Television advertising

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Being more or less shut in, I watch a lot of television.  Over the last couple of years I have been annoyed by the length, frequency, and sameness of commercial breaks.  I get sick of having the same messages blatted at me two or three times in the same hour.

I would guess that commercials have become so costly that some effort is taken to recover costs by running the same message as often as possible.  If this is the case, maybe less should be more.  Fewer messages of higher quality would be greatly appreciated by me and I am sure by others like me.  In these "hard" times, one must make the best of the advertising dollar by reducing the juvenile insults, and having more meaningful, short messages.

The cable networks are becoming captive to some bad practices as well.  I don't appreciate the "your are watching/next show" flashes that they have been putting on-screen lately while the body of the show is in progress.  I am perfectly capable of finding out what is on the channel next myself.  It is only a push of a button for me to see the schedule which includes a PIP of the current show.  Perhaps this is an indicator of some desperation on the networks' part to try and keep viewers away from the channel controls.

Maybe it is me, but has anyone else noticed an increase in sales come-ons for merchandise of dubious distinction.  Collectibles, kitchen gadgets, and beauty aids are available by sending in something in the order of $20, preferrably by credit card.  Both telephone and internet addresses are provided.  Tsk, tsk.  About one more ad for some super chopper and I will start reading newspapers again.

Discussion?  Arguments?  Pro?  Con?  Go for it!

[Larks2242 251]

I remember hearing a that, a long time ago the goverment used to regulate how long and many comericals were on TV until one of the presidents changed it so the TV companys made the choices. I'm guessing that was the first in alot of bad moves that made companys dominate leading to more comericals. I agreethey should mix the comericals up a litle more so it does not repeat to the point you can recite it over and over. As for the next show thing not all people get the guide i know people who have basic cable and that's the only way to see what's coming up (unless they run to their computer or look in the newspaper) i think the tv people think it is easer when they add that.

And by super chopper do you mean Slap Chop

[Livin in Sim 83]

Go, Slap Chop, yeah!  And when you get tired of Slap Chop, try Slap Bet, but I get to be the Commissioner, OK?

Actually, it's getting so I watch less and less conventional TV.  I watch more and more of it online, streaming video.  All the large networks and some cable channels have most of their shows available in full episode format.  I have a large monitor, and the next TV I buy will be capable of being hooked up.  The sweet thing is that it's totally adjustable to my schedule.  The commercials are around 30 seconds long (they are all the same for that show, but it's only 30 seconds), so it takes less time, it's pausable, and it's much cheaper than TiVo.  You do have to have broadband, of course, but I'd have that anyway.  You can't save it to the hard drive like DVR, but otherwise, it's great.

I do love a good creative commercial, but all of those end up on You Tube, anyway.

[Meg 368]

My solutions to this are the mute button (if I'm watching live) or the fast forward button (if I'm using tivo).

I have, on multiple occassions, emailed a company to tell them their commercial is so annoying that I have to hit the mute button when it comes on.   I do not do this after seeing the commercial once.  (It could be that I'm having a bad day.)  But I repeatedly hit the mute button on the same commercial over a period of days, that company is getting an email.

I am almost at the point of sending one to Best Buy.  I can't stand their "carolers".  

[Muck308 55]

I recall hearing that a television was available that automatically turned down the volume when commercials came on, because they are often loud and obnoxious. The sale of that particular television was outlawed in the United States, if not elsewhere. (AMC especially has super loud commercials.)

As far as today's advertisements go...

The people involved have gotten younger. That is how music you would never expect to hear except, out of your stereo, gets there. These jackasses are listening to it too, and because they like it they are forcing all of us to listen to it.

They also utilize today's "latest" street lingo. Usually about 2 months after every kid at every elementary school is familiar with it.

The people who actually write these ads are running out of ideas and are, by design perhaps, less creative than those before them. While still, I can only assume, the people who give these ads the green light are still the old fat cats. They give crap the go ahead because it tests well.

So who is being tested? Well, the short answer is people from different demographics. Fact of the matter is there's many a fool out there and far too often, perhaps by design, a fool finds their way into a position where others wish to learn from them.

I think that people have gotten lazier. Those responsible for the creation and structure as well as those who give the 'ole thumps/thumps down. And if it makes money, who cares? The end justifies the mean.

This will get worse, believe you me. That is why, if I ever discovered a way to time travel, I wouldn't dare go to the future. I already know the future sucks.

Anyway, I really try to ignore ads, but I still love to search for the hidden messages in magazines ads. You often find images of death in ads for cars or alcohol.

[Duke87 1,070]

The problem is that there's a predator-prey aspect here. People come up with better ways to avoid watching advertising, companies come up with better ways to ram it down their throats.

For instance, try watching any sports event on TV The announcers will, in the middle of the game, randomly mention that "this is brought to you by ____". And TV shows and movies do more and more prudcut placement.

