I'm so sick of those Brinks Security Ads

[aceplace57]

You know the ad. Pretty lady playing on the patio with her kids. They go inside, set the alarm and seconds later the big bad guy kicks in the door. Brinks calls to see if there's trouble.

Or, jogger goes by house as hubby leaves for work. Jogger ties shoes and kills time. Stands up and kicks in the house door. Brinks calls again.

This type of scare tactic advertising is very annoying. The odds of this happening aren't good. If it does happen, the big bad dude will slap the phone out of your hand before you say two words to Brinks. Besides, it only takes a few minutes to commit a crime. That woman could be raped within 7 minutes. The guy would be long gone before Brinks calls the cops and they finally show up.

Anyone else grit their teeth when this ad runs for the twentieth time during the day?

Just once, wouldn't you like to see the pretty lady chase that S.O.B. back out the door with a shotgun? I certainly would enjoy it.

[aceplace57]

The other thing is, these ads exploit the stereotype of the helpless woman.

I got news for Brinks. Women aren't dainty and helpless anymore. My dad was career military and a member of the bases Rod & Gun Club. My mom went with him shooting. Before long, she was out shooting him on the range. I pity anyone stupid enough to kick in her door. These days women are taking self defense classes and carrying mace. They aren't going to faint at the first sign of trouble.

[Maiira]

What I also don't like about those ads is that the women always run UP the stairs, thus cornering themselves. If it doesn't work in bad slasher flicks, then it sure as hell isn't gonna work in real life, either.

And yeah, I agree that there's no way in hell the men would be scared off that easily. Especially the woman whose ex-boyfriend kicks in the door. If he's psycho enough to kick in the door, he's not going to be too concerned about a little alarm.

What I want to know is this: if the alarm goes off and you don't answer the phone, will they still send an officer to check it out? I assume yes, but of course that's never shown in the ads. I suppose they can only make an ad so violent--they're not about to show some dude knocking a woman unconscious and dragging her off somewhere--but, shit, I don't want a security system that only works if I'm able to answer the phone.

The only way I would buy the would-be invader fleeing is if it were some hapless burglar who either didn't know the home was occupied at the time, or who was trying to be quick and silent. I actually think there was an earlier Brinks commercial to this effect, that involved both a woman and (gasp!) her husband.

[BigT]

The whole point of the Brinks commercials is that the guy, after hearing the alarm, runs away. The call is just to placate the "hysterical woman."

[akennett]

You know what's worse than the Brinks commercials? The sales pitch I was supposed to do for one of their competitors. The scare tactics we were supposed to use were terrible, as were the "special deals" we offered so the homeowners' sweet little children would be protected from the big bad wolf right away.

[Zebra]

I want the bad guy from the Brinks commercial to break in to the Free Credit Report band's house and murder them all, even his dream girl.

[dougie_monty]

And then he can come right back and do YOU in, right?

[DWMarch]

Having recently worked in security monitoring, I can declare the ads complete bullshit.

First and foremost, most (as in 99%) of the burglary alarms we received were false. It would be either the owners not punching in their code fast enough or a mouse running past the sensor or the wind rattling a door or et cetera. Phoning the house or business was the first thing we did but as far as I know we never scared a burglar off that way. This was even true of the women's shelter we monitored. They had a habit of randomly pushing their panic button just to make sure we were paying attention at monitoring. If we had sent the police every time they did that, they wouldn't have been sheltering any women. They would have gone broke paying the false alarm fines, which started at about $200 for the first occurrence and then went up sharply from there.

Second, police are not normally dispatched for burglary alarms. This is because the police have responded many many many times to false alarms and they do not like to play this game anymore. We had a mobile guard and it was his job to check the places we monitored. However, the mobile guard is no one's hero. He's a working class guy just trying to make a buck. He's not going to fight off an intruder for you. He's going to stay out of sight (as well as he can in a bright yellow jacket) and call the cops if he sees that something is actually going down. But this is not happening 30 seconds after you hit the alarm. This is happening perhaps up to half an hour later depending on where he was when he got the call.

