So I’m selling a hotdog, and you’re selling a hotdog. To get a competitive edge, I brand my hotdog—I give it an effective name, a sexy new look and tailor it to a specific market. It’s effective and it’s selling.

So sales are up and people are buying. But are they buying because hotdog A is better than hotdog B? Or are they buying because they think that hotdog A is better than hotdog B?

I once read in Jim Aitchison’s book, “Cutting-edge Advertising,” that brands should not look for a unique selling proposition(USP)  because there’s no such thing—products are mostly all the same. Instead, we should look for an emotional selling proposition (ESP) which is mainly what Nike is doing to Adidas—selling the positive emotions people derive from Nike (the Just do it spirit.) rather than the products themselves.

But isn’t that simply trickery? Or is that deception a positive one that adds value to people’s lives?