In an episode from season two of the Canadian television hit show Slings & Arrows, Sanjay Ramey (the chief of fictional advertising agency Frog Hammer) tells a prospective client, Richard, the following:

“…people are tired of ads in all their forms. They don’t believe anything we say, and it doesn’t work. We at Frog Hammer ask ourselves very simple things: Is it wondrous? Does it move you? Is it culturally authentic? We believe that people are sick of being lied to. If you use truth, you can sell people anything. If you want them to react, to feel or buy, tell them the truth! The truth is the new lie!”

What makes Sanjay's sales pitch so ironic is that it’s the truth.

Richard is the business manager of the financially troubled New Burbage Theater Festival, and he has a real business problem: his customers are old and dying and he needs to reach out to a younger audience before his business goes bust. Inspiring and enigmatic, Sanjay convinces Richard to turn his back on convention and mount a brutally honest rebranding effort.

Listening to Sanjay, Richard comes to the realization that consumers no longer buy hype, and are bored stiff by features and benefits. Honesty, authenticity, relevance and emotional appeal are the ways to attract the modern consumer.