Third and most importantly, it was up to the clients to let us know if they felt they were being targeted. This did happen once. A business owner had a falling out with a partner and that partner was removed from the alarm system so his code would no longer work. He still had keys though and we were told he would probably be coming back. Indeed he did and the siren was wailing away in the background while he phoned us at monitoring to bitch about the noise. I didn't let him know that I knew he wasn't supposed to be in there because if I did he probably would have grabbed whatever valuables he could have before fleeing. Instead, I blamed the alarm on a faulty alarm panel and told him to stay there and wait for the guard. Yes sir, I know it's noisy but just stand by and our guard will be there to help you shortly.

[aceplace57]

It's interesting there's no people of color in the Brinks world.

I guess a black criminal wouldn't be pc.
But, I don't recall any victims of color in these commercials either.

[GaryM]

Second, police are not normally dispatched for burglary alarms.

I line in a rural county West of St. Louis and they are regularly dispatched for motion detector and other types of alarm calls. I'm not claiming they are priority calls, but if deputies are available they will be dispatched.

[festiva76]

If you think about it, there seems to be a taboo on TV about showing anyone but white people committing crimes. On some shows like Law & Order and the like, you might occasionally see some, but otherwise, not so much. The Brinks ads bring it to light. We've become so PC and litigious in this society, I think they're afraid of being sued.

[Freudian Slit]

Originally Posted by festiva76

If you think about it, there seems to be a taboo on TV about showing anyone but white people committing crimes. On some shows like Law & Order and the like, you might occasionally see some, but otherwise, not so much. The Brinks ads bring it to light. We've become so PC and litigious in this society, I think they're afraid of being sued.

Didn't we have a thread about this a while ago? Some poster got really pissed that they weren't showing enough black criminals in the Brinks ads, and I think the consensus was not that they were afraid of getting sued (how can you sue for showing a black person in an ad?) but rather that they didn't want to alienate their customer base.

[Wheeljack]

Those commercials are ridiculous. If an armed intruder breaks into my home, the last thing I'm going to do is retreat from my hidey-hole to answer the phone.

[Sigmagirl]

Originally Posted by Zebra

I want the bad guy from the Brinks commercial to break in to the Free Credit Report band's house and murder them all, even his dream girl.

Maybe he'll steal the jewelry he bought when He Went to Jared!

[twickster]

Moved MPSIMS --> Cafe Society

[Leaffan]

My satellite service provider tends to replace US ads with Canadian ones, but sometimes the US ads get aired. Yes, these bug the hell out of me too because they are playing on the fears of women home with children. I assume they're effective though, or else they would have moved onto another advertising campaign.

Speaking of which, US ads that is, what really irks me is all of the prescription drug commercials. Holy crap! Ask your doctor this, and ask your doctor that, and don't take if you have liver disease, high blood pressure, a hang nail, are due for a haircut, wear earrings, or are considering growing a goatee any time soon. And it's the same fucking Cialis ad every break......... over and over..... as I'm watching with my 10 and 12 year old.

[Freudian Slit]

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

Didn't we have a thread about this a while ago? Some poster got really pissed that they weren't showing enough black criminals in the Brinks ads, and I think the consensus was not that they were afraid of getting sued (how can you sue for showing a black person in an ad?) but rather that they didn't want to alienate their customer base.

Here it is.

Paleface lamented Brinks perpetuating the stereotype of the White Guy as a criminal.

[Max Torque]

Sarah Haskins on the ads, which she calls "rape fables".

[Rhythmdvl]

Originally Posted by Zebra

I want the bad guy from the Brinks commercial to break in to the Free Credit Report band's house and murder them all, even his dream girl.

... right after FCR dude just came back from [gasp]Jared[/gasp].



If a data point makes any difference to DWMarch's post:
We moved a small hop outside NYC a few years ago, and are now "rural," with about five to ten acres between properties. We got the alarm mainly for fire protection (i.e., it will detect and call the trucks in long before our neighbors notice), but most of our contact has been with the burglar side of things. The handful of false alarms that went off while we were there got a call within thirty seconds of the alarm going off, and they ask for a code (either the OK or the panic code). No idea what they'd actually do if we gave them the panic code, but I assume it wouldn't lead to them evacuating their building. We've had the police out once (again, false alarm) and in checking the logs and asking dispatch, they went through the regular set of phone calls (i.e., they call our cells first, then other alt numbers) then went right to the police station.