This is because advertising companies know that commercial breaks are readily ignored by muting, getting up and going to the bathroom and, nowadays, fast-forwarding past with TiVo. Solution? Find ways to advertise things during the program so they can't be so easily avoided.

I, in general, despise any form of advertising or solicitation. If I want to buy something, I'll do research on the matter myself. Your crazy attempts to pitch it at me are only going to make me hate you and not want to buy your product.

This is (part of) why I never listen to the radio. This is why I don't watch TV much. This is why I insist on having an ad blocker in my web browser. This is why any phone call I get with a caller ID I don't recognize does not get answered.This is why when someone on the street or in the mall tries to pull me aside gets totally ignored, and if they get in my face are given dirty looks and told to go bother someone else. I don't care what you're selling, I don't want to see, hear, smell, taste, or touch it. Period.

[Easy Bakes 253]

I almost never watch live TV shows anymore. except for football game i watch every thing on DVR and fast forward.

I dont mind ads some times but i do not understand why in the course ona 3 hour football game we need to see the exact same ads over and over again. We cant run a Bud light ad thats a few years old to mix it up a bit?

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: Easy Bakes

I almost never watch live TV shows anymore. except for football game i watch every thing on DVR and fast forward.quote>

You know, this is something I've never understood. Why do people, if they can't watch a game when it's on live, tape it and watch it later? I mean, if the game's already been played, why sit down for three hours waiting to see how it ends when you can go online and look up the final score in 30 seconds? Seems silly to me.

[Jezus53 18]

Originally posted by: Duke87

You know, this is something I've never understood. Why do people, if they can't watch a game when it's on live, tape it and watch it later? I mean, if the game's already been played, why sit down for three hours waiting to see how it ends when you can go online and look up the final score in 30 seconds? Seems silly to me.

quote>

Well if I was a casino I guess watching the game after its been played wouldn't matter, but many people enjoy watching the game. I know I do. Sure I want to know if my team won or lost, but I also want to know how they won or lost. I want to see if the new draft pick is really working out or if they're just bringing us down. I want to see if McNabb can still play. I want to see what the Eagles ddo with Vick. I want to see what they do. Sure I can look up the stats, but numbers mean nothing to me. If DeSean Jackson gets 4 catches in a game that's great! But what have I missed? Well look what they left out, he dropped 20 passes. That's some info I want to know! I guess what I'm saying is, there is a hge difference between knowing the out come of the game, and seeing the game.

I, in general, despise any form of advertising or solicitation. If I want to buy something, I'll do research on the matter myself. Your crazy attempts to pitch it at me are only going to make me hate you and not want to buy your product.

This is (part of) why I never listen to the radio. This is why I don't watch TV much. This is why I insist on having an ad blocker in my web browser. This is why any phone call I get with a caller ID I don't recognize does not get answered.This is why when someone on the street or in the mall tries to pull me aside gets totally ignored, and if they get in my face are given dirty looks and told to go bother someone else. I don't care what you're selling, I don't want to see, hear, smell, taste, or touch it. Period.

quote>

Can I just say this, I like you. I do the same thing.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

The response to my rant indicates that Newton Minnow was right all those years ago. Television has become "a vast wasteland". Keep up the good rant, folks.

[Loney 22]

I remember watching "WipeOut" during the summer, and something just smacked me in the face...

Did ABC just had to slap a downright annoying typicak advertisement for an anti-depressant drug that says, "This (insert drug name) has improved my life, blah, blah, blah." during the commerical breaks, six times in a row?!

Seriously, many of the companies that launch their own advertisments need to learn how to avoid repeating advertisements. One or two ads per show are enough, anymore than that is an overkill. Same for the companies that operate the TV channels. No need to stack six same advertisments in the same show unless if you plan on hitting the "nation's least watched TV show" record.

In fact, even some of the TV channels annoy their viewers by first advertising their own shows or etc, then they blare, "This is sponsered by...". Last year I counted how many minutes were spent on advertising for one of CSI shows. It turned it out was for every 2 minutes of CSI, there was one minute of advertising. I could have sworn they accidentially replaced CSI with combo boring ads.

In the past, I kinda enjoyed hilarious ads, but not anymore since there isn't a single ad that I even consider funny and due to repeating them frequently.

[Odainsaker 2,135]

Ugh, hypermarketing Vince with his headset and useless choppers...they never show you the effort taken to clean those gizmos of all the trapped food particles.  Like the Orwellian UK commercial for television registration, we just have to look elsewhere for advertising fun, as it is clear America has lost it.  Quantity over quality, but then that is the prime method of the Big Lie and even propaganda, which are themselves just other facets of Marketing.

Makes me wish commercials could be more like this, which at least are still entertaining:

Samurai Rap, lol...I'd buy that for a dollar!

