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Post by DevilsAdvocate on May 22, 2014 2:37:07 GMT -5
It's omnipresent...yet not too many people talk about it. This thread aims to change that.
Let's kick it off with that insipid auto commercial that starts off with the black dude singing, "Today, the world is pretty sad"...and then goes into a bunch of corporate-promoted tools, claiming that because, hey, we can grow stupid beards, celebrate whichever sexuality we may choose, and generally behave like overall dumbasses, we won't notice the increasing corporate control of every aspect of our lives. Life is pretty good after all! New word: Corpaganda, that which blatantly promotes corporate aims disguised by allegedly wholesome images. Goebbels woulda dug this shit.
And don't even get me started about Booking.com, the sole claim to "artistry" of which is equating it with another seven-letter word that ends in "king."
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Post by Merc on May 22, 2014 6:41:35 GMT -5
DA, do you watch Mad Men at all? It's all about how advertising has always been pernicious, and how that developed, getting into our minds through repetition and familiarity. Like an arms race, the focus-testing and psychological techniques of it when it really went beyond a mere jingle. Always, the stuff the ad people on Mad Men ,they don't believe in the least about what they're pushing.
My complaint about current TV advertising: It all seems written by 22 year olds. It's not sophisticated or interesting. Most of it seems designed to appeal to the dumbest people possible. I think I'll have more to add to this thread soon.
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Post by Darren on May 22, 2014 8:40:53 GMT -5
They say that advertising is down, too, but I don't see it.
The thing I notice that wasn't always the case is that they'll show the exact same commercial at every single break during a particular show, as if I really need to see the same Verizon or Toyota commercial twenty times during a playoff basketball game. And then there are the smart phone commercials that let you know you can know annoy people in entirely new ways, or drop your phone in the toilet and it'll be ok...as if the average phone isn't already covered in trace fecal matter. Yummy!
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Post by boots on May 22, 2014 12:19:48 GMT -5
Great thread- I have some insight- I run an advertising company - when I'm not plunging R. Kelly's toilet- soul food- pfft - but I digress.
So I work in out of home, that's billboards, wallscapes, bus shelters, transit for anyone curious. The biggest issue I see in the world of advertising, and why we only occasionally see truly inspired advertising, is that everyone is 22, asleep at the switch, bombed out of their brains or hung over, and completely corrupt. So the entire business relies on the decision making capabilities of a bunch of back ward baseball cap frat boys and giggly sorority bims, who openly take kick backs, bribes, and payoffs to push a corporate ad buyer's agenda. The folks at the approval level are just alumni of this system that have held on long enough to move up the food chain.
And don't get me started on the creative end- utter shite. I'm no graphic designer, but I know good artwork when I see it- half these folks don't even understand the basics of good writing, editing, color placement, logo/ brand designation in the artwork they submit. And so often, the brass at the top is in this complete tailspin over new technology- and their lack of understanding it- that they give the kids way too much freedom to "be creative" without thinking about how it it will reflect on their brand- its almost like the news, radio, t.v. - if it isn't positively "shocking" than it isn't innovative enough.
And lastly- look at who still advertises in general- did you ever decide to buy a car because you saw an ad? I didn't. Did you ever decide to buy a pair of shoes because of an ad? Its all branding- not advertising.
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Post by DannyA on May 23, 2014 12:59:59 GMT -5
It's not advertising that is down, it's advertising rates as media collapses. You see the same commercial 3 times in an hour because it's now much cheaper to buy that time. And I don't need to tell anyone about newspapers and magazines. A friend is the biggest local concert promoter in the state and his ads make up the great majority of the advertisements in our local alt weekly (though with legalized marijuana that is changing). He'd buy several full-page ads every week, and once he knew he had them over a barrel he's just say "I'm not paying that much anymore -- I'm paying THIS much. Take it or leave it." They had to take it, of course, and he'd pull the same stunt every six months.
The only thing I can think of that I will buy based on an ad is a movie ticket. I literally can't think of anything else.
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Post by DevilsAdvocate on May 23, 2014 15:55:30 GMT -5
DA, do you watch Mad Men at all? It's all about how advertising has always been pernicious, and how that developed, getting into our minds through repetition and familiarity. Like an arms race, the focus-testing and psychological techniques of it when it really went beyond a mere jingle. Always, the stuff the ad people on Mad Men ,they don't believe in the least about what they're pushing. My complaint about current TV advertising: It all seems written by 22 year olds. It's not sophisticated or interesting. Most of it seems designed to appeal to the dumbest people possible. I think I'll have more to add to this thread soon. I am one of this poor souls who's never viewed "Mad Men" - will have to get a Netflix account soon and rectify that. Re: same commercials over and over: If I have to listen to that talentless wench bleat "Gigantic" one more time I just may go postal. |
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Post by DannyA on May 23, 2014 17:47:47 GMT -5
With DVR I haven't watched a commercial in years except in live-viewing events such as the Oscars or Super Bowl. Even then our smart TV has a feature to lower the volume when it goes to commercial.
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Post by nycbiscuit on May 23, 2014 20:19:37 GMT -5
My major was in advertising and I never watched Mad Men.
Then again, I never worked in advertising.
It amazes me the amount of money spent on auto ads. They are ubiquitous, especially for an item that is bought so infrequently by the individual consumer. I can't help but think of how much those ads contribute to the base price of the car. Thing is, when you're in the market for a new car, you'll do your research and seek out info, so it makes little sense to me that so much money and effort is spent on passive exposures. And it's not like anyone (who's not actively in the process of buying a new car) is going to remember the Buick ad over the Toyota ad—they all look the same.
Except when they do it badly... like the anthropomorphic hamsters with the giant FUPAs driving Kias.
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Post by DannyA on May 24, 2014 10:18:25 GMT -5
Not only are those car ads on every channel, but when I do see them they seem to have the budget of a motion picture with special effects, stunts, etc. And yeah, I bet the cars would cost a bit less without those ads. Didn't I read years ago that Coke and Pepsi spend more money on advertising than on actually making their product? I also don't understand naming rights for arenas. I go to the Pepsi Center here in Denver because it's where the event I want to see is happening, not because it's the Pepsi Center. And the only time I'll ever drink a Pepsi is there, because it's all they sell. But if I'm there for a show I'll generally have a beer instead.
Plus once they named the round building the Pepsi Center everyone in town immediately started calling it "The Can." Then Pepsi was savvy enough to send out a letter to all media asking them to NOT call it The Can. That cemented the name forever.
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Post by boots on May 27, 2014 11:17:30 GMT -5
Same thing happened here when US Cellular obtained naming rights to Komisky, (sp?) everyone on t.v. calls it "the Cell" - haters call it "Sox Park (def what we call it at our house).
Outdoor has collapsed as much as print and air- we have billboards that used to fetch 5K a month that we can't whore out for more than $800 per month- part of the problem there though is the big players being utterly asleep at the switch- as per above- totally corrupt. When Lamar and Clear Channel have so much unused inventory that they are willing to throw McDonald's or Pepsi a bone for volume placement- as in you book 20 of our sites and we'll only charge you $500 per, well then the rest of us don't have a chance and McDonalds and Pepsi aren't going anywhere but to those boards- even if they are in shit locations.
I totally agree on the car ad thing- that's why I love Tesla- even thought I could never afford one- shaking everything up in the auto racket from top to bottom. I think the only t.v. ads that really still work are the bankruptcy lawyers and the local Crazy Eddies type ads. Everything else is just wall paper.
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