Oh, it's not Brinks if that makes a difference, but it's not some highfalutin fancy and/or shmancy service.

YMMV.


Edited to throw a few lumps of overpriced compressed carbon at Sigmagirl

[shiftless]

Oh, I hate these too. More and more commercials are using fear in this aggressive way these days. Fear is the new sex.

[Freudian Slit]

Originally Posted by Max Torque

Sarah Haskins on the ads, which she calls "rape fables".

Just saw--what was up with the ad where the woman had a party and the guy she was sort of into tried to break in? I guess the scenario of an actual date rape isn't something that Brinks Security can really protect against, but wow.

[Rigamarole]

Originally Posted by aceplace57

You know the ad.

No, I don't, because I don't watch ads. Why would you in this day and age? Can't you just DVR it, or get it on Hulu, or rent it on DVD? I can't imagine sitting through 7 minutes of ads for every 23 minutes of content. People still do that?

[zweisamkeit]

Originally Posted by Rigamarole

No, I don't, because I don't watch ads. Why would you in this day and age? Can't you just DVR it, or get it on Hulu, or rent it on DVD? I can't imagine sitting through 7 minutes of ads for every 23 minutes of content. People still do that?

Obviously "people still do that". Sometimes you watch tv live. Sometimes you have it DVRed but you can only fast forward through commercials and not skip them entirely*, thus you still see them.

Hulu doesn't have everything and why would I buy or rent a DVD months and months after it's broadcasted?


* not all DVRs have the skip 15 seconds (or whatever it is) that I've heard about.

[enalzi]

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

Just saw--what was up with the ad where the woman had a party and the guy she was sort of into tried to break in? I guess the scenario of an actual date rape isn't something that Brinks Security can really protect against, but wow.

Everytime I see that one all I can think is how stupid that guy is and how useless the alarm really would be.

"Oh hey, I forgot my wallet."
"Ok, come on in."

[Sigmagirl]

Originally Posted by Rhythmdvl

... Edited to throw a few lumps of overpriced compressed carbon at Sigmagirl

Caught it!

[MitzeKatze]

Originally Posted by Rigamarole

No, I don't, because I don't watch ads. Why would you in this day and age? Can't you just DVR it, or get it on Hulu, or rent it on DVD? I can't imagine sitting through 7 minutes of ads for every 23 minutes of content. People still do that?

Originally Posted by zweisamkeit

Obviously "people still do that". Sometimes you watch tv live. Sometimes you have it DVRed but you can only fast forward through commercials and not skip them entirely*, thus you still see them.

Hulu doesn't have everything and why would I buy or rent a DVD months and months after it's broadcasted?


* not all DVRs have the skip 15 seconds (or whatever it is) that I've heard about.

Heh...and there are still some of us who don't even have DVRs if you can believe that!

I have basic cable (none of that high-falutin' premium channel stuff for me ) and a DVD recorder that works great if I can't watch my shows live (and enables me to fast forward through but not skip the commercials) and I have a remote control that allows me to channel surf during commercials, and that's enough for me. Sometimes I watch commercials, sometimes I don't but it is all by choice.

I am about as technologically advanced as most and I am quite aware of what is available (and I hate Hulu but do watch television online through other sources sometimes) and I could have a DVR if I wanted it, but I don't have the need or overwhelming desire for one.

[Freudian Slit]

I don't have enough shows I watch to make Tivo worthwhile. Plus I usually watch the one show I do like (Proj Runway) with my mom, so the Internet's not really an option for that. So yeah...ads. Still a hassle for some of us.

Besides, even on the Internet sometimes they make you sit through ads. Grrr.

[Jeep's Phoenix]

Brinks? I thought those sexist pigs had changed their company's name to "Broadview Security" or something like that.

