# Advertising **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 24, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertising/323211 "2005-09-24T15:00:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertising/323211/1 "2005-09-24T15:00:49Z")
I think advertising tries to do a couple of things: [ul][li]They make the consumer aware of a product they may want[/li][li]They attempt to get consumers to buy things they _don’t_ want[/ul][/li]There’s a lot of advertising on the Internet. I get spams in my spamblocker folder. There are banner ads on websites. Nearly all of the ads I see are for things I don’t want. Occasionally I’ll get a spam or see an ad from [amazon.com](http://amazon.com) for a product I’d like – but I don’t click on the spam/banner. I’ll go to amazon to look for it. But those are rare. Of all of the ads I’ve seen or received from amazon, I think there have been two or three that prompted me to go to their site. Most advertising are for things that I don’t want. I don’t want a Swiffer. I don’t want a Dodge Durango. I don’t want, nor do I need mailing lists. They don’t advertise the things I’m interested in buying such as a doorway dolly or Kino-Flo lights. (At least not the sites I visit, not on TV or radio.) These are things that I seek out on my own. Advertising always reminds me of the film _The Live_. Instead of seeing a product, I see ‘CONSUME’. I’ve known people who have seen something on television and _had to_ go out and buy it. These people I’ve known don’t stop to consider whether they need it, or even if they’re interested in it. They just know that they have to _buy_ it. CONSUME. Of course if there were no advertising people wouldn’t know about the things they _really do_ want or need. What’s objectionable to me is how some people buy without thinking, just because someone tells them to. CONSUME. My computer has been infected by viruses and trojans a couple of times. How does this happen? I never open attachments unless I know who they’re from and know that these people take care not to send trojans and viruses. My Norton AntiVirus is updates daily (sometimes a few times per day – I use LiveUpdate), and my spamblocker is on its highest setting. My webmail virus blocker automatically deletes e-mails that contain viruses and warns me of e-mails (which I never open) that contain a _suspected_ virus. I try to be safe. So how, in the past, did I get infected? I suspect by visiting pages that have viruses embedded in them. (I haven’t gotten a warning from Norton in a while, so I’m hoping that’s not the case.) Suffice it to say, that I don’t want to take any chances. Many pages also employ data miners. I run AdAware whenever I visit a site that is not one of my regular sites. It nearly always catches spyware, which I delete immediately. I just don’t trust Internet advertising. At all. But most of all I dislike advertisers trying to pull the wool over my eyes. I hate the way some ads use stupid people to show how much better their product is. (A case in point: That cordless soldering iron. The guy yanks on the cord trying to move the outlet closer to his project. Is he so stupid he can’t simply move the thing he’s trying to solder a foot to the left? :rolleyes: ) Billy Mays is beginning to specialise in busting my butt. I don’t need _two_ pizzas, even if they’re for the price of one. And yet they keep trying. CONSUME. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertising/323211/2 "2005-09-24T15:25:13Z")
I am a child of the 90s. I am bombarded with 20 quadrillion advertising messages per day. Somewhere along the line, I learned to turn them off in my head. I can’t match catch phrases to products. I can hum advertising jingles, but I couldn’t tell you what they were for. I don’t recognise company logos. I don’t know if “Hyundai” or “Toyota” comes after “Oh what a feeling”. I can’t remember the last time I saw an ad for something I actually own. I didn’t notice when my ad-free, subscribed time at deviantART was over because I didn’t notice that the ads had retured, and I certainly don’t remember what they were selling. And no, I don’t see the Google ad bar. I learned the periodic table and world capitals through osmosis, so I’m sure there’s nothing wrong with my information uptake. But ads just pass right through my brain. Fear not, for a new age is upon us. _zen_ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertising/323211/3 "2005-09-24T15:28:25Z")
> [@csharpmajor](#): > > I can’t remember the last time I saw an ad for something I actually own. I can. I had a Porsche 911 in the '90s, when Porsche started running their ads. And I have a Jeep, so I notice the Jeep ads. (But they don’t advertise mine anymore.) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertising/323211/4 "2005-09-24T15:44:23Z")
Oh – I should point out that I bought both of those vehicles before I saw ads about them. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertising/323211/5 "2005-09-24T16:39:16Z")
I “notice” ads of course, but they don’t affect me. I watch a lot of sporting events. I’m bombarded with ads. Still, they are throwing their money away. I already know the names of all the cell phone companies. Sponsoring the “call to the bullpen.” doesn’t make me any more likely to go with that company. I went with my cell phone provider because I got the most minutes with the lowest rate. If Budweiser is the “offical beer of team xyz”, then I guess I’m drinking Bud or Bud Light at the stadium. Doesn’t affect my purchases outside the stadium, however. Besides, what adult over 21 that drinks beer hasn’t had a Budweiser? It isn’t like I’m discovering something new.