# 8/15/2014 column: Does advertising work? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [August 15, 2014, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600 "2014-08-15T13:00:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marion\_Wormer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Marion\_Wormer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marion_Wormer)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600/21 "2014-08-16T22:39:56Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Non-consumer good ads are largely irrelevant to most discussions. I’m really tired of aviation companies trying to sell the next best airplane to the government. Do the really think images in the D.C. subway have an effect? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600/22 "2014-08-16T23:42:03Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Good point, although it’s still around. (Yes, it is.) New Coke is still around? Cite? Because according to Wikipedia, [New Coke](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=New_Coke#Coke_II), or Coke II as it was renamed, was discontinued entirely in 2002. Diet Coke uses a variation of the New Coke formula, but I don’t count that. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600/23 "2014-08-17T12:27:40Z")
MOD NOTE: BTW, this thread has gone well beyond “why is there no illustration” so I’ve modified the thread title. My apologies, I shoulda done that yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![hdshank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4da419/32.png) [@hdshank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hdshank)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600/24 "2014-08-17T12:32:06Z")
GEICO was what I thought of immediately. I doubt I’d ever buy it, but the gecko does give me very positive feelings about the company, not just because the little guy is cute, but because their ads are usually so much better by far than almost any other ads on TV. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600/25 "2014-08-17T15:28:45Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > New Coke is still around? Cite? Because according to Wikipedia, [New Coke](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=New_Coke#Coke_II), or Coke II as it was renamed, was discontinued entirely in 2002. Diet Coke uses a variation of the New Coke formula, but I don’t count that. New Coke was released in sugared and diet forms. The sugared version hung around a while after ‘Classic Coke’ was restored, later called Coke II. Diet Coke, using the same formula as originally released - the same as sugared ‘New Coke’ except for essential differences to accommodate non-sugar sweetener - is still with us. Coke Zero is diet coke with the traditional formula (also slightly modified for non-sugar sweetener compatibility). ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600/26 "2014-08-17T15:29:53Z")
> [@Marion\_Wormer](#): > > I’m really tired of aviation companies trying to sell the next best airplane to the government. Do the really think images in the D.C. subway have an effect? Well, they’re pretty and I’d rather look at a plane ad than another goddamn soda, chip or shoe ad. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600/27 "2014-08-17T19:27:04Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > New Coke was released in sugared and diet forms. The sugared version hung around a while after ‘Classic Coke’ was restored, later called Coke II. Diet Coke, using the same formula as originally released - the same as sugared ‘New Coke’ except for essential differences to accommodate non-sugar sweetener - is still with us. > > Coke Zero is diet coke with the traditional formula (also slightly modified for non-sugar sweetener compatibility). As I said, I don’t count Diet Coke. It is a different brand. It may have New Coke’s formula, but it is a branded diet soda. Also, I dispute that Diet Coke and Coke Zero are the same formulation. Ingredients in Diet Coke Carbonated purified water, flavor, color (caramel 150d), food acid (338, 330), sweeteners (951,950), preservative 211, caffeine. Ingredients in Coke Zero Carbonated purified water, color (caramel 150d), food acid (338, 331), flavor, sweeteners (951,950), preservative 211, caffeine. Ingredients in Coca Cola regular Carbonated purified water, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), color (caramel 150d), food acid 338, flavor, caffeine. All ingredients from the label. Aside from the sugar, the formula for Coke Zero seems to be closest to regular Coke, aka Coke Classic. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600/28 "2014-08-17T19:49:06Z")
The pervasive Advertising Culture is degrading; Advertising itself is ignorable. I _only_ buy things that are old, pretty, or useful. Advertising doesn’t impinge other than providing a function that gives lovely girls a rare way of demonstrating their beauty ( think Vogue ). Plus it creates an industry employing millions doing nothing valuable. Which keeps them off the dole. When I bought an SSD drive I didn’t _notice_ any advertising, concentrated instead on reading up specs and reviews ( some of the latter probably were funded by advertising, it being a wicked world, an’ all ). I did **once** buy a Gainward graphics card because the **[girl on the box](http://www.nordichardware.com/skrivelser_img/419/kartong.jpg)** reminded me of my grandmother, but that’s marketing rather than advertising and it’s not as if any graphics card isn’t going to work out of the box. They are like cpus, amazingly reliable whatever the brand. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600/29 "2014-08-17T21:02:48Z")
