Advertising Observations

[InsomniacInkRoss]

I try to pay attention to advertising, I have a background in TV and always wanted to do advertising

 

Some of the more interesting things I have noticed lately

 

-A furniture company on the radio assuring the viewer "our furniture is made right here in North America!" Come on now, who are you trying to fool?

-The ads for "The Happening" say it's from "the director of The Sixth Sense, and Signs" but not a mention of M. Night Shyamalan, they must have figured his name would scare away people after the last 2 bombs

 

I think the Dan Patrick Cousin's ads are just awful, TV and radio, one of the worst campaigns I have seen in a long time. Long John Silver can't even make their food look good on TV, why on earth would I actually eat some?

 

Taco Bell always puts out quality stuff I think, Think Outside the Bun and 4th Meal are both great slogans, High Life ads have been great for quite a while where Miller Lite has been poor for quite some time, especially the "GHT" campaign from a while ago.

 

Just my ramblings on ads, what ones to people like? hate?

[bullox]

Those Lenox Financial commercials on ESPN radio always get to me...they call them "The Biggest No Brainer in the History of Earth." They claim this because they advertise no closing costs on their loans. Thing is, there are no out-of-pocket closing costs due at the time of the loan, but you will pay for the closing costs over the life of the loan. Double-talk always gets to me, especially when you use it as your main selling point.

[dadofandrew]

Long John Silvers is yummy, but everything is fried. Taco Bell does put out good campaigns, they are very popular among youngsters.

[bullox]

One more quick mention regarding small time advertising. If you are going to pay to put an ad somewhere, or even just advertise on your own business space, make sure you are spelling correctly! Nothing turns me away more than poor spelling on advertising. I might let it slide to get a good deal, but it just makes it look as though the people calling the shots aren't very intelligent. Just sayin.

[dadofandrew]

If I want to place an ad, I have to use company approved stuff...which is literally a decade out of date.

[InsomniacInkRoss]

Geeze, I forgot my main current beef:

 

Who thought up: You are "saving" money by the bank moving a dollar from your checking to savings every time you make a purchase? or rounding up to the dollar and putting that money in a savings account?

 

I am baffled by this being a selling point, someone please tell me one possible legitimate advantage to this.

 

Oh, and I have ads running on 1250WSSP soon, they are intense, don't be scared by the angry guy yelling at you.

[1992casey]

You can tell Wisconsin Lottery ads are done on a low budget. They're awful. In contrast, Pottawatomie Bingo Casino ads are well done.

 

The testimonials on WTMJ drive me nuts. Am I supposed to believe that their announcers are going to come out and tell us on their own how they're pleased with their new bathrooms, windows, computers, and LASIK? These people either got a discount on the products/services, got paid for doing the ad, or both.

 

The same goes for Good Feet advertising. I'm supposed to invest $500 just because Daron Sutton, Bill Michaels, Bill Schroeder, and Jim Gantner have been compensated to say they're pleased?

 

The Gordon Hinkley Church and Chapel Funeral Home commercials deserve special mention. Part of it's because the minister suggested avoiding them when we were choosing a place for my mom's funeral. I don't remember if Hinkley says that they'll be handling his funeral, but somehow I can't believe his family will be using a discount funeral home.

 

Any commercials that are louder than the TV program automatically draw my wrath. The volume offsets anything that might otherwise be well done.

 

There was an Angel Soft toilet paper commercial a few years back that I felt was very effective--with my dog. It started with people whispering in the background while they were making a toilet paper pyramid. Then someone whistled, and the dog in the commercial ran toward the pyramid and knocked it down. At first, when my dog heard that whistle, he'd run to the door and bark. As time went on, he'd run to the door and bark when he heard the whispering that occurred before the whistle.

[InsomniacInkRoss]

Oh yeah, the WTMJ stuff is pretty bad, but i don't listen enough for it to bother me that much. I disregard almost any celebrity product endorsement right off the bat.

