Its been mentioned but those debt consolidation
adverts really should be overlayed with a
symbol of a large, finned aquatic creature!
These firms were once just tacky adverts in the
weekly advertising sheet, its horrifying how
a colourful television spot makes them seem
warm and friendly. Only householders need apply!

Complete agreement. I refuse to touch any products where their ads have this as a theme.

For example, how about the Capital One "no blackouts" ads where the father brings the family to a ski area, and insists on skiing it, even though there's no snow?

And the ongoing baloney about men being unable to fix anything or read directions (home improvement ads are the most guilty here). Or speaking of directions, being constantly lost, and ignoring the all-knowing wife's correct directions (GPS ads, etc.).

I also really dislike the ads that attempt to rewrite history through the use of CGI, etc. For example Coors is running a Coors Light ad showing SuperBowl fans consuming the stuff during games in the late 1960s and early/middle 1970s. Coors Light (AKA "Cowboy Kool-Aid" or "CYW (for carbonated yellow water)) was first marketed in 1978.

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Oh yeah, and any commercials that speed up, slow down, freeze frame, skip frame, zoom in, zoom out, dolly in, dolly out, switch from color to black and white, mix color and black and white, run in reverse, run the foreground subject at normal motion while the background is run at fast motion, and

flash

all for no particular reason other than to create a mood of "excitement" (which they don't) or because new computer methods mean it can be done.

Or any commercial where, after a few seconds I think to myself, "Overproduced".

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Whichever one is the last one I saw.

I must say I really don't get TV commercials, or commercials of any type for that matter. Are people really convinced to buy things by TV ads?

Has somebody actually bought a Chevy truck because the commercial says they are "like a rock" while Ford is only "Ford truck tough."

And so people tell me that TV ads are not about sales directly, but are about image. Again though my logic holds; do people really allow their image of an organization to be manipulated by the garbage a PR firm whips up and puts to celluloid?

As much as I crab about the masses allowing themselves to be treated like sheep, I still think (hope?) people are smarter than that.

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Don of Borg - Cool, Calm, Collective.

"Within the next generation I believe that the world's leaders will discover that infant conditioning and narco-hypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I'm coming to the belief that ads are more about brand awareness than anything else. You might not be persuaded to buy Ford over Chevy due to the ads, but I bet most people will buy a car from a company they've heard of over one they haven't.

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Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.

Mortgage company ads are about the most annoying ones so far.

Though if you want to expand the scope of the discussion to radio ads, I could do without the nasal, whiney, wanna-punch-him-in-the-throat, song from the Shaw's Jewelers commercials...

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The last time I felt a warm fuzzy feeling, I was informed by my doctor that it was just gas.

Gotta be more to it than that though. Is there a human alive who is not aware that Coke exists and what it is? Are they spending the vast sums of money to get to kids who are just watching TV for the first time?

Reminds me of The Onion article about Pepsi's $2.6 million Superbowl ad increasing Pepsi awareness by .000000000001 percent. Specifically, the ad raised Pepsi awareness in 71 year old Tauk Huun, a Mongolian goat herder and 1 of 5 known humans not familiar with Pepsi. Coke will soon launch it's own $11 million ad blitz to crack the Tauk Huun market.

I think they are attempting a form of mind control - seriously.

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Don of Borg - Cool, Calm, Collective.

"Within the next generation I believe that the world's leaders will discover that infant conditioning and narco-hypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Maksutov, your post caused me great eye strain and emotional damage; fortunately I just saw an ad on TV for a Lawyer who would probably take the case.

I’m afraid you’re right; fortunately the Internet has given us the ability to ferret out the secret bargains and find legitimate reviews and details on products—not to mention that smaller competitors can now sell directly to consumers.

I for one go out of my way to avoid products with annoying ads. Unfortunately, most ads annoy me; I’d go hide in the mountains to get away from them all, but it’d be way too much like an SUV commercial.

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Do try not to take me too seriously.

People forget, though. I bet if there were no Coca-Cola ads for a decade, their market share would vanish.

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Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.

Are the majority of retail jewelers across the country run by Jewish people? Or is it like that only here in the Twin Cities market (MPLS-ST PAUL).

For 2 months prior to Christmas (I find that funny) the airwaves around here are overflowing with middle-aged Jewish men with nasal voices and that horrible sing-songy effect where they emphasize all the wrong sylables hawking diamonds for the local retailers.

Trying not to sterotype, but I don't remember hearing a single jewelry commerical that was not done in that style.

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Don of Borg - Cool, Calm, Collective.

"Within the next generation I believe that the world's leaders will discover that infant conditioning and narco-hypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Its not so much us older codgers they're targeting, its the kids coming up behind us. By the time you hit 30 or so, you're pretty set in your selection, so changing our minds costs more than they stand to make through success. But every generation of 15-25 year olds has the media driven attention span of goldfish. Its these younger people that they're slamming their high impact advertising at, constantly staying in focus for years.

For those of you in that age bracket, take it as a backhanded compliment. I miss having that kind of energy. As a support for my basis, I use the MTV example. Every two years they rotate out their programming almost completely trying to stay fresh because of constantly changing tastes in the younger audience as new people enter their target market segment. Product advertising is equally targetted. Its not the people at the high end of the strata you're after, its the people entering it.

