Introducing new, miracle “Super Nanny” marketing


Sorry. I only put in that ludicrous heading because nowadays everything on the damn web is miraculous and mind-blowing – so I thought I’d join the hustlers.

Frankly this is not miraculous OR mind-blowing. It’s actually very simple, but it is to do with Super Nanny, and most marketers seem utterly ignorant about what I’m talking about.

By the way, do you know what Super Nanny is? It’s this reality TV show where Jo Frost, a comely buxom wench visits homes with impossible kids and clueless parents who are going crazy, and sorts things out with a bit of commonsense. It’s now being shown in 47 countries.


Well, I was watching her on Sunday (what a fascinating life I lead) and I noticed what she said to this poor woman at the end of her tether with the sort of loathsome brat who embarrasses parents in supermarkets

Don’t tower over the baby, get down to his level and speak as an equal

Explain why you want him to do what you want him to do

Don’t give in to him all the time by giving him rewards he hasn’t earned

Explain exactly what you want him to do

Tell him what the reward will be for good behaviour.

It is perfectly clear to me that Jo Frost knows a damn sight more about how to persuade than at least 8O% of all marketers.

This is especially true of politicians, who routinely talk down to us, promise rewards we haven’t earned (and can’t afford)and make no attempt to link what we do to what we get, nor even to suggest that we will have to do quite a lot.

The first one who actually tells the truth might be pleasantly surprised. We certainly would be.

I think maybe Nanny Frost should put them over her dimpled knees and give them a good spanking.

Calm down you lot.

About the Author

In 2003, the Chartered Institute of Marketing named Drayton one of 50 living individuals who have shaped today’s marketing.

He has worked in 55 countries with many of the world’s greatest brands. These include American Express, Audi, Bentley, British Airways, Cisco, Columbia Business School, Deutsche Post, Ford, IBM, McKinsey, Mercedes, Microsoft, Nestle, Philips, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Unilever, Visa and Volkswagen.

Drayton has helped sell everything from Airbus planes to Peppa Pig. His book, Commonsense Direct and Digital Marketing, out in 17 languages, has been the UK’s best seller on the subject every year since 1982. He has also run his own businesses in the U.K., Portugal and Malaysia.

He was a main board member of the Ogilvy Group, a founding member of the Superbrands Organisation, one of the first eight Honorary Fellows of the Institute of Direct Marketing and one of the first three people named to the Hall of Fame of the Direct Marketing Association of India. He has also been given Lifetime Achievement Awards by the Caples Organisation in New York and Early To Rise in Florida.

5 Comments

  1. My wife and I are constantly battling with our 4 year old daughter.

    I am always suggesting to my wife not to raise her voice and yell, but to talk to her instead.

    It's a lot like the over-hyped ads you see…you learn to ignore them and block them out after a while.

  2. igmorrison

    I'd wager her cleavage is better than 80% of marketers…

  3. drayton

    Oh dear, I told you not to get excited.

  4. Al

    Giving away free stuff… it's how you build a massive corporation these days. Google, Yahoo, Facebook…
    I think the politicians' idea is to give away free money to keep us quiet while they take more and more slush money from corporates (now that their expenses scam has ended).

  5. Davidvin

    its an amazing show..educational for all those who work with children, or who are mothers..RECOMENT TO WATCH AND LEARN FROM.

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