Subliminal Messages
Commercials... Advertisement in one form or the other is a part of everything today. It's one of the largest industries in America. Billions of dollars change hands every day just for advertising and its related items.
I don't quite understand it. I mean, I can see if you're having a sale, a new business, new product... Advertising helps get the word out. But lets look at the established companies... I'm a Coke drinker so lets pick on them. Why do I drink Coke? I'm assuming it's cause I like it. CocaCola probably has an advertising budget the size of many countries entire incomes. The Super Bowl comes up, and Pepsi-Cola puts in a commercial, it costs them 2 million per 30 seconds and they probably run 5 commercials or so.. that adds up to a buttload of money! Do I run to the store and buy Pepsi instead of Coke? I don't. I don't even know anyone who does! So why spend the money? Who runs and buys a different product just cause the commercial was funny or some celebrity says it's their favorite?
I can see advertising during kid shows, they are atleast somewhat influenceable at that age... but the whole world? I'll tell you what would be effective as hell... Pepsi-Cola is #2 in the soda companies and it's a fair guess to say they'd just love to be #1 in sales. So, what if Pepsi held a press conference (free) and said they had just eliminated their entire marketing staff. They had cut their advertising budget to zero... that's right, no money whatsoever on advertising. They had terminated all their endorsements, no longer paid movie producers to use their product, gave up all incentives to retailers to carry or display their product... everything. They announce that the only cost now for any Pepsi product is only as much as production and shipping. Imagine what that would do to their price! Literally, it would probably cut it by 2/3's!
Now, if Pepsi was 2/3 the price of Coke... would I switch products? lol... Probably! Some people might not... but think about the millions of parents out there shopping on a budget, all the sudden Pepsi is looking damned good on the shelf when it's even cheaper than the generic brands on sale! Their sales would sky rocket! Wouldn't they?
Who has Nextel for their wireless company just because they pay millions to have racing called the Nextel cup? Who buys a certain beer just because they sponser the lates PGA tour? Who buys Duracell batteries just because Bon Jovi uses them? Who doesn't realize that Bon Jovi only uses Duracell because he was paid grundles of money to do so and probably receives free batteries for life? I just don't know anyone who would read these questions and raise their hands meekly and answer "I do."
Commercials and ads drive me crazy... I just hate them all for the most part. They insult us by saying that "Hey, you're stupid enough to buy our product just because we tell you to or because some celebrity got paid millions to say he/she liked it!" The thing that I don't want to even consider is that they are right... If that's the case, commercials piss me off cause they remind me how stupid the human race is.
I don't quite understand it. I mean, I can see if you're having a sale, a new business, new product... Advertising helps get the word out. But lets look at the established companies... I'm a Coke drinker so lets pick on them. Why do I drink Coke? I'm assuming it's cause I like it. CocaCola probably has an advertising budget the size of many countries entire incomes. The Super Bowl comes up, and Pepsi-Cola puts in a commercial, it costs them 2 million per 30 seconds and they probably run 5 commercials or so.. that adds up to a buttload of money! Do I run to the store and buy Pepsi instead of Coke? I don't. I don't even know anyone who does! So why spend the money? Who runs and buys a different product just cause the commercial was funny or some celebrity says it's their favorite?
I can see advertising during kid shows, they are atleast somewhat influenceable at that age... but the whole world? I'll tell you what would be effective as hell... Pepsi-Cola is #2 in the soda companies and it's a fair guess to say they'd just love to be #1 in sales. So, what if Pepsi held a press conference (free) and said they had just eliminated their entire marketing staff. They had cut their advertising budget to zero... that's right, no money whatsoever on advertising. They had terminated all their endorsements, no longer paid movie producers to use their product, gave up all incentives to retailers to carry or display their product... everything. They announce that the only cost now for any Pepsi product is only as much as production and shipping. Imagine what that would do to their price! Literally, it would probably cut it by 2/3's!
Now, if Pepsi was 2/3 the price of Coke... would I switch products? lol... Probably! Some people might not... but think about the millions of parents out there shopping on a budget, all the sudden Pepsi is looking damned good on the shelf when it's even cheaper than the generic brands on sale! Their sales would sky rocket! Wouldn't they?
Who has Nextel for their wireless company just because they pay millions to have racing called the Nextel cup? Who buys a certain beer just because they sponser the lates PGA tour? Who buys Duracell batteries just because Bon Jovi uses them? Who doesn't realize that Bon Jovi only uses Duracell because he was paid grundles of money to do so and probably receives free batteries for life? I just don't know anyone who would read these questions and raise their hands meekly and answer "I do."
Commercials and ads drive me crazy... I just hate them all for the most part. They insult us by saying that "Hey, you're stupid enough to buy our product just because we tell you to or because some celebrity got paid millions to say he/she liked it!" The thing that I don't want to even consider is that they are right... If that's the case, commercials piss me off cause they remind me how stupid the human race is.
posted by Dogman at 11:48 AM
3 Comments:
hey send me your email address..
I'm reading a book on writing advertising copy by Robert Bly right now. Just so you know, Bly advises against everything that pisses you off about advertising.
He says that consumers, and that's you, don't give a crap if someone famous drinks Coke. Consumers want to know what they can get out of a product.
However, when you think about it, what do you get out of Coke? I mean, it rots your teeth, makes you fat, gives you halitosis. Other than the fact that it's loaded with sugar and caffeine, which can keep you awake on the night shift (yay Coke!), it has no redeemable qualities.
So, I guess they do what they can down there in Atlanta. Anyway, thanks so much for reading and linking to my blog. I'll do the same.
Maintain the rage, it's entertaining as heck.
Hope you enjoyed....
Post a Comment
<< Home