I can already tell I am going to be all over the board on this post. This is mainly due to the fact the topic today is about commercials/advertisements and I extremely dislike them – normally I would have used the hay8 word but I am trying to narrow the use of that label to special situations (like Sprint) otherwise it tends to get watered down. I should probably backup and put some perspective on this. For probably 10 years now, every time I get a magazine, I take 2 minutes to rip out every double page ad in it. This leaves a muuuuchh thinner magazine with very little distractions, including those ridiculous cologne samples. Secondly, I rarely listen to any commercial on the radio – there are multiple (non-satellite) stations I listen to in the car and since the controls are now conveniently located behind the steering wheel, it is even easier to skip through the stations. That is when I choose to listen to the radio instead of podcasts and audio books. Lastly, I use a computer to PVR all of my TV shows and watch them later in the night or week. That tiny little button labeled “skip” jumps 30 seconds ahead so a few clicks of that and I am back into the show adding productive hours to my week. Getting the picture here? As a note, when Ted Turner claimed I was stealing his money by doing this I swore to never watch TNT again (and true to my word).
If you are in the marketing creation business, you might want to rethink your approach if you plan to sell me something. As a suggestion, you might want to consider the in show product approach – if you are selling soda, you might want to push to have an actor drink from a can (with trademark visible) in the middle of a suspenseful moment or have an actress get into a specific SUV and hit the OnStar button before the villain raises up from the back seat — think the movie Demolition Man and Taco Bell (as you can see that worked)
But I admit, there is a small window in the morning when I choose to sit (actually stand) through commercials. That time is in the morning getting ready for work. I need to know what to wear so the TV is generally on to get the latest updates. Unfortunately, every once in awhile a commercial comes on that freezes me in my tracks – not because it is actually worth watching, but rather in the “What were they thinking” category.
One of these moments happened yesterday.
The particular commercial was a VISA Check Cashing card. Before I go any further… yes, I remembered the product in the commercial and no, the commercial didn’t “work” because it was soooo stupid I can only believe the company that approved its use must be completely out of touch with my reality and therefore not a product I want to own. The premise of the commercial is that the a couple is running late to get to a movie. Everyone is running around and doing movie stunts to make it into the theater before the show’s starting time. Without the check cashing card, the subjects would not be able to rush through the checkout and snack bar before the stated start time of the show. I find this absurd, because the last two times I have bothered with going to the movies, the actual show NEVER started until 25 or more minutes after the posted start time. Why is this? … because they have to now go through a series of actual commercials followed by some generally weak previews whose intent is to make me want to spend way to much money again to sit through commercials and more weak previews. So the way I see it, the customers in this scenario just trashed a movie theater and risked bodily harm to watch commercials. I should also mention that is a little bit ironic since it is probably accurate they didn’t have enough cash to pay for the prices they charge these days.
I might as well take the opportunity to comment on another commercial that lit me up. In fact, every time I think about it, my blood pressure shoots up. I was actually forced to watch this one a year or two ago while I think waiting to see Transporter 2 (not exactly your 5 star movie, but we are big fans of the first one). Basically, what I remember is Ben Affleck pleading for me not to steal movies because his hairdresser will be put out of work. Should I let that soak in a little bit – Ben Affleck doesn’t want me to steal movies because the non-actors will be put out of work or not receive their hourly pay. This is the guy who got paid $12.5 million to make Gigli and gave Jennifer Lopez a $3.5 million rock. The same Ben Affleck that has had at least 7 Razzie nominations (3 in the worst actor category) and actually won at least two of them. Yes, the guy that was paid another $12.5 million for Jersey Girl thinks I am going to put the “little” people out of work if download a movie. Somehow, this commercial isn’t appealing to me … reason one: I could care less about Ben Affleck and if he really cared about them, he would donate a million of his salary to put clothes on their backs and gels in their dressing stations. Reason two: I am sitting in the theater so OBVIOUSLY I chose not to download that movie.
Where’s my stress ball 8^)
Life Intrigued 