Romulans, tea pots, and insulated hot baths, oh my!  Ack, TOTO toilet company's song is now stuck in my head.

Now, we may have Tony the Tiger, Keebler Elves, and the Pillsbury Doughboy, but I never would have imagined Nissin Cheese Curry Ramen Man:

We have our super sentai cosplay costume!

When it comes to medications, we all know those poor pudgy salarymen don't have it easy, with the Japanese economy collapsing, long working hours, and their infamous high blood pressure:

Pair the overworked salaryman with the super sentai, and you get this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zMaR_qlkrk.

Got Milk?  That Got Milk series should have looked more like this:

They make school and the softdrink Fanta look cool:

"He's hard to follow"..."I wish she'd just teach," hahaha.

You know, these are the mild ones, yet there are still too many wrong fetishes which are just plain creepy, such as the animism here:

Ack, the song is stuck in my head!

Gosh, even the Canadian's tweak parody for the ladies better than we do:

Okay, maybe I won't watch tv to see that, but still, smile!

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

What ever happened to Jingles like:

Toasty Yeast is tasty

To the appetite

Creamy wholesome candy

Try a little nibble.

 

This had its own tune that I have never heard elsewhere. This ratio ad was sometime in the 1930's.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Originally posted by: Odainsaker

Ugh, hypermarketing Vince with his headset and useless choppers...they never show you the effort taken to clean those gizmos of all the trapped food particles.  Like the Orwellian UK commercial for television registration, we just have to look elsewhere for advertising fun, as it is clear America has lost it.  Quantity over quality, but then that is the prime method of the Big Lie and even propaganda, which are themselves just other facets of Marketing.

Makes me wish commercials could be more like this, which at least are still entertaining:

Samurai Rap, lol...I'd buy that for a dollar!

Romulans, tea pots, and insulated hot baths, oh my!  Ack, TOTO toilet company's song is now stuck in my head.

Now, we may have Tony the Tiger, Keebler Elves, and the Pillsbury Doughboy, but I never would have imagined Nissin Cheese Curry Ramen Man:

We have our super sentai cosplay costume!

When it comes to medications, we all know those poor pudgy salarymen don't have it easy, with the Japanese economy collapsing, long working hours, and their infamous high blood pressure:

Pair the overworked salaryman with the super sentai, and you get this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zMaR_qlkrk.

Got Milk?  That Got Milk series should have looked more like this:

They make school and the softdrink Fanta look cool:

"He's hard to follow"..."I wish she'd just teach," hahaha.

You know, these are the mild ones, yet there are still too many wrong fetishes which are just plain creepy, such as the animism here:

Ack, the song is stuck in my head!

Gosh, even the Canadian's tweak parody for the ladies better than we do:

Okay, maybe I won't watch tv to see that, but still, smile!quote>

even a clever funny well written ad gets old when its shown 1000 times a day on every channel.

you just have to resign yourself your going to see the same ads over and over again for the whole football season.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

TV ads are like a Prussian officer joke. Once for us to get it, once for us to explain it to him, and once for him to get it. Beyond that it is just a piece of b-o-o-r-i-n-g pap.

What ever happened to sponsorship? Anybody besides me remember the Lux Theater? Oxydol's own Ma Perkins? Jack Armstrong the All-American Boy sponsored by Wheaties? Those were the days (on radio).

Now that they can give us pictures, why are they not worth a thousand words?  Why do they have to blather so long?

[Easy Bakes 253]

Originally posted by: N_O_Body

TV ads are like a Prussian officer joke. Once for us to get it, once for us to explain it to him, and once for him to get it. Beyond that it is just a piece of b-o-o-r-i-n-g pap.

What ever happened to sponsorship? Anybody besides me remember the Lux Theater? Oxydol's own Ma Perkins? Jack Armstrong the All-American Boy sponsored by Wheaties? Those were the days (on radio).

Now that they can give us pictures, why are they not worth a thousand words?  Why do they have to blather so long?

quote>

Mostly its to explaine the side effects. Especialy for medication ads,describing the side effects takes longer then telling you what it does.That is if they actualy tell you what the drug is for for

.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Originally posted by: Easy Bakes

Mostly its to explaine the side effects. Especialy for medication ads,describing the side effects takes longer then telling you what it does.That is if they actualy tell you what the drug is for for

quote>

If you listen to all the results of the clinical studies, you will head for the nearest Herbalist or Shaman.  I don't know why drug companies bother with public advertisements as I am sure it does them a lot of harm.  Maybe they should restrict those executive lunches (olives and onions) that their advertising guys have been drinking with the TV sales people.

If the result of an advertisement is to notify the public about dangerous effects, they are usurping the prerogative of the prescribing physician.  Scaring people is not good.

