Page "Positioning (marketing)" Paragraph 3

The original work on positioning was consumer marketing oriented, and was not as much focused on the question relative to competitive products as much as it was focused on cutting through the ambient " noise " and establishing a moment of real contact with the intended recipient.

In the classic example of Avis claiming " No. 2, We Try Harder ," the point was to say something so shocking ( it was by the standards of the day ) that it cleared space in your brain and made you forget all about who was # 1 and not to make some philosophical point about being " hungry " for business.