 

That did remind me how much i dislike the "John Malen is God" commercials on Channel 4

 

You can blame master control at whatever station you watch for commercials being too loud, unless the advertiser pays them to make it louder, which they do, so, um, yeah, keep being mad at them too

 

I love toilet paper commercials, they are my favorite by far, how many ways can you do them without ever REALLY talking about what the product does? It takes immense creativity.

[Glennron]

You can tell Wisconsin Lottery ads are done on a low budget. They're awful. In contrast, Pottawatomie Bingo Casino ads are well done.

I always thought the Potawatomi (sp?) Casino ads were cheesy. Those billboards along the interstate with that guy's arrogant mug on them are pretty annoying IMO.

[nohopspanther]

-The ads for "The Happening" say it's from "the director of The Sixth Sense, and Signs" but not a mention of M. Night Shyamalan, they must have figured his name would scare away people after the last 2 bombs

You're massively reaching with that guess. You need to reach what most people know (largest demographic) or can recognize and they are far more likely to know the movies than the director.

[InsomniacInkRoss]

I respectfully disagree, Lady in the Water and The Village were both advertised heavily with Shyamalan's name and mentions of previous work, his name has been soiled by those films

 

Shyamalan was the "it" director for a while, and his name alone sold the above mentioned films, which I don't think can happen any more, thus the "hey, remember these movies from the late 90s, they were good, right?" campaign

 

It's very similar to Winona Ryder completely disappearing from all advertising of Mr. Deeds after her issues

[Diskono]

I think that freecreditreport.com jerk needs to start accepting responsibility for his own screw-ups. No dude, you don't have a crappy car because you didn't go to freecreditreport.com. You have a crappy car because you have a crappy job (because you have no skills, not because you didn't visit some website) and you don't pay your bills.

[Beerambassador]

Is anyone else really bothered by the Miller Lite commercial that refers to the Brewers as "The team that loves to win,"?

 

That line bothers me every single time I hear it. It's so lame.

[hawing]

I don't know about *really* bothered, but I don't like it.

 

Yes. Every other team hates to win. Clearly, the Brewers stand alone in their love of winning. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/eyes.gif

[stoops17]

I think that freecreditreport.com jerk needs to start accepting responsibility for his own screw-ups. No dude, you don't have a crappy car because you didn't go to freecreditreport.com. You have a crappy car because you have a crappy job (because you have no skills, not because you didn't visit some website) and you don't pay your bills.

 

I like signing along with the pirate restaurant ad from these guys. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

And my friends get really annoyed when I burst into a "5, 5 dollar footlong" seranade for them, cause then it gets stuck in their head

[rwa12]

IMO the worst ad campaign in history was that talking dead hamster that Quiznos used a few years back. That actually kept me from eating there. I like the Taco Bell commercials, but the word beefy is a big turnoff for me, and they use it constantly. Just not an appetizing word. I like the High Life commercials, but wonder what million dollar hotels actually stock High Life in their mini bar, that is the part that cracks me up. I thought the Old Spice ad where the deoderant causes hair growth was clever. I'm in STL, so my least favorite ads are the locals featuring Joe Buck, not a fan.

[Diskono]

IMO the worst ad campaign in history was that talking dead hamster that Quiznos used a few years back. That actually kept me from eating there.

ANY COUPON WORKS!

That commercial actually inspired me to go there for the first time. It was too ridiculous to ignore.

 

[jwill535]

In Madison Brunner Reality has a radio commercial featuring "Little Ron"(Little John). It actually pains me to hear it. Any commercial that takes a phrase or fad and uses it in its ad campaign months or a years after that fad is gone just bothers me.

 

The drug commercials get me too, they advertise a drug to cure something that would be helpful to be cured of but at most is just a nuisance(Restless leg syndrome etc). When they get to the side effects they list things that to me are more fearful then living with what I had. Of course the side effect of death is a good one but my favorite is the side effect of a drug being "rare occasions of sleep walking or driving with no recollection of said event."