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The last time I felt a warm fuzzy feeling, I was informed by my doctor that it was just gas.

Nah, there's a Belgian outfit that's big around here, Movis (can't figure out the keycode for the o with an umlaut) Diamond Importers. Then there's another one up in Delaware (Robins?) who's huge in the radio advertising market here.

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The last time I felt a warm fuzzy feeling, I was informed by my doctor that it was just gas.

I agree on this ad, and most of them like it, however I actually really like the gatorade ad where they start by showing a bunch of altered great moments in sports, Jorden rims out to lose the game, "the catch" wasn't... then, add gatorade... da da daaaaa replay reality of all those shots. As much as I hate comercials, and the message I just like the way this one was done.

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The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.
--Isaac Asimov

Joe Camel... heck cigarette and alcohol advertising in general.

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The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.
--Isaac Asimov

RC cola? I've seen a couple different blind taste tests, ok well one via the internet years ago, and the second was a bit anecdotal from a room mate about one he did in high school, about RC beating both coke and Pepsi in blind taste tests. It's still around, but I don't know the last time I saw an ad for it.

When it comes to the major companies like soda, and car manufacturers and gas companies (those get me the most) the whole point of the advertising is to make sure a competitor isn't getting there name out at that moment as well. The ad agencies really push a standpoint that for every :30 second spot if it's not your products name out there it's your biggest competitor.

A career path I always found interesting but never followed. I love the nuances and psychology behind ad campaigns, and I suppose I have the moral flexibility to not be bothered by the blatant disregard for truth and reality.

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The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.
--Isaac Asimov

At least here Down Under we haven't been subject to cigarette advertising for quite a long time


I have a similar outlook to Maksutov, I won't buy a product by a company who's advertising offends me. Which is why I'll never buy Windsor Smith or Lynx, who's advertising companies seem to be channelling Benny Hill at the moment.

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The plural of "anecdote" is not "data".

I guess I gave a bit of a wrong impression, in the US, Cigarettes have been off the television (formally) for years, they still abound as product placement in just about every film out there, but the print ads and road side billboards are still blatently directed at youth.

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The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.
--Isaac Asimov

Oh I see! We have it banned from TV, Radio, sports sponsorship, magazines, newspapers, billboards - pretty much everywhere except point of sale.

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The plural of "anecdote" is not "data".

Are you sure it isn't banned at point of sale? I think they've banned it there for a while now.

Point of Sale Tobacco Advertising - Banned

Actually, it seems looking at the article that it may only be banned in certain states, but reading that article, it seems to back up the fact that it is banned here in Victoria. Been that way since Jan. 2002 anyway.

Not sure what the situation is in NSW paulie jay, maybe there's something on the cards there at the moment?

Most disliked commerical has to be anything by Sakata. Japanese rice crackers. Udderly repetitive and completely mind-numbing. And to boot, they taste like dried dirt. Ugh.

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BugMeNot A portal to bypass free-site registration.

"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident." Arthur Schopenhauer - renowned 19th Century German philosopher.

Why do I find Radio ads more annoying than TV?
(TV I usualy record and skip the ads, but I never listen to radio stations with ads it just drives me mad!)

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The meek will inherit the earth ... the rest of us will go to the stars.

Actually, you are probably right. As a non-smoker I'm not often near the "point of sale" - so I reckon you're probably more up to date with it

I think what makes radio adverts annoying is that with no visuals to offer, they tend to keep blabbing on and on to avoid dead airtime.

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The plural of "anecdote" is not "data".

Thank god ror the BBC, (No ads!)

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The meek will inherit the earth ... the rest of us will go to the stars.

There's this one add, insurence I think- the actuall add goes for 30 seconds and then they have another 30 secs of small print talk.... It's crazy...

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If this writing is blue you're going too fast!

I love your sig!

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The meek will inherit the earth ... the rest of us will go to the stars.

Yeah, Mickal, your .sig's pretty good, but *cough* ("you're", not "your".)

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And you, to whom adversity has dealt the final blow
With smiling [faces] lyin' to ye' everywhere ye' go
Turn to, and put out all your strength of arm and heart and brain
And like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again.

<Blush> So I was in a rush between jobs! </Blush>

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The meek will inherit the earth ... the rest of us will go to the stars.

And if we're going to nitpick, it's "substitute". But maybe that's part of his reality.

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Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.

Maybe its a stray sequence redneck DNA in my genes, but somehow calling the NASCAR series the "Nextel Cup" is blasphemous in my eyes...

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The last time I felt a warm fuzzy feeling, I was informed by my doctor that it was just gas.

It is nice though that they are not generically referred to as "Winston cars" anymore. We used to call them "roundy-pounders" (as opposed to cars that can turn in more than one direction).

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Don of Borg - Cool, Calm, Collective.

"Within the next generation I believe that the world's leaders will discover that infant conditioning and narco-hypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Question for NASCAR driver:

What's this a picture of?



NASCAR driver answer:

A right turn.

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