[thepokemaniac 18]

I remember one year we learned about different types of propaganda in reading class. Then we had to do a mock TV commercial using a type of propaganda. My friends and I did a "Jitterbug" Cell Phone commercial and we were older people using cell phones.... I have to admit, it was pretty funny to see it in person!

Back to the point, every time I see a TV commercial, I think back to that year and try to decide what type of propaganda is being used. So now, watching TV is also somewhat educational for me if I actually think about it that way.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Has advertising become  a monster that cannot be killed? are compaines they so reliant on ads thet no one would know thier products with out  them?

Would budwiser and all the other beer compaines sell just as much beer  with out advertising?

[Larks2242 251]

Originally posted by: N_O_Body

What ever happened to Jingles like:

Toasty Yeast is tasty

To the appetite

Creamy wholesome candy

Try a little nibble.

 

This had its own tune that I have never heard elsewhere. This ratio ad was sometime in the 1930's.quote>

I doubt that would be sucessful now. As people would no longer think that was funny.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Wasn't funny then.  Toasty Yeast was a candy bar.  Trivial things like confections seem to have grown into monstrous ad campaigns with very bad puns: e.g. "I like my Coffee Crisp".

I think we are a little off track here.  I think the whole thing on commercial interruptions has got out of hand, and with the holidays upon us, it can only get worse.

[Barbarossa 51]

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  Edited September 8, 2012 by Barbarossa  

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

I agree with you.  The tail is wagging the dog.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Originally posted by: Barbarossa

Commercial advertising has gotten out of hand, to say the least. It is disturbing that a 2hr film takes 3hr when aired, so that we can spend a 1/3 of the time watching commercials for deadly medications, male enhancement, Glade air fresheners, and votech courses. Not to mention seeing the same commercial over and over, every 10mins.

I believe that in the past, a standard half-hour sitcom was tagged at 25mins, then 21 mins, now I think it sits at 18mins. How long before the show is 10mins with 20mins of advertising? Barbarossaquote>

and when you count the graphic popups during the actual shows ( and i Do) its even longer.

When the comercials finaly go longer then the shows mabey then we will rebell

[Jezus53 18]

Commercials will cease to exist when people in the industry decide they have enough money, which will be never. It's all greed. No one cares about delivering a quality product anymore, they want money and that's it. They could careless if the consumer is unsatisfied with the shows on the air. What can we do about it? The majority of people will never stop watching tv and probably can't figure out ways around watching commercial television. My best suggestion, watch tv while on the computer. Most of the time you only need to hear what they're saying, not see what they're doing. And when a loud noise comes up or a flash or something they say catches your attention, you look at the screen to see what's going on. Then when the commercials come on, you log onto Simtropolis and chat or read threads. I've been doing it for years and I've noticed my anger towards commercials has dropped quite a bit.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Originally posted by: Jezus53

Commercials will cease to exist when people in the industry decide they have enough money, which will be never. It's all greed. No one cares about delivering a quality product anymore, they want money and that's it. They could careless if the consumer is unsatisfied with the shows on the air. What can we do about it? The majority of people will never stop watching tv and probably can't figure out ways around watching commercial television. My best suggestion, watch tv while on the computer. Most of the time you only need to hear what they're saying, not see what they're doing. And when a loud noise comes up or a flash or something they say catches your attention, you look at the screen to see what's going on. Then when the commercials come on, you log onto Simtropolis and chat or read threads. I've been doing it for years and I've noticed my anger towards commercials has dropped quite a bit.quote>

I assume you really mean care less, so after this Freudean slip, I can suppose your anger is not all that well contained. 

Of course you have hit the nail on the head.  Business these days only cares about the immediate financial period's bottom line.  This is the result of listening to all those wise asses who think an MBA is some sort of licence to be in the upper echelon.  The MBA's spend too much time listening to the bean counters and have never heard of the first principle of good business, namely, "Doing well while doing good."  Doing good is a foreign epistle to most of these guys, who are only interested in their next bonus and their golden parachute.  It is too bad there is not some tort that they could be got on.  For example:  Harming the long-term prospects of the business while milking it for personal gain.

I suspect that many of these idiots have never really understood the Peter Principle, which will operate will they, nil they.

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: N_O_Body

I suspect that many of these idiots have never really understood the Peter Principle, which will operate will they, nil they.

quote>

I suspect that they understand the Peter Principle but believe it does not apply to them.

[Jezus53 18]

Originally posted by: N_O_Body

I assume you really mean care less, so after this Freudean slip, I can suppose your anger is not all that well contained.  

quote>

Thanks for catching that. I did mean care less, not careless. My space bar has been freaking out on me recently. I usually catch the mistakes but this time I missed it.

[Muck308 55]

Originally posted by: Meg I suspect that they understand the Peter Principle but believe it does not apply to them.

quote>

Doesn't that make them psychopathic by definiton?

[Barbarossa 51]

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  Edited September 8, 2012 by Barbarossa