Rob Morrison: It’s not just a scam, you’re scum.

This comes from someone who “nearly got got”. It wasn’t at the hands of a Nigerian prince. Here’s what Rob Morrison has to say about it.

It’s not just a scam, you’re scum. That sounds harsh but let me explain.

You all know the Nigerian Prince punchline, right? His Royal Scam-ness wants to use your bank account to move a fortune in currency. The email is riddled with spelling and grammar errors. It clearly fails the test: “If it sounds too good to be true it is”. So, if you lose your savings, some of the blame is on you.

But lately, it seems like the scam writers have swallowed a behavioural economic textbook.

You know, the tricks that have become the fundamentals of commercial communication:

Attention hijack? Making sure your ad isn’t wallpaper.
Authority bias? Use an expert or celebrity spokesperson.
Picture superiority? They tell 1000-words, right?
Incremental commitment? Pushing buyers down the sales funnel.
Confirmation bias? Yep, get the reader nodding.
Value exchange? Ask for a little data for a chance to win.
Emotional connection? Make your audience feel something.
Herding, Chunking, Anchoring, Framing – they’re all part of the kit bag.

Here are just two examples.

There’s the secondhand buyer scam. Picture yourself selling an item worth an “in-between” amount – think $200 to $500.

You get a chat request from someone offering full price (Attention hijack).
They send a screen grab of their transfer into your PayPal (Picture superiority).
They say it wasn’t processed as your PayPal account isn’t ‘Premium’.
You then get a “PayPal” email (Authority bias).
“PayPal” will upgrade you if you add money to your account (Incremental commitment).
The buyer will offer to transfer the extra if you refund them (Incremental commitment).
The buyer makes you feel like they’re trusting you (Emotional connection).
You get a series of emotional emails demanding payment (Emotional connection).
Your ‘refund’ money disappears, and you’re never paid.

Then there’s the job ad scam. Imagine you’ve been looking for work for a while and getting a bit jaded. Even a little despondent.

You logon to LinkedIn and see a well-worded recruitment ad (Attention hijack).
Like other job posts, it’s vague on the agency, seniority and salary (Confirmation bias).
You “Apply” using just your name, email, and CV (Incremental commitment).
You receive a series of enthusiastic emails from the “CEO” (Authority bias).
Each time you asked for a little more detail (Incremental commitment).
You find your data is for sale to the highest bidder.

Look, I’m no angel. I’ve worked on cigarette brands. I’ve made alcohol sexy. I’ve promoted gambling. Even spruiked for the big banks (I’m not proud of myself). And yes, to maximise success, I’ve used behavioural economic heuristics. But the brand was always overt. The logo was ever present.

We never pretended to be someone we’re not.

So, if you’re using your heavenly talent for evil, take a look in the mirror. You might notice horns and a tail.

Rob Morrison is a rarity in advertising – a grey-haired creative. Rob’s experience includes time as a Creative Director at Ogilvy, BWM (now Dentsu Creative), George Patts (now VML), Campaign Palace and Wunderman. He now runs his own consultancy – morrison.collective.

Here are two more opinion pieces from Rob Morrison: