Haven’t seen any TV ads in about 5 weeks, so I’ve missed that one. What was offensive about it?
Everyone likes different things. That’s my Seseme Street lesson for the day.
I want advertising to be funny, but what is funny? I think pretty much every Taco Bell commercial on the air right now is pretty damn stupid. But someone, somewhere, must have thought it was good. Certainly the advertisers and the executives that green lighted it.
I don’t want advertising to be offensive. But what is offensive? Fenris was talking about the Castrating Bitch commercials earlier in the pit. Later on, I actually saw one of the commercials in question. And I shrugged my shoulders and said “eh…that’s not really that bad.”
I think that the most effective advertising are the ones that inform the public of a new product or service. Something completely new on the market, or a special sale going on for 3 days only, or an old company with a new gimick. Those are going to be the best at bringing profit to the companies.
At the same time, I think advertising that gets the company name out there are, well, important, but not overly so. Does anyone want to take bets on this: If Pepsi and Coke both stopped advertising today, how long would it take before Royal Crown starts outselling them?
It features CGI chickens posing as employees & dancing around and glorifying their “plumpness”, but the CGI people missed their target & made the chicken-employees very FAT instead. You can see rolls of fat jiggling around as they dance. Let me change my statement a little by saying I’d be offended if I was a Wendy’s employee. But as a consumer there is no way I want to eat chickens with that much fat on them.
My problem with advertising is how intrusive it can be. Ads on TV, in magazines – I find them irritating, but I can avoid them. Billboards bother me. Corporate naming of public stadiums bothers me. ATMs which show commercials (!) bother me.
I want to be able to go through daily life without some shitty fast-food restaurant flashing their crappy product in my face twenty times a day.
Extra greasy chicken…
EEEeeewwww…!
I was told this on an Australian cattle ranch while the guy complained about the lack of business. He may have been lying, but I don’t see what it would have gained him.
A related point: for some of us, it’s not so much that we dislike corporations per se (hey, some of my best friends…;)), it’s that we think commercial markets just have too much of the wrong kinds of influence and are commercializing areas of life that are better off without them. I’m not repelled by advertising in general (in fact, I kind of enjoy reading about the history of advertising, and I heartily recommend the books on the subject by Frank Rowsome, especially They Laughed When I Sat Down; an Informal History of Advertising).
But I don’t want to see it plastered all over everything. I don’t think that local sports stadiums ought to be named for Pepsi or Pro Player instead of for civic leaders or sports heroes or local associations. I don’t want to hear commercials in elevators or to see brand logos on highway signs. I don’t want to see brand names in school textbooks or on school team uniforms, or on bridal gowns for that matter. (No, I haven’t yet actually seen a bride who decided to offset the cost of her dress by getting the name of a sponsoring compay embroidered on the train of it, but I bet you anything you like it’s only a matter of time before one does. Or at least, there will be a Tommy Hilfiger line of readymade gowns with the big Tommy logo on them.)
It still baffles me that some people actually pay for clothing that lets them serve as a billboard for some brand name. It just reinforces the idea that our identities are supposed to be much more about our consumer choices among PR-heavy brand names than about our individual interests or family ties or professional affiliations or ethnic or local or regional or national communities. That, I think, is a real trivialization of civic and private life. Public advertising of commercial goods and services so that consumers can be informed and companies can make money is a fine and dandy thing, really it is. But for heaven’s sake, not everything is an appropriate opportunity for it. Not all of human existence is supposed to be “branded.”
(I join Maeglin in vigorously recommending Commodify Your Dissent* (and in thanking Gadarene for bringing it to my notice), though I agree with jarbabyj that it is kind of strong stuff for those not somewhat acclimated to radical anticorporatism. I would also like to take this opportunity to point out to jshore that one of these days he’s going to have to give my copy of it back if he wants me to lend him the “sequel”, Thomas Frank’s One Market Under God. :D)
Why advertising is bad:
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It co-opts culture for gain of the corporation. Many great classical and modern works have been made to serve the advertisement. When you hear the Blue Danube Waltz, you think of the latest commercial to exploit that melody. I’d rather not have those associations.
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It perverts the media. Since news relies on advertising for their support, exposes and investigations may cause advertisers to pull out. This is part of the reason why investigative journalism is so bad right now. If I remember correctly, adveristers pressure also was partially responsible for the House on Un-America Activities-era blacklist.
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It’s propaganda. The purpose of advertising is to make people do what they ordinarily would not. It’s been around for so long it’s an accepted part of American, and in fact world society. Not many people really even think about the fact that is it is propaganda - however imagine if all advertisements every came from the government. It would be pretty scary, huh? If the ads were all government ads America would look like a totalitarian country. But since they mostly come from companies, people don’t mind. Luckily much of advertisement is contradictory (“buy pepsi”, “no, buy coke!”), but even so, the message is to consume, consume, consume. We’re surrounded by this message all of the time.
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Adveritising targets those without the critical facilities to resist. I’m not talking about stupid people here, I’m talking about children. The TV tells them to go eat at McDonalds, they want to go eat at McDonalds. Advertising to children is fundamentally immoral.
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Advertising makes products cost more money. So when you buy a product, you are helping to pay for the cost of what it took to convince you to buy it in the first place. These costs are not low either - I remember that when Michael Jordan was doing Nike ads, he was making more from the ads than the combined 3rd-world workforce putting those shoes together.
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Advertising does not lie, but it gets as close it can legally. The TV shows me if I get an SUV I’ll be plowing through streams and over hills, while the companies actually recommend that you not do such things. The McDonalds commercial shows me a hamburger that looks nothing like the hamburger I would get in real life. The Olive Garden presents Italian families that love the Olive Garden as the essence of great Italian food. They seem like they may prefer it to the food in Italy! How can we stand to be deceived so often?
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Advertisement are annoying. My current favorite one to hate is the Wendy’s advertisement - “are your chicken nuggets all white meat?” Like if this woman got a dark meat nugget it would be worse than death. My god, she might actually get some flavor! Not only are they annoying, the more annoying they are, the more you will remember them, hence the better they are.
In short, I think capitalism would be much better without ads. We decry communism for it’s propaganda, yet capitalist countries probably have even more propaganda, in the form of commercials. I say let the best company win on it’s own merits, instead of who is the best at deceiving people. That would be true capitalism.
Wow! You didn’t once use the word proletariat in that post! 
but seriously, you say capitalism would be better without ads. WITHOUT ANY ADS AT ALL? Then how do I know what’s available to me? What if there was a little store on the south side of Chicago that sold nothing but German artifacts, and I would spend $1,000 there every week. They’re not allowed to tell me they have it? A company can win on it’s own merits, but it better tell me what it’s selling, and that, is advertising.
jarbaby
jarbaby, I think part of what Avumede is saying is that advertisers go far beyond just saying, “Hey, I’ve got German Artifacts for sale. Come spend your $1000 here!”
Instead, they say, “Hey, I’ve got German Artifacts for sale, and if you don’t buy at least $1000 here every week you’re a geek weenie who shouldn’t be allowed out in public because you’re so uncool.”
Which encourages the kind of consumer mentality we often see (at least in the states) - everyone has to have more more more without considering whether or not we need more than we already have.
And I don’t think I explained that very well at all. Sigh.
I realize so far that most of the advertising comments posted have focused on television/radio advertising. I agree with most here that the ones which blatantly insult their audience are the worst examples of advertising and therefore what we latch upon. That said, I accept that as part of the “cost” of television - meaning that it’s free to me so I have to expect advertising.
What irks me to no end, and has not been mentioned yet is movie theater advertising. Seriously, anyone gone to a movie lately?? Went to see Planet of the Apes the other day. I’ve got my popcorn, my large cola, and am comfortably waiting in my seat for some Ape Kickin’ Extravaganza to start. Okay, so they are flashing slides for products. I don’t mind that, it’s helping pass the 20 minutes until the previews come on then the movie will start - Woo Hoo! Hey, the lights went down - no more advertising and time for the previews!! Wait… what is THIS CRAP??? Ugh… they are showing A COMMERCIAL!!! Ack… now another one!!! Three freaking commercials BEFORE they give me the lame AMC “advertisements” - like I don’t already KNOW I’M AT AN AMC THEATER! Finally previews then the movie and some Ape Butt Kickin’!!!
Mrs. Mean Joe is just thrilled. See, Mrs. Mean Joe is in advertising. In her mind, this is sheer brilliance because it is a captive audience. People HAVE to watch your advertisement in the theater. They have no choice… this, in the advertising/marketing world is a GOOD THING. She cannot comprehend how the insulting, intrusive, “forced” nature of the advertising in this manner crosses a line. Those factors just do not outweight the forced brand recognition potential of the captive audience.
Okay, enough of the rant. My only point was that THIS type of advertising is what offends me to no end.
Back to work…
Meanie
That hits the nail right on the head. I don’t mind cute or clever ads, but ads that imply that I am a “bad person” (stinky, wrinkly, unappealing, overweight) based on their criteria and in need of thier product to “fix” me are total bullshit and an insult to me.
My husband is bald as can be and I wouldn’t trade him for anyone on the earth. Thank God he doesn’t believe the ads that imply that his wife won’t find him attractive anymore if he doesn’t have hair. I believe I’m an attractive woman, and I don’t use wrinkle cream, anti-stink stuff in excess (foot spray, underarm spray, crotch spray, and so on), or any other products where the ads imply “Something is wrong with you. We can fix it” when clearly something is not wrong.
You are not a bad person if you are overweight, bald, or ugly as a hatful of assholes. If you want to change your appearance, fine. What I don’t like is advertising companys that make you feel like you’re overweight, bald, or ugly as a hatful of assholes because you don’t use their products. People are made to feel undesirable because they have a “flaw” that the company can “fix”. The world would be a lot easier to live in if we could just accept who we are and move the hell on with life. (IMHO)
Zette
As the starter of one of the Offensive Commercial Pit Threads, I thought I’d chime in (whether anyone wants me to or not).
I don’t have anything against advertising. I do think it’s necessary in a capitalist society, for the reasons that jarbabyj pointed out. I like to know what’s available to me.
It’s the marketing strategies behind the advertising that puts a twist in my knickers. I can just see these marketing meetings on Madison Avenue. A room full of over paid, non-creative, executive elitists considering most of the people in the country too stupid to find their ass with two hands and a map.
Tell me about your product. Tell me why you think it is the best on the market. Tell me a little joke. Tell me about your corporate policy toward the environment. Tell me how nice your mom is. Tell me anything, just don’t friggin’ tell me that your product is more important that real people!!
That’s what I hate about marketing. They pander to basal emotions and insecurities to scare people into shelling out their money.
Does everybody fall for it? No. Thinking people see these ads and think, “I’m not falling for that.”
But these marketing so-and-so’s know that there are a ton more people willing to believe every word spoken on television, and that these people have money in their pockets. That is evil.
Good point. I think that such information should be easily available, however it should not be “pushed” to consumers. If I’m interested, let me be able to find it. If I’m not interested, don’t try and proactively get me interested.
They’re trying to sneak money out of your wallet? My wallet has that special feature whereby I control the ingress and egress of all money. Perhaps you should get one like that as well.
But marketing products that don’t get sold isn’t economical. It was Michael Jordan, not the people putting the shoes together, that was mostly responsible for them selling well. Many products depend on being sold in large numbers to keep costs down.
I’m sure Pemmican beef jerky thought they were telling a little joke when they showed a beagle flying out of the back of a truck to it’s death. It’s a little “country song theme” sort of ad campaign.
It makes me sick.
So now we’re getting into pleasing some people sometimes or all people all times. What if disagree with their corporate environment policy?
I appreciate your points, but face it, advertising is never going to be pleasing to everyone, but by its very nature it has to catch your eye. And as much as i don’t like to sit through commercials during my favorite shows, i’d damn near slit my throat if it was just a guy in a suit saying “Hi, I’m bill smith. I bought this car and I really enjoyed it. Thank you”, or “Hi, I work at wendy’s and I really like the hamburgers. I think you will too.”
