Let Mikey try it.

[Warden Callaway]

I've thought about it a lot. What good are commercials?  I've tried to think of a single incident when a commercial has tripped my trigger to run out and buy the product.  Often the product being presented has no use in my life.  Sometimes the commercial is so stupid I fall to see what they are promoting.  Some are so ridiculous that I'm not tempted to buy the product if I had a use for it. Yet I'm sure billions of dollars are spent on commercials. 

 

Presenters, now called influencers,  are paid millions for their endorsement.  Michael Jackson got $1.5 million for a Pepsi commercial.  That's when I stopped buying Pepsi. Michel Jordan gets $330 million per year from Niki.

[Father Kit Cool Gun Garth]

Ann and I have always said that if all the money they spent on the commercials went towards reducing the cost of their product, more people would be prone to buying it. 

[Subdeacon Joe]

Name recognition.  Say you hear a commercial for "Tvortnasters Frozen Tasty Baky Spuds."  You hear it a lot on radio and television for a few months.  You get invited to a potluck and you're supposed to bring some sort of spuds.  You go to the store and look through the frozen foods and see them.  "Hmmm....that name seems familiar."  so you pick them up.

Back maybe 30 years ago in a political campaign one candidate put out a radio commercial that must have been written by someone who supported his opponent.  A catchy little jingle that mentioned his opponent about 20 times in half a minute.  And only at the end, "This message paid for by Friends of This Candidate."  "I'm This Candidate and I endorse this ad."  All anyone remembered is the name from the jingle, not the name of the candidate who paid for the ad.  The guy mentioned in the ad got something like 90% of the vote.  

 

That's why Truman never mentioned the name of anyone running against him.  Name recognition is a powerful thing. 

[Rye Miles #13621]

32 minutes ago, Father Kit Cool Gun Garth said:

Ann and I have always said that if all the money they spent on the commercials went towards reducing the cost of their product, more people would be prone to buying it. 

They have to get the word out so you know about the product!

[Warden Callaway]

We get so sick of some commercials.  They play over and over every commercial break.  How about medications for some ailment you never knew existed? 🤔 

[Subdeacon Joe]

2 minutes ago, Warden Callaway said:

We get so sick of some commercials.  They play over and over every commercial break.  How about medications for some ailment you never knew existed? 🤔 

 

I wonder how many people during a check up or follow up appointment will say, "Hey, Doc.  How about you put me on Latest Wonder Drug that I heard of on television?"  And how many doctors say, "Okay,  we can do that."

 

What gets me about those is the list of every possible side-effect, but no mention of the rate.  1 in 10? 1 in 100? 1 in 100,000,000?  Makes a  difference  

[J-BAR #18287]

The most memorable commercials are those that don't promote a product.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABM7izRP1bw&pp=ygUuYnVkd2Vpc2VyIDkvMTEgY29tbWVyY2lhbCBhaXJlZCBvbmx5IG9uY2UgMjAwMg%3D%3D

[Warden Callaway]

 

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

1 hour ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

They have to get the word out so you know about the product!

My parents never put much stock in commercials and my wife and I never have either.  I disconnected my TV about two years ago and only get the few ads that show up on  my Prime Account with Amazon.  (Sure is peaceful around here these days.)

 

I also get irritated on the radio ads (which i can't shut off) from politicians: "I have X number of patents"," I was a star football player in college", "I have lived in this state (usually in some huge crime and illegal alien left wing mega-hive paradise) for however many years"..

 

Who really gives a crap.

 

My sister will vote for anyone who "is a good Mormon".  I can't convince her that that has no more reasonability nor value than if she were running for office because she "was a good school teacher" or "good mother" or "a wonderful grandma".

 

I'll say it again so no one misses it: WHO REALLY GIVES A CRAP?  

[Father Kit Cool Gun Garth]

2 hours ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

They have to get the word out so you know about the product!