[badbadrubberpiggy]

Originally Posted by Maiira

What I want to know is this: if the alarm goes off and you don't answer the phone, will they still send an officer to check it out? I assume yes, but of course that's never shown in the ads. I suppose they can only make an ad so violent--they're not about to show some dude knocking a woman unconscious and dragging her off somewhere--but, shit, I don't want a security system that only works if I'm able to answer the phone.

It depends. My sister-in-law's alarm went off when they were out of town - the alarm company tried calling them, no answer (and they didn't know they were out of town). So, they called my father-in-law, who was the second person on the call list in case of emergency. They were calling to ask if they wanted an officer sent to the house.

Fortunately, they weren't home and it was a faulty alarm, not a break in, but if they were home and injured and unable to get to the phone, they were basically screwed.

[Critical1]

how many people are going to set the alarm every time they enter and exit the house? are you kidding me? the woman and kid playing in the yard set the alarm as they walk in the back door...thats just silly. at home with kids playing in the yard you would never set the alarm for the billion times those kids run in and out.

[Vinyl Turnip]

Originally Posted by Jeep's Phoenix

Brinks? I thought those sexist pigs had changed their company's name to "Broadview Security" or something like that.

Sick of getting prank calls asking to speak to "Jar-Jar"?

[Max Torque]

Originally Posted by Jeep's Phoenix

Brinks? I thought those sexist pigs had changed their company's name to "Broadview Security" or something like that.

Indeed, they're now "Broadview."

So named because they watch over the broads, I guess.

[elmwood]

Originally Posted by Critical1

how many people are going to set the alarm every time they enter and exit the house? are you kidding me? the woman and kid playing in the yard set the alarm as they walk in the back door...thats just silly. at home with kids playing in the yard you would never set the alarm for the billion times those kids run in and out.

What about the helicopter mom "there's a pedophile lurking around every corner" crowd? I could see the most paranoid of them doing it, even though there's no need. These commercials are set in what appear to be middle-class to upper middle class suburbs in the USA, not downtown Juarez. American suburbs are probably among the safest places on the planet, crime-wise.

[control-z]

Y'all are completely forgetting about the comforting glowy-blue light their security system wraps every inch of your house in. Those skittish bad guys don't stand a chance!

[MPB in Salt Lake]

Originally Posted by enalzi

Everytime I see that one all I can think is how stupid that guy is and how useless the alarm really would be.

"Oh hey, I forgot my wallet."
"Ok, come on in."

Right, that guy was an invited guest in that home only hours earlier; if he was coming back because he was in a Ted Bundyesque sexual frenzy after being bewithched by the hostesses' musky emissions, the alarm wont do anything but ensure the cops find a warm body.............

[Freudian Slit]

Originally Posted by MPB in Salt Lake

Right, that guy was an invited guest in that home only hours earlier; if he was coming back because he was in a sexual frenzy after being bewithched by the hostesses' musky emissions, the alarm wont do anything but ensure the cops find a warm body.............

Well, I figured he meant that if you know the person whom you're attacking, you don't need to bust in. Most acquaintance rapists don't just slam in the door--they're invited in but once there they don't take no for an answer.

[elmwood]

Oh ... and the commercial with the woman telling her date "Oh, I just had a bad breakup." Then why the hell are you dating so soon? Mr. Frustrated Nice Guy But Not Really Nice kicking down her door probably isn't the appropriate response, whether she was telling the truth or bullshitting.

[Freudian Slit]

Originally Posted by elmwood

Oh ... and the commercial with the woman telling her date "Oh, I just had a bad breakup." Then why the hell are you dating so soon? Mr. Frustrated Nice Guy But Not Really Nice kicking down her door probably isn't the appropriate response, whether she was telling the truth or bullshitting.

I thought the guy breaking down her door was supposed to be her crazy ex. (I.e., she was talking about the break up as a way of explaining the crazy break in.) Besides, what's so bad about dating again if you've just broken up with someone?
ETA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wkr0-nVwmQY Here's the ad. It is her ex that breaks in, not the guy she's dating currently.

[Guinastasia]

The thing about the one with the woman and the kid -- if the guy was that aggressive enough to break in like that, in the middle of the day, while people were at home, would he really be scared off by an alarm? Wouldn't he stop and think they might come in and see him?

