What’s common in a Lamborghini driver, a sensational tabloid headline, a spam email and a job interview candidate wearing a provocative dress?

It’s the message they convey: craving attention but lacking content.

Those who buy these cars, write these headlines, send these emails and put this outfit do manage to fool certain audiences. But times are changing and people are realising that depth cannot be exchanged for loudness.

A Mini is more attractive these days because it conveys a message of cuteness; a nice play-on-words headline (”Barroso’s Billion”) is better received because it has a smooth elegance; a to-the-point email subject (”Interview request – EPSO job candidate AD5”) gets through the spam and human filters because it is transparent about what the sender wants; and a deep knowledge of EU affairs will land a good job because that is what the employer really needs.

Make sure to look inside the hood and check the engine, too.