 

Can't argue with that statement. However, when you go to the store to purchase a specific item, have you ever gone to that advertised item?
Most likely not. Why you say?
Most people are one of the following:
○ Brand loyalty
○ Product on sale [BOGO]
○ Name recognition (not from an ad)
○  Cheapest or what's available

Same reason that @Subdeacon Joe  gave with a doctor visit.

"Dear, pick up some of that stuff we saw advertised on the TV." 

[Texas Jack Black]

23 minutes ago, Father Kit Cool Gun Garth said:

 

Can't argue with that statement. However, when you go to the store to purchase a specific item, have you ever gone to that advertised item?
Most likely not. Why you say?
Most people are one of the following:
○ Brand loyalty
○ Product on sale [BOGO]
○ Name recognition (not from an ad)
○  Cheapest or what's available

Same reason that @Subdeacon Joe  gave with a doctor visit.

"Dear, pick up some of that stuff we saw advertised on the TV." 

 It must work Billions are spent on Advertising. It works for my business.

[Warden Callaway]

4 hours ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

 

I wonder how many people during a check up or follow up appointment will say, "Hey, Doc.  How about you put me on Latest Wonder Drug that I heard of on television?"  And how many doctors say, "Okay,  we can do that."

 

What gets me about those is the list of every possible side-effect, but no mention of the rate.  1 in 10? 1 in 100? 1 in 100,000,000?  Makes a  difference  

Mom, bless her heart, had a lot of healt problems - real and imaginary.  She was always going to a doctor about something.  On one visit the doctor asked her what was wrong. She gave him a brochure from the lobby and said, "I've got all of these.". He took the brochure and ripped it up and threw it in the waste can. Said, I wish they'd quit putting these out.

[Seamus McGillicuddy]

Nothing new under the sun. Decades ago Vance Packard wrote The Hidden Persuaders explaining how advertising uses psychology use induce people to buy things.
 

Seamus 

[Tex Wilson]

Now you've got me started: There are way too many commercials on T.V. these days almost every 5-7 minutes there are commercials that run for 4-5 minutes before getting back to the regular program. Nothing I see makes me want to go out and purchase whatever it is they are trying to sell. All they do is annoy the crap out of me. If we can, Barb and I will record a program or movie just so we can fast forward through all the commercials sometimes shortening the viewing time by 3o minutes on a two-hour movie. I remember back in the early 70's when cable T.V. was starting up their selling point was "pay us X amount of dollars per month and view your T.V. shows with NO commercials...woo hoo! Well that only lasted a few years. Now we pay subscriptions for cable, or satellite, and/or streaming and we get ALL the commercials. I wish the government (who loves to regulate) would regulate commercials so we could enjoy watching our favorite T.V. shows or movies and not have to be inundated with countless worthless commercials or have to fast forward through them.  Nuff of my rant, I'm done.

[Rye Miles #13621]

7 hours ago, Father Kit Cool Gun Garth said:

 

Can't argue with that statement. However, when you go to the store to purchase a specific item, have you ever gone to that advertised item?
Most likely not. Why you say?
Most people are one of the following:
○ Brand loyalty
○ Product on sale [BOGO]
○ Name recognition (not from an ad)
○  Cheapest or what's available

Same reason that @Subdeacon Joe  gave with a doctor visit.

"Dear, pick up some of that stuff we saw advertised on the TV." 

Brand loyalty and name recognition come from advertising aka commercials. I don’t always buy whatever’s on sale if I don’t like the product. As far as the cheapest yea sometimes but again if the product sucks I don’t buy it!

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

2 hours ago, Tex Wilson said:

Now you've got me started: There are way too many commercials on T.V. these days almost every 5-7 minutes there are commercials that run for 4-5 minutes before getting back to the regular program. Nothing I see makes me want to go out and purchase whatever it is they are trying to sell. All they do is annoy the crap out of me. If we can, Barb and I will record a program or movie just so we can fast forward through all the commercials sometimes shortening the viewing time by 3o minutes on a two-hour movie.

