yourself.
What does "true to yourself" mean? Well, it means one has to feel comfortable with who you are. Your physicality, your social inclinations and whether these factors meld together in a congruous way affects how others perceive you. Multiple identities that are contradictory? No problem. Acceptance = At peace with self = Identity-Sincere Actions.
Connecting the above observations about Identity-Sincere Actions from people to consumer brands, what then makes for good advertising on a consumer brand level?
Much like how we gravitate towards a person who is true to themselves - meaning someone whose external actions matches their inner core values - consumer brands have to do the same: sort through their objectives, arrive at hopefully a responsible core value and act to project their brand image accordingly.
If a consumer brand fails to do so and tries to force a Brand Platform that is incongruous to its core values, advertising will fail to communicate the core values of a product in a sincere and more importantly, responsible manner. Additionally, much like how people perceive other people, consumers will pick up on the forced nature of the consumer brand's advertising and the discomfort in the communication. They might ultimately reject the brand image/message that is being communicated as it is not Identity-Sincere Actions.