[davebobn]

I thought those Quizno's commercials were great.

Anyone listen to 1130 AM at all? Familiar with the IT guy that wants to "save YOU money! MEOOOW!"...no? Well it's ridiculously annoying, but effective.

My favorite commercial ever:

[InsomniacInkRoss]

My favorite commercial ever:

 

That was pretty freaking awesome. I am still looking for the George Brett and Robin Yount ad from 15(?) years ago. They argue over 1 MVP vs. 2 MVPs and George asks Robin if he's 98% sure of something, or if he's just 78% sure. Pretty sure this was a Miller Lite ad.

 

As bad as the Quiznos ads were, people did talk about them. I didn't have any close to me, so was pretty much unaffected.

 

I very much dislike being tempted by Sonic ads when I would have to go all the way to Illinois to slide that greasy stuff down my throat.

[hawing]

In Madison Brunner Reality has a radio commercial featuring "Little Ron"(Little John). It actually pains me to hear it. Any commercial that takes a phrase or fad and uses it in its ad campaign months or a years after that fad is gone just bothers me.

 

The drug commercials get me too, they advertise a drug to cure something that would be helpful to be cured of but at most is just a nuisance(Restless leg syndrome etc). When they get to the side effects they list things that to me are more fearful then living with what I had. Of course the side effect of death is a good one but my favorite is the side effect of a drug being "rare occasions of sleep walking or driving with no recollection of said event."

I am guessing Bruner (I checked, one N) Realty is one desperate outfit, by the sheer number of ads they run on both Madison cable and radio.

And yeah, prescription drug commercials of any type ("Ask your doctor about...") are among those I really try to tune out. The fearful sounding side effects are bad enough. The ones that get my goat the most are the side effects that appear to contradict what you are taking it for - like a drug that's supposed to treat social anxiety but can lead to the likes of diarrhea or sexual dysfunction. Yep, that's just what I'd want to worry about, if I were seeking treatment for social anxiety.

 

[1992casey]

I always thought the Potawatomi (sp?) Casino ads were cheesy.

 

I can see that point of view. But my thinking was that the Pottawatomie ads have a professional quality to them. The Wisconsin Lottery commercials have to be about as amateurish as it gets.

 

Along with the side effects, what bugs me about the drug commercials are the ailments themselves. Those commercials in general give me the heebie jeebies.

[fondybrewfan]

Why do they even do billboard advertising anymore? Seriously, I know I sure as heck don't pay attention. And people if you are trying to sell a car by the roadway it would help if you made the sign with your phone number and price bigger than 5 inches tall.

 

I hate the Subway commercials. And to the guy who promotes his identity theft software - Don't you think you should change your advertising since your identity was stolen? Freaking idiot. Please people do not buy that stupid product, it basically does absolutely nothing.

[MJLiverock]

There was a cab company in Madison who used to mention that one of the benefits of calling a cab was it would save you money because you no longer have to pay for gas. I find it extremely hard to believe they don't charge more than the price of gas they burn driving people around. I am quite sure they are not losing money on every fare they pick up, especially given the ridiculous prices Madison cab companies charge. My house on the west side to the airport was quoted at $50 each way. It was still cheaper for me to drive and park for a week than pay their fare.

[TooLiveBrew]

I can see that point of view. But my thinking was that the Pottawatomie have a professional quality to them. The Wisconsin Lottery commercials have to be about as amateurish as it gets.

 

I can say that other states don't do much (if at all) better. Methinks since state $$ has to pay for the commercial, 'bang-for-buck' is the #1 determinant for these commercials. Besides, the money is better-spent elsewhere. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

I love this thread... I am very much an 'ad snob', and the crazy crap that ads spew drives me bonkers on a daily basis. I'm certain I'll be back to post many times once reminded by seeing them on TV.

 

To start -- Budweiser: It's betta cuz itz cleeerer!