I'm a borderline Luddite. I don't have, comparatively speaking, a lot of tech. My cell phone, (which I don't use much), is a flip phone. The confuser I'm on now is a Windows 10. Our newest vehicle is a 2006, and they have a CD player in them. However, I absolutely LOVE my DVR. We rarely watch any new shows live. We let them record, then watch them on the DVR so we can blow through the commercials. 

[John Kloehr]

Had the TV on for a bit some days ago, due to Helene, but nothing on antenna worth watching otherwise. Do not have cable. Do not subscribe to Netflix or any other service.

 

Youtube... Good stuff, some commercials and ads actually in much of the content I watch. If actually attentive, I'll click "skip" or scan past them. But if not really engaged, the darn feed will run for hours even if I am not there. Not going to worry unless the Internet gets metered.

 

Still get junk mail in the mail box. It goes right to recycling without further inspection. Email? Lots of advertising! Perhaps the most useful since I ordered from those companies in the past. I have filters which throw it into folders automatically (automagically?). After the 1st of each month, I go in and delete about 1,000 emails unread and unreviewed. Every now and then when I am actually looking for something, I do an email search for a bargain.

 

The key item is to take control of one's desires and use the tech to find what you want, not let the tech define what that is for you.

[watab kid]

used to be you knew what they were selling because the actually told you , but ill agree there are many i cant figure out anymore , 

 

has anyone seen a vape commercial ? i have not , but they say its marketed to kids - how " 

[John Kloehr]

11 minutes ago, watab kid said:

used to be you knew what they were selling because the actually told you , but ill agree there are many i cant figure out anymore , 

 

has anyone seen a vape commercial ? i have not , but they say its marketed to kids - how " 

No idea as to online, have not seen it but also do not watch for the latest pot videos. I do see displays in gas stations and other "stop and rob" stores when I am in them; Delta this, delta that; seriously, I like my 2nd Amendment rights, and do not see twisting some molecule to get around the law as preserving them. Lots of LED lighting in the displays compared to the weak ceiling fluorescents, maybe it makes an impression on younger buyers.

[Subdeacon Joe]

8 hours ago, Father Kit Cool Gun Garth said:

when you go to the store to purchase a specific item, have you ever gone to that advertised item?

 

Very rarely.   And when we do it's usually some sort of hardware 

 

There are some commercials that make me say  "Never!" or "Never again!" and for what it's worth I write (email) to the company and express my disgust at their commercial.  Just a few days ago I emailed a sandwich shop chain about their idiotic commercial of a guy in a posh restaurant throwing a tantrum worthy of a 2 year old because the restaurant doesn't have a "hot sauce bar" like the sandwich shop.  Plus,  until I actually watched the commercial,  I thought he was asking where the HOTDOG  bar was.   

 

Not that I bought them often, but I've written the makers of gumnt bears about how obnoxious the commercials with shrill kids voices dubbed to adults are.

 

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

11 minutes ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

Not that I bought them often, but I've written the makers of gumnt bears about how obnoxious the commercials with shrill kids voices dubbed to adults are.

That's for darn sure! I can't mute them fast enough.

[Black Angus McPherson]

A number of years ago, here in St. Louis, there was a guy that sold appliances, and he ran a bunch of really obnoxious tv commercials.  He had a grating voice and rolled around on roller skates yelling about his prices.  "Steve Mizerany and the decent boys"

 

He came into one of my sister's college classes to talk to the students about marketing.  He said people would come into his store to complain about his stupid commercials and he'd sell them a refrigerator.

 

Angus

[Warden Callaway]

1 hour ago, watab kid said:

used to be you knew what they were selling because the actually told you , but ill agree there are many i cant figure out anymore , 

 

has anyone seen a vape commercial ? i have not , but they say its marketed to kids - how " 

Just seen one were everyone in the neighborhood had some sports uniform on. Big guy with football jersey and pads and man bun. They were yelling at each other.  Last few seconds they flash up Little Caesar's Pizza.  That's it.

