The global marketplace is fast becoming a real marketplace: it is growing noisier and even more crowded, with vendors all racing to sell their wares to the nearest customer, and with marketing techniques that can be clever, if not downright ridiculous. Indeed, marketing campaigns are becoming more and more hard sell, annoying customers rather than attracting them. Despite the good efforts of advertising companies, customers are now inundated with information and saturated with images.

The global marketplace is fast becoming a real marketplace: it is growing noisier and even more crowded, with vendors all racing to sell their wares to the nearest customer, and with marketing techniques that can be clever, if not downright ridiculous. Indeed, marketing campaigns are becoming more and more hard sell, annoying customers rather than attracting them. Despite the good efforts of advertising companies, customers are now inundated with information and saturated with images.