n,v: a public promotion of some good or service
This time of year, we are all forced to pay more attention to advertising. The nation’s attention to the Super Bowl (excuse me, The Big Game) is half about the game and half about the commercials that are presented. After the game, the media spends more time going over the picks and pans than the picks and points. This year, for some reason, lots of people enjoyed seeing a glass paperweight hit a man in the groin. Others went for more prosaic fare like the love story between a Clydesdale horse and a circus horse.
I understand that there are a lot of reasons for advertising. Brand awareness, new product announcement, to create industry buzz and to help employee morale are just some. What I don’t get, is annoying a potential customer to get attention. I guess part of it is that advertising execs are being pushed ever harder to come up with creative campaigns.
There is one commercial running in the Chicago radio markets that just makes me crazy. Mark my words, I will never buy a Sunsetter Retractable Awning. If I even hear the beginning 5 seconds of the ad, I will change the station. The pitch is that there is a reasonable guy telling the audience about the benefits of the aforementioned awning system. Every 10 seconds, a woman’s screeching voice comes on and orders “Harry, tell them about the discount”. Finally, at the end, the man gives in and tells us all about the discount. Perhaps the ad exec in charge of this account is a henpecked guy who is just expressing his life story. Perhaps the company thinks that the discount is so critical that they can devalue the experience of listening to the whole case for an awning system.
On one hand, the company has won. I certainly know the company and the ad, and can put them together. But I can guarantee that if I ever have the opportunity to purchase an awning system, I will find another solution. In fact, if I am ever in a conversation with anybody about remodeling, I might just go out of my way to help them find another solution.
What are the ads that make you crazy enough to boycott the product?
But Al, the sunsetter unrolls in 60 seconds. LOL That is a pretty annoying commercial. I don’t really like the Ocean Spray cranberry ads – stand in the bog, fine, but I find the “interesting” guy pretty annoying. Can you say Bartles & Jaymes redux?
But that little red head girl in the Mott’s Apple Juice and Blue Cross ads, love her!!
“He went to Jared!” such an annoying commerical
I force my family to mute every commercial that comes on; if they’re not muted in the first couple of seconds, I’m complaining. Thank goodness for DVRs and the ability to speed through ads. In Indianapolis, a local car dealer with the last name of Rohrman thinks it’s funny that it sounds like a lion’s “roar,” so he has a bad lion logo and all his commercials say, “Bob ROOOOAAAARman!” while he’s doing something really, really cheesy. I’d never let the guy sell a car to anyone in my family.
Does anybody actually WATCH commercials anymore? I honestly can’t remember the last time I watched a commercial. I’m serious. I rarely watch live TV and when I do I usually pause it when it comes to a commercial, do something else for awhile, then come back and skip through the ads.
So, I guess I don’t have a commercial that I hate!
Ron, I don’t watch TV either, but sometimes when I am in the car, I have the radio turned on. That is when the kids don’t have the IPods hooked up.
I agree with the note on the little red headed girl.
I personally love commercials. I would much rather watch a commercial than a show like inside edition. It was on in the background the other day and they had an interview with someone who said they slept with a-rod. This kind of stuff ruins people’s lives. Whereas I do find commercials annoying, sitting through a minute long spot about some product is much more appealing to me than wacthing people get humiliated. That is the real problem with tv. But thank g-d for DVR. It gives us students a chance to watch the entire Cubs game.
Jeremy… Seriously, you love commercials? OK, what commercial is your favorite? Do you buy or use the product? Perhaps you shouldn’t plan to be a lawyer, but an ad exec instead.