Shouldn't we have some burglars who are a wee more subtle?

[MPB in Salt Lake]

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

Well, I figured he meant that if you know the person whom you're attacking, you don't need to bust in. Most acquaintance rapists don't just slam in the door--they're invited in but once there they don't take no for an answer.

I thought since she knew the guy (as he had been an invited guest in her home earlier that evening) he sure wouldn't want to leave her alive to ID him when the "afterparty" wraps up............

ETA---the ad I am talking about is totally different than the one you just linked to.

[enalzi]

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

I thought the guy breaking down her door was supposed to be her crazy ex. (I.e., she was talking about the break up as a way of explaining the crazy break in.) Besides, what's so bad about dating again if you've just broken up with someone?
ETA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wkr0-nVwmQY Here's the ad. It is her ex that breaks in, not the guy she's dating currently.

We're not talking about that one.
This one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upHIx...eature=related

[elmwood]

Originally Posted by Guinastasia

Shouldn't we have some burglars who are a wee more subtle?

Around here, most of the more publicized break-in-and-rape incidents happen to 90 year old Polish ladies that are holdouts in a neighborhood that has long since turned into a ghetto. Whether the break-ins are dramatic door busters or not, I don't know. I do think it caters to the worst fears of the paranoid helicopter moms that have been watching a bit too much of the Lifetime Network.

I've never noticed where and when the alarm ads appear. Just as pharmaceutical ads appear during nightly network newscasts, stockbroker and high end financial service ads appear during Sunday morning political interview and panel shows, and ads for fly-by-night career training schools and Cricket cell phones appear on independent stations during the daytime, when do the alarm ads appear the most?

[Freudian Slit]

Originally Posted by enalzi

We're not talking about that one.
This one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upHIx...eature=related

I know. I was talking about that one, too, and then I switched over to addressing the one about the woman on a date. The girl saying she's had a bad break up was the one on a date, and then her crazy ex came. The woman who had hosted the party was the one who had the guy she just met break in.

ETA: The stuff I was saying to elmwood was the one about the date. The stuff I was saying to you and MPB was the post house party.

[aceplace57]

The ads also exaggerate how easy it is to kick in a door. Most doors have a deadbolt and a regular lock. It's going to take several kicks to get it open. That gives the people inside more warning and time to call 911 and arm themselves.

If you watched Cops or other real cop shows, they use a metal pole with handles to bust open doors. Even the cops don't kick them in because they can injure themselves.

[akira5822]

[quote=Zebra;12015252]I want the bad guy from the Brinks commercial to break in to the Free Credit Report band's house and murder them all, even his dream girl.[/QUOT

I have to say thank you for this, A great laugh in a otherwise crappy day.

[Wheelz]

Originally Posted by aceplace57

My dad was career military and a member of the bases Rod & Gun Club. My mom went with him shooting. Before long, she was out shooting him on the range.

Wouldn't she get arrested for that?

[aceplace57]

I should have worded that better. I meant she earned more target points than my dad.

[mbh]

Originally Posted by Wheelz

Wouldn't she get arrested for that?

No, the way he was dressed, he was obviously asking for it.

[Chronos]

Quoth Wheeljack:

Those commercials are ridiculous. If an armed intruder breaks into my home, the last thing I'm going to do is retreat from my hidey-hole to answer the phone.

Isn't a phone the very first thing you should put in a hidey-hole room? Even without the security company, you're going to want to be able to call 911 yourself.

[dropzone]

Originally Posted by aceplace57

I got news for Brinks. Women aren't dainty and helpless anymore. My dad was career military and a member of the bases Rod & Gun Club. My mom went with him shooting. Before long, she was out shooting him on the range. I pity anyone stupid enough to kick in her door. These days women are taking self defense classes and carrying mace. They aren't going to faint at the first sign of trouble.

I wouldn't shoot against my wife.

Didn't S&W, about 25-30 years ago, bring out a line "especially for the ladies" with engraved and enameled roses on the nickel-plated frame? She didn't like that idea. She likes her guns like she likes her men: big, black, and scary looking. With me all she got was big.