See [this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=731124) * * * MOD NOTE: No longer relevant, threads have been merged, this now will loop you back to where you were. – Dex ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600/30 "2014-08-17T21:21:34Z")
As far as I know, there is no doubt that the “Man in the Hathaway Shirt” campaign, the 50s VW campaign, and the “Jifaroo” campaign had great effect. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600/31 "2014-08-17T22:19:52Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > As I said, I don’t count Diet Coke. It is a different brand. It may have New Coke’s formula, but it is a branded diet soda. Also, I dispute that Diet Coke and Coke Zero are the same formulation. Maybe you should reread my post for comprehension. Diet Coke =/= diet coke. Okay, maybe I should have put “a diet coke” or “…cola” to reduce confusion. “New Coke” and Diet Coke share the same flavoring, minor formulation differences aside. Old Coke and Coke Zero, ditto. If you want to break them into subcategories that are not like the others, fine with me. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600/32 "2014-08-17T22:23:12Z")
Generally speaking? Yes a thousand times yes. My sales spikes can be directly linked to my advertising budget. ---
**Author:** ![JEngelman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e79b87/32.png) [@JEngelman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JEngelman)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600/33 "2014-08-17T23:45:47Z")
Advertising does not work for me. I cannot think of any major purchase I have made, or any regular purchase that was motivated by advertising. Years ago Brut Cologne had an advertisement that went, “Brut. Don’t use it if you have doubts about yourself.” I thought, “OK. If you’re going to be that way about it, I will use something else.” Eventually I did use Brut because I liked the smell. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600/34 "2014-08-18T14:38:18Z")
This thread has danced around the most important ambiguity in Cecil’s column, namely, what did he mean in that last sentence about a guy smiling in Omaha? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600/35 "2014-08-18T14:58:12Z")
> [@Spiff](#): > > This thread has danced around the most important ambiguity in Cecil’s column, namely, what did he mean in that last sentence about a guy smiling in Omaha? I didn’t think it needed explaining. 😕 > [@Column](#): > > But opportunity didn’t need to knock twice. **Largely at the prodding of the guy who runs its parent company, _Warren Buffett_, Geico spends more than a billion dollars annually promoting itself in a broad array of media**. Geico commercials have been inescapable for going on 20 years. [That Warren Buffett](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Buffett). ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600/36 "2014-08-18T14:58:44Z")
> [@JEngelman](#): > > Advertising does not work for me. \ But of courshe not. \ (Ah, too late, banned for somewhat murky reasons. Too bad.) ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600/37 "2014-08-18T15:21:52Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > I didn’t think it needed explaining. 😕 > > [That Warren Buffett](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Buffett). Thanks. Until today, if someone had asked me where Warren Buffet lived, I would have guessed somewhere in Arkansas. But now I know he lives in Omaha. I wonder, though, how common this knowledge is (of where Mr. Buffett lives, I mean). ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600/38 "2014-08-18T15:31:21Z")
> [@Spiff](#): > > I wonder, though, how common this knowledge is (of where Mr. Buffett lives, I mean). Pretty common, usually in the context of “despite his billions, Warren Buffet still lives in a modest house in his native Omaha.” Or when the business media refers to him as “the Oracle of Omaha.” ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600/39 "2014-08-19T04:07:07Z")
Some advertising works really well. Stan Freberg said somewhere that about 2/3 of his campaigns worked. A couple of notable examples are his [Sunsweet Prunes commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5NxG_rr5aU) (with Ray Bradbury) and his [Jeno’s Pizza Rolls commercial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxeZo7gRkeA) (a direct parody of the [Lark cigarettes commercial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjpNxoNR8oI#t=11m15s)), adding Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600/40 "2014-08-19T13:55:28Z")
Another point that can be overlooked: The whole New Coke debacle happened precisely because some Coke executives underestimated the power of marketing. It all started when they got the wrong idea that people choose their soft drink based on which one tastes better, and the research was clear that people thought Pepsi tasted better. So Coke responded by reformulating their own product so it tasted better, too. Except that it turns out that people don’t want a drink that tastes better. They want the same drink that they’ve drunk all their lives, and which they’ve drunk all their lives because someone’s told them that it tastes better. That’s 100% marketing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-15-2014-column-does-advertising-work/695600.md?page=3)