(and it is everywhere. Every freakin’ where.)
Enough, already. We can’t even take a pee in peace now. Just stop it. All of it.
Yeah, I know, lost cause, capitalism rulez, etc, etc. I still hate it and want it to go away. It’s so manipulative, shrill, conniving, underhanded - I feel sullied just watching ads. And no, I can’t just change the channel, because, as previously mentioned, IT’S EVERYWHERE.
This rant has been brought to you by the light crisp refreshing taste of Diet Pepsi.
Zero in on a Diet Pepsi Slurpee today. Available only at your neighborhood 7-11 store.
Not to mention patronizing, demeaning, unbalanced (it exists for the 2% who are taken in)
I vaguely remember in Fahrenheit 451 a character talking about how ads hepled cause the downfall of society. Something about too much stimulation. Anybody know what I’m talking about?
If it bothers you so much, move to somewhere that advertising doesn’t exist. Like Zimbabwe.
Sorry, due to a recent violent coup, Zimbabwe is now known as New Tanzania.
Sorry, due to a recent violent coup, New Tanzania is now known as Pepsi Presents: New Tanzania.
You’re a newbie, so I’m trying to see if this amount of irony is intentional.
Ooh, bad news. See, the renewal rate on the boards wasn’t what the Reader hoped for and, well, henceforth our little community will be known as the Frito-Lay[sup]TM[/sup] Straight Dope Message Boards (apparently the salespeople convinced Frito there was a munchy kind of thing going on).
If it’s any consolation, your choice of forum placement was correct. Rants of this nature definitely go in the Kingsford[sup]TM[/sup] BBQ Pit.
This morning as I was listening to Howard Stern, he started talking about how much money Viacom was spending on advertising. He opened a magazine (People or Time or something) to the four pages they had purchased to advertise some upcoming made-for-TV movie about Elvis. When you open it, it starts to play Blue Suede Shoes, followed by a voiceover promo for the movie.
If things weren’t out of hand before, they sure as hell are now.
OK, here’s the thing. Kingsford always has those commercials with the barbecue contest guys, and they’re always saying that they only ever use Kingsford. But I don’t believe that. I mean, the guys using smokers wouldn’t be using charcoal, they’d be using wood. And I can’t believe the guys doing actual grilling would be using Kingsford, they’d have to be using chunk charcoal at that kind of high level competition, right?
So what’s up with that?
:rolleyes: Oooh, that’s just baaaaaad.
2%?
Try more like 98%.
I have a friend that writes and directs TV commercials-I think they’re awesome, sort of like mini-movies. He used to be a filmmaker but got into advertising to pay the bills and his commercials tend to reflect his artistic background. And I’m always watching out for good commercials-done properly they can be a small piece of art. And those “Great American Hero” commercials for Budweiser are true genius-probably the only time I won’t change the radio dial for another station.
They really are everywhere these days but what I object to most is that so many are still so lacking in quality. If I must sit through 15 minutes of commercials before the movie starts, I’d at least like the experience of watching something really clever, well-directed and produced-not the same old same old.
I remember my boss at one of the Big Evil Multinational Soft-Drink Corporations railing because our corporate account customer, who’d been known to tell a few Whoppers, wasn’t spending enough on advertising. Apparently the sales volume reports clearly demonstrated that advertising = sales, and without it, there weren’t any (or enough).
What cracks me up is that we think we’re impervious to advertisers’ influence. Horsehockey. Reality is fluid.
What kind of fluid? How could you leave me hanging like that??
The fluid of the highest, loudest bidder I’m sorry to report.
Why, reality is a crisp clean Coke C2, with half the sugar, half the carbs, and half the calories of the original.
I enjoy advertising. It pays my bills.
Anu-la, I understand your friend’s selling-out to pay the bills; I’ve worked at many an Oil & Gas company in my life. However, when I’ve already paid my highway-robbery ticket price to see a movie or a professional sports game, I get a little bitter when I am absolutely deluged with advertising on top of that. On “free” tv, I can suck it up and realize that advertising is what allows me to see the shows I enjoy, but it’s different when I’ve paid my way already. I don’t like it on free tv either - it’s pretty much out of control, and getting worse every day.
And just for the record, advertising is, in my opinion, closer to psychological experiments than it is to art.
What I find in all this overkill of advertising is that many commercials never seem to land their product.
Either they are piss poor commercials or I have reached a level of selective listening where I can watch a commercial yet still walk away without even knowing what it was selling.
Recent examples:
Some kind of cell phone commercial in a bowling alley where some rapper wanna-bees are telling a guy about hidden fees. He replies “you guys are clowns”.
I’ve seen it over a dozen times. Still couldn’t tell you what company it’s for.
The “can you hear me now” commercials. Probably Nextel, Verizon, T-Mobile, or Sprint? I don’t really remember.
Beer commercials. Probably Budweiser or Miller. Tell me the commercial and I’ll remember it. Ask me what beer it was for and I’ll be clueless.
Most pickup truck commercials. Hemi something or other? Who makes that again? GMC, Dodge, Chevy, Ford? I wasn’t really paying attention but the guy at the drivethru was funny.
Which one can be hung by a cable from the truckbed again? No idea.
Are advertisers forgetting to “land the product” by making memorable ads instead of memorable products or is my “selective listening” skill really that honed.
I’d rather watch Tiny House than call Geico.