Mocking Advertisers

[mishalak]

Have you ever noticed the secondary message of advertisements? The thing that the ads say besides the obvious "Buy my product, it's really great!" Like when they're saying unintentionally, "People who buy our product are truly stupid." For example the advertisements where a guy on the verge of death gets out of his hospital bed to go to a sale. When I see that I can't help but think, "Well... yeah. Okay then. So what you guys are saying is that fanatical people who make poor choices buy your stuff. M'yeah okay then I really want to be like them."

My other favorite is the classic big stupid guy who's apparently dating or married to the thin perfect woman. Well right off that does nothing for me at all, but obviously the message they want to send is if you're an overweight straight guy you should get our product. Then for some unaccountable reason the beautiful woman will stay with you. So it isn't just a wine it’s a mind control substance. Cool. Oh but wait... I am one of the thin pretty people. <worried> Okaay going to avoid that and run away from guys who offer me Arbor Mist. "Aiieee!" Especially dumb overweight ones. Of course that last prescription is pretty good advice under any circumstances.

Or Arby's: eat our sandwiches and you'll be so addicted by them that you'll randomly burst out saying the name of ingredients. M'kay yeah I want that. Plus the commercial is painful to watch; poor guy disintegrating under the weight of addition on national TV. Stop mocking him and get him into a 12 step to deal with his meat addiction! Ow, who wants to watch that?

Comments

[whumpdotcom.livejournal.com]

There's a nice meditation about this on the Creating Passionate Users blog.

http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2005/05/users_dont_care.html

Saying "Buy this because we kick ass is stupid." Getting to the point where you can say "Buy this because it will help you kick ass," is a starting point.

[mishalak.livejournal.com]

And yet that's exactly what I'm mocking. I don't want to be a user so passionate that I give testimonials about a fucking soap. Or much of anything else. I don't want to be enlisted by advertising to go out and make this a lifestyle choice.

Advertising about how wonderful your product is by using testimonial type stuff are like astroturf groups. It isn't really grass roots word of mouth people thinking this is best, it is just trying to simulate that. See also "Citizens of Balanced Energy Choices" or other liars from industry groups.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

I think those commercials are supposed to be humorous exaggeration.

As for fat people, we all know that choosing partners which will help maintain one's status is really crucial, and people should be reminded of it as often as possible.

[mishalak.livejournal.com]

Yes and I'm humorously making fun of them. (I hope. I'm never quite sure when something I find funny other people are going to find funny.)

Because if I mock them back then maybe I can take away the power of these commercials.

[mishalak.livejournal.com]

I really dislike the message that alleged comedies and comics send on this too. The whole perfect woman thing and the fat men as in shows like King of Queens, George Lopez, and all the rest. Or the gross and distorted men in the comics who look like they've got warts or something who manage to get the perfect girl anyway. Either it's "It's okay to let yourself go if you're a man, but women have to have perfect bodies" or "women are smart and men are stupid, but it is still a woman's place to be loyal to her man", or something equally repulsive. And then if I want I can go down a whole thing about unrealistic body images if I want.

It's one way in which I think Malcom in the Middle was way better than the other sitcoms. It had two equally imperfect parents instead of one perfect and one schlub. Not that I watch it often because I don't care for sitcoms very much.

[itchyglow.livejournal.com]

some of these commercials could be simplified into the lowest common denominator, that being "sex sells." ergot the big stupid lughead with the perfect woman. i often wonder who these idiots are who keep falling for the 'sex sells' commercials, and then i figure it's the same schmucks who keep clicking on the links in junk email spam for Cialis and Viagra, which keeps the junk mail industry alive and congesting my inbox.

Yesterday I saw a "sex sells" commercial for worcestershire sauce. WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE. Some guy was using it in burgers and the narrator was implying how popular he was with the ladies. How can one feel sexy from the words "worcestershire sauce??"

[mishalak.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but that isn't funny. Well I thought the observations I made were funny. I guess they worked out better in my head than written down.