I mean, some of them ARE entertaining regardless of their ability to sell a product, but we rarely give credit to that. Southwest airlines has some FANTASTIC ads out there, and their slogan (You are now free to move about the country) is probably one of the most clever things I’ve ever heard!
jarbaby
Hardy-har har.
Yes, my wallet is a standard, Manual-Operation Only, model too. It still hasn’t stopped advertising executives from aiming condescending and insulting messages at me, in the hopes that I’ll slip-up and spend money on their product. That irks my cow.
Although the original point was not well-stated, you must admit advertising has an effect on everyone. You think you are in control of your money, but the advertisers influence your spending patterns. Therefore you aren’t in control as much as you would like to think.
Your argument is not logical. When I go to buy shoes I either actually need them, or I don’t. If I need them, I will buy some shoe, maybe just not Nike. So some company will get the benefit of the sales. If I don’t need them, I don’t need the benefits of mass production - I’m not spending any money anyway.
In other words, if it turns out that everyone who buys shoes actually needs them, total shoe sales would be the same, so the benefits of large scale manufacturing apply to the most popular brands. Therefore, there is no harm due to lack of advertising. If it turns out that not everyone who buys shoes actually needs them, then how much consumers are saving by not buying the shoes may be decreased by not having as much total demand for shoes. However I’m guessing consumer savings won’t be decreased as much as they are saving by only purchasing shoes when they need it. The cost of the manufacturing the shoes is only one cost, though. The cost of throwing away shoes that were unneeded in the first place is another one that must be added into the equation.
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What’s the big deal here? I still enjoy classical music that has been used in advertising for years. Usually commercials just use small sections of a particular symphony not the whole darn thing.
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You make a legitimate point here. But then I think the media has been perverted since before advertisement ever became a huge factor.
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Uh, are you sure that’s the purpose and do you really know what propaganda is? I know of no advertisement that caused me to do something I wasn’t already inclined to do. If I see a commercial for a new breakfast cereal it might convince me to give it a try. But then I already eat breakfast so it isn’t that much of a stretch.
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Again, as a child an ad never made me want something I wasn’t inclined to want in the first place. I never wanted a Barbie but damn those GI Joe’s kicked ass!! And since children don’t really tend to have a lot of money what’s the big deal? Let the parents teach their kids these things.
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And not advertising costs the company even more. If they don’t advertise then fewer people will buy their products.
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What about all those truck commercials that show people using their vehicles for work? And I’ve never seen a commercial that showed a vehicle off road and then the company reccommended that you didn’t do this. The only ones I’ve seen were those of a guy speeding around curvy roads with the caption “Professional driver on closed course.”
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I think you’re missing the point of the ad. The big deal isn’t that she hates dark meat but that she doesn’t want formed meat. I don’t understand why people get so annoyed at commercials. Granted there are plenty that I don’t like and some that I even find offensive.
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You really didn’t offer any good reasons why. I think capitalism is better off with advertising. If I’m unhappy with Company X then how am I suppose to know that Company Y is out there and wants my business?
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We decried communism for its lack of dessenting voices, among other reasons. It wasn’t just that they had propaganda but that it was actually illegal to publically challenge it. Your whole post was nothing but propaganda and I’m not decrying you for it. Propaganda is not a dirty word.
Thank you Mr. Smith. I’ll admit that advertisements have swayed some of my decisions in the past and they’ll sway them in the future. Like I said earlier I have never been convinced to buy something I would normally not be inclined to buy in the first place. And no matter how good your advertising is if I find your product to be crap I probably won’t be coming back.
Marc
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Ok, just for a minute let’s pretend we’re pals and we both really like to backpack through the woods.
You- “I need a new pair of boots these are falling apart.”
Me- “Well I like these boots. They’re comfortable, durable, and water proof. They cost a little more but in the long run I think it is worth it.”
You- “Hmmm, I might check those out when I go to the outlet mall.”
What just happend? That’s right I influenced you. Even if you choose not to buy the same boot as I had you probably gave it a small amount of thought. But even though I might have had some influence it was you who was in control.
Marc