Raise your hand if you've ever actually clicked on anything on the side bar of Google. Maybe like once or twice? Did you buy anything?
I haven't.
Raise your hand if you've ever actually called an infomercial.
If yes, did you expect it to actually be any good?
As the article points out, people give very little precedent to messages presented to them by an advertiser. Do you like Coke because Coke tells you it tastes great? Do you buy shoes because the shoe company says they're good?
Personally, when I an advertiser tells me something, I instantly feel the need to double check it. As soon as I'm aware of manipulation, it becomes ineffective. When I was a kid, I told my mom not to buy Ovaltine because of a commercial I saw where they slammed Nestle chocolate milk and told me that kids love Ovaltine more. Even though I was eight, I could smell their bullshit.
Everyone knows Ovaltine is gross. Even Google.
So the point is, even though I'd never tried Ovaltine before, I knew they were trying to manipulate me. I instantly rebounded and still hate Ovaltine to this day. I've still never tried it and I still hate it.
Point is: Ovaltine is a failed advertising manipulation. One of many.
I feel like in general, ads are ineffective at manipulating me. And my mom. She watches TV all the time but has acquired a special skill where she doesn't listen to the commercials at all. She tunes out every single one of them.
Here's a list of questions that I have about advertisement and manipulation:
Is any TV advertising subtle enough to actually affect anyone?
Did anyone actually adopt a dog because of Sarah McLaughlin?
At what point does advertising become content? (I'm mostly talking about this Old Spice Ad)
Do you agree with Eric Clemons that advertising is going to fail because people hate it?
Do you actually like Ovaltine?
Do you disagree that the label "As Seen On TV" actually means "Cheap Junk"?
Can you think of an instance in which you have changed your opinion or bought a specific product as the result of advertising?
Sorry about the disconnected blog post. I just have a lot of thoughts.
It's easy to say that people don't like advertising, but usually it doesn't upset people as much as Ovaltine has clearly upset you. Although I've never taken business or economics or the like, I'm pretty sure there is something to this advertising nonesense, or else no one would do it.
ReplyDeleteI am fully aware of advertisement's manipulative effects, but sometimes I choose to be swayed by them:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR8A3T6sPzU
This is an advertisement for the Samsung Galaxy phone, and the first time I saw the ad, I was convinced. The ad made the Galaxy seem so much cooler than the IPhone, and even though I knew it was trying to trick me, I still decided to succumb to it and now this the Galaxy is better than other phones.
I think the manipulative part of advertising isn't that people actually look at the add and think, wow, that product must be exactly and great and trustworthy as they say, but more just that it gets the name of the brand in your mind. I completely agree that I am skeptical of advertising and completely tone it out-- except for the funny or cute ones. Most of the time I love an add and I'm trying to tell someone about and can't even remember what it's for. But I think the manipulation is almost more subconscious, and that's why it's good to be aware of it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sarah's opinion here. I equate it to meeting somebody new on campus. Say you meet a friend's friend who you have never met before, and you're formally introduced. Even if you don't get to know them any better, all of a sudden you recognize them as you walk to your classes, dining hall, etc. (And then you have that awkward decision of greeting them or not, but that's besides the point)
ReplyDeleteBasically that's what advertising does. You walk into the grocery store and "BAM!" All the things that are advertised the most pop into your view first, especially when you don't know any of the other products.
Also in response to the question, "At what point does advertising become content?": I think advertising is always a part of content. The point at which it becomes the majority of the content would be when competitors are essentially selling the same thing, as in the case of deodorant or bottled water.
I guess you guys are right about how advertisement really provides recognition rather than a convincing argument for why to buy something. In a lot of cases it's really just convincing you not to buy off-brand stuff because you haven't heard of it.
ReplyDeleteMichael--
ReplyDeleteI've sometimes thought similarly to you when I see advertisements that are especially ridiculous, like those little boxes that pop up on your computer screen to tell you that you've won a free cruise. (I fell for one of those when I was a kid, and ran upstairs to tell my mom that we should go on vacation. However, I never fell for it again). But even stupid ads have an audience. Not everyone has the privilege of an education that can help open one's eyes to these things. Logically, these ads must work on someone, otherwise they wouldn't be so prevalent. That's when we should start to be concerned.
Also, even if the content of a product's ad doesn't pull you in, the fact that the product's company is advertising at all is a statement. An advertisement is a sign that the company is successful enough to both make a product AND advertise it. The more advertisements, the more successful and legitimate the company will seem to us. And if/when it comes time to choose a product, we'll be more inclined to choose the product that seems to come from a well-established company, rather than a "generic" version.
Michael, I agree that most advertisement does not cause you to run out and buy products, but I mean Ovaltine got you to write an entire blog post about them. I think that the cliche saying of "Any publicity is good publicity" is really what companies are going for these days, except if you're Bp. In response to your Sarah McLaughlin question, no I have bought an animal because of her, but I have gotten all of my pets from shelters. I think what she does is instead of giving you a reason to buy an animal she crates no other alternative as to how to buy an animal.
ReplyDelete