Lies, Damn Lies and Marketing...

Eating Carrots helps you see in the Dark…

This well-known “fact” has become general knowledge – at least in the UK…

The justification is clear – you will never see a Rabbit wearing a pair of glasses so therefore it must be the eating of Carrots (thank you Bugs Bunny…) that is so good for eyesight…

So is it true that Carrots help you see in the dark…?

Probably not; unless you set fire to them of course...

So why do we think Carrots are good for night vision..?

On the 8^th January 1940 in the UK, bacon, butter and sugar were rationed. Soon to follow was the rationing of meat, tea, dairy products biscuits and cereals – during World War Two German forces were targeting shipping delivering the imported commodities to the UK their intention was to effectively starve the population into submission.

Fresh vegetables and some fruits were not rationed – they could be “home grown” and so the Ministry of Food started to promote recipes and dishes made from the ingredients that were available – Carrots being one of them, from time to time there was even an oversupply of Carrots during the war.

To make the Carrot more appealing a “Carrot Competition” was announced on the 18^th December 1941 and apparently a Mrs Casey won the competition with her “Carrot Savoury Pudding” recipe. Carrots were promoted as being the “substitute ingredient” of choice with such delicacies as Carrot Jelly, Cakes, Lollies and even Carrot Jam.

To make the Carrot even more attractive, it was suggested that eating them would even help people see better in during the “blackouts” – when all exterior lights were extinguished during the threat of air raids. Furthermore, soldiers who ate them would be able to see the enemy bombers sooner and have a better chance of shooting them down. 

The Carrot was a patriotic and tasty vegetable…

As the British developed Radar, known as RDF – Range and Direction Finding, they became much better at the early detection of air attack. In order to disguise the deployment of these early RDF systems, the “fact” that our servicemen and women were eating Carrots that improved their night vision was actively promoted by the Government.

This is why we believe that Carrots help us see in the dark…

In business there are number of similar myths that for some reason have entered popular culture and become accepted as rules we have to follow – here are a few of them…

1.  I need a Business Plan – no you don’t, you need a purpose and passion with a great product or service. To get bank funding you will need a business plan - which may be read by someone who gets a Salary and has never risked anything so don’t depend on them; and you will never read it again anyway.  
2. People buy on Price – no they don’t, unless we let them. People buy emotionally and justify the decision logically; your marketing and delivery should reflect this. No one buys a Ferrari because of its lack of depreciation, it’s all about speed noise and the law of attraction – unless you’re the Banker in point one above.
3. I'm too Old/Young/Not Ready yet – in Business – the perfect time is always now. In the words of Green Day – “I hope you had the time of your life…” Achievement may be risky, but regret is guaranteed if at first the risk is not taken. 
4.  Marrketing people tell the Truth – not necessarily. Remember it was the Marketers that brought us Margarine, Economy “Beef” Burgers and Sub-Prime mortgages J. If Marketing people were truthful we wouldn’t need advertising – we would need rationing.
5. I don’t know about Sales/Distribution/Accounting/Marketing – no one does; sometimes even those that say they do actually don’t, we all have to learn, so keep reading and watching. Remember it was the “experts” who decided that Fractional Reserve Banking was a good idea and that “there is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home” – Ken Olsen 1977.

So don’t believe all your read, hear, see or get told – in order to achieve something amazing you will have to do something amazing first, and if we believe all the myths we are told we may just do nothing instead..

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