[sassnetguy50]

I bought Oxyclean in store.  It works.  I bought Flex Seal in a spray can.  Always used to keep a tube of silicone in the RV to repair storm damage.  Now I can spray it on.

Edited October 6 by sassnetguy50

[Warden Callaway]

Have you noticed that in the past few years a majority of commercial presenters have been black? Since the George Floyd riots in Minneapolis,  the advertising agencies have gone completely WONK.  Big burly black men dancing and going all gitty over how their laundry smells. They've now diluted some with other models - hefty women and open gay couples and mixed race couples.  

 

 

Edited October 6 by Warden Callaway

[Rip Snorter]

Not picking on them, but look at the Costco mailer.  What I really get a kick out of is black guys wearing clothes that you would never see on them in real life!

[Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life]

13 minutes ago, Warden Callaway said:

Have you noticed that in the past few years a majority of commercial presenters have been black? Since the George Floyd riots in Minneapolis,  the advertising agencies have gone completely WONK.  Big burly black men dancing and going all gitty over how their laundry smells. They've now diluted some with other models - hefty women and open gay couples and mixed race couples.  

 

 

 

While I don’t think I am particularly influenced by who pitches the product in an ad (on the rare times I watch TV) since I use the ad time to get coffee, hit the head or surf channels, I am sure the people who come up with the ads spent a lot of time, money and effort targeting their potential audience. If that is who they feel would best represent their product, fine by me, but I don’t know (or care) how (or who) makes those decisions. 
Regards

    

Gateway Kid

[Sedalia Dave]

17 hours ago, watab kid said:

 

has anyone seen a vape commercial ? i have not , but they say its marketed to kids - how " 

 

The marketing is in the stores. It is sold in multiple flavors including bubblegum.

[Warden Callaway]

I pulled up to a gas pump a couple of years back and a flat screen TV built into to pump started spilling out commercials.  Apparently,  the idea didn't take off because I've not seen one lately.  

[Rip Snorter]

None in my area, but I have encountered them on road trips.  The ones with sound are incredibly annoying!

[watab kid]

22 hours ago, John Kloehr said:

No idea as to online, have not seen it but also do not watch for the latest pot videos. I do see displays in gas stations and other "stop and rob" stores when I am in them; Delta this, delta that; seriously, I like my 2nd Amendment rights, and do not see twisting some molecule to get around the law as preserving them. Lots of LED lighting in the displays compared to the weak ceiling fluorescents, maybe it makes an impression on younger buyers.

hadnt noticed , ill have to look more closely , 

[watab kid]

21 hours ago, Warden Callaway said:

Just seen one were everyone in the neighborhood had some sports uniform on. Big guy with football jersey and pads and man bun. They were yelling at each other.  Last few seconds they flash up Little Caesar's Pizza.  That's it.

well - that dont sound like they type of commercial i would pay any attention to in the first place , but then i dont pay a lot of attention to commercials anymore  - if i want something i just go get it , dont need much anymore , yelling would turn me off to it right away , 

[watab kid]

5 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said:

 

The marketing is in the stores. It is sold in multiple flavors including bubblegum.

ok , o seldom look at such things at stores , i seldom look at anything im not interested in and i seldom look into things that im not looking to enjoy [except women  - i like looking] adds fall on deaf ears here , 

[Subdeacon Joe]

10 hours ago, Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life said:

am sure the people who come up with the ads spent a lot of time, money and effort targeting their potential audience. 

 

To an extent.   But the sudden change to every family being mixed race and most men in commercials being black is, in my opinion,  caving to the BLM/SPLC strong arm rackets.  "Nice product you got there.  Be a shame if your company got a reputation for being racist because half the people in your commercials aren't black."  Being accused of being racist is sort of like being accused of rape.  No matter what you do after the accusation an insanely large portion of the population will believe it forever after.

[Warden Callaway]

In 1971 CBS cancelled all their most popular programs, Beverly Hillbillies,  Green Acres, etc because they were popular in rural and older people.  They wanted to attract a younger urban viewers that consumed more. I'm obviously not their targeted audience.