Television adverts

[Serial_Apologist]

....Exstatic dancing in adverts....we are the joyous consumers with products without fault or disappointment....(dicuss)

You must mean shake and be vacuous.

[eighthobstruction]

....extascy...

[teamsaint]

You must mean shake and be vacuous.

So not the old tango adverts then ?

https://youtu.be/agQibU2zb_k

[richardfinegold]

I gave up watching television for the most part as teen because I couldn’t stand advertisements and canned laughter. I felt like I was being manipulated constantly. I rather enjoy watching stuff on Netflix because except for the beginning trailer there is no advertisement.
Are the ads today more stupid than decades ago? The demographic the adsters are targeting is younger than the average age of the forumites here, because they spend more money. I suspect that they are no less mind melting than in our salad days, but that we are all less tolerant of inanity

[Serial_Apologist]

I gave up watching television for the most part as teen because I couldn’t stand advertisements and canned laughter. I felt like I was being manipulated constantly. I rather enjoy watching stuff on Netflix because except for the beginning trailer there is no advertisement.
Are the ads today more stupid than decades ago? The demographic the adsters are targeting is younger than the average age of the forumites here, because they spend more money. I suspect that they are no less mind melting than in our salad days, but that we are all less tolerant of inanity

I did wonder about that, but checking some old VHS tapes in which I recorded the programme when out, leaving the ads intact, confirmed a marked deterioration in the quality of the commercials of today. My upstairs neighbours both work in advertising, and I'm tempted to invite them down to view them: it might give them some better ideas!

[Serial_Apologist]

The advertising world has come up with the most insulting yet among the current commercials on repeat across the networks: it is the ad by Omaze.co.uk house draw, on behalf of the British Heart Foundation, in which a woman recommends participation to win a luxury £3m house, deploying the most nauseatingly condescending tone of voice imaginable. The toddler-addressing manner would almost be thought a satire were it not for the ostensible seriousness of the offer, let alone offensive enough in its own right amid these times of austerity and material sacrifice.

I see it has been placed no 23 in a current popularity rating!

The world of Capitalist Realism sinks ever deeper into a cultural cesspit of its own making.

[oddoneout]

The advertising world has come up with the most insulting yet among the current commercials on repeat across the networks: it is the ad by Omaze.co.uk house draw, on behalf of the British Heart Foundation, in which a woman recommends participation to win a luxury £3m house, deploying the most nauseatingly condescending tone of voice imaginable. The toddler-addressing manner would almost be thought a satire were it not for the ostensible seriousness of the offer, let alone offensive enough in its own right amid these times of austerity and material sacrifice.

I see it has been placed no 23 in a current popularity rating!

The world of Capitalist Realism sinks ever deeper into a cultural cesspit of its own making.

There have been ones on behalf of other charities. I don't know how the money side of things works and have not been inclined to find out. A recent one I saw was the "happy winners" version. But yes they do play to a very dubious side of people's fantasies, with the "do it by midnight tonight" added bonus of a status symbol( for men more than the womenfolk) car or somesuch. When I see at the properties being offered my reaction is always "being given that would be high on my list of nightmares" - dreadful looking places, not designed for actually living in - or at least only in a very limited fashion.

[Dave2002]

I did wonder about that, but checking some old VHS tapes in which I recorded the programme when out, leaving the ads intact, confirmed a marked deterioration in the quality of the commercials of today. My upstairs neighbours both work in advertising, and I'm tempted to invite them down to view them: it might give them some better ideas!

I hate adverts with an absolute vengeance. I've just spent about 20 minutes trying to get Channel 4 working on our TV so that others can watch a programme.
I don't know why, but the TV came up with an error. In the end I figured I had to reset my password - for which I used my computer. However it wouldn't let me do that because the website claimed I was using an ad blocker. I may have unset the ad-blocker in order to get the password changed. Then it took more time to faff around with putting the password back into the TV - and guess what - the TV is still showing adverts. OK - looks like I can pay nearly £40 per year to turn the adverts off.

Sorry - I don't really want to support your neighbours in anyway by allowing this nonsense of capitalism.

However - I will wish everyone a Happy New Year.

[pastoralguy]

Sorry - I don't really want to support your neighbours in anyway by allowing this nonsense of capitalism.

However - I will wish everyone a Happy New Year.

Every time I buy a, say, tin of beans I’m aware that a proportion of what I pay for said beans goes towards some advertising twonk having a top of the range BMW!

Happy New Year to you too!

[oddoneout]

More on the omaze draw subject, which could also have been posted in another thread that covered wood stoves and pollution. It does highlight the issue of having controls already but councils not having the resources to act on them. I'm more than a little surprised though that no-one at BHF seems to have noticed the disconnect between a highlighted feature of the house and the charity's campaigning on such pollution and the diseases it causes. Quite apart from the pollution issue was no-one at all even slightly interested in gawping at the property particulars?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/08/a-roaring-fireplace-the-polluting-raffle-prize-from-the-british-heart-foundation

[eighthobstruction]

....I'm loving the Highland cow on the motorbike ....

[Serial_Apologist]

More on the omaze draw subject, which could also have been posted in another thread that covered wood stoves and pollution. It does highlight the issue of having controls already but councils not having the resources to act on them. I'm more than a little surprised though that no-one at BHF seems to have noticed the disconnect between a highlighted feature of the house and the charity's campaigning on such pollution and the diseases it causes. Quite apart from the pollution issue was no-one at all even slightly interested in gawping at the property particulars?
https://www.theguardian.com/environm...art-foundation

Well spotted that man!

[Serial_Apologist]

Further grumbles regarding the "latest" batch of over-repeated TV ads.

I remember, from doing a college class on TV adverts, certain requirements being seen as paramount, including

1) Don't include anything offputting - such as showing small children fetching up, unpleasant smells the product promises to remove;

2) Always prominently state the name of the product, especially at the end so viewers can make a note of it.

My latest whinge concerns the number of ads showing people breaking down in tears - especially sufferers or their relatives in Cancer charity appeals (when the stiff upper lip wold be far more conducive to sympathy), but also an old man all on his own in one calling for neighbourhood support (ah, poor, poor thing), and today, believe it or not, for pet insurance - in which a man starts blubbing before we see an image of his moggy, one of those ugly bald varieties; is it supposed to be funny?

Which leads me to wonder why it is that makers of these advertisements never stop to consider the diminishing returns to be gained from jokes - in any field. One is reminded of the visiting uncle... that one. Only the Meercat gets away with it - and we don't see so much of him these days, do we!

Last if not least - in the olden days there used to be little gaps between each advert to allow one to draw breath, rush to the loo before the next, and so on; now they follow on without intervening breaks of any kind, so one is left not knowing if one is still being regaled to buy that product, and if so what has all this nonsense got to do with it? Has anyone seen the newish Cotswold furnishing ad? It actually goes to the trouble of explaining the components that make the product so dependable and not likely to collapse under ones weight - but has anyone actually seen the PRICE of Cotswold beds, sofas etc? Clearly the implication is that only those who can afford this stuff have the brains to appreciate one could do with more information before going for it.

[oddoneout]

Further grumbles regarding the "latest" batch of over-repeated TV ads.

I remember, from doing a college class on TV adverts, certain requirements being seen as paramount, including

1) Don't include anything offputting - such as showing small children fetching up, unpleasant smells the product promises to remove;

2) Always prominently state the name of the product, especially at the end so viewers can make a note of it.

My latest whinge concerns the number of ads showing people breaking down in tears - especially sufferers or their relatives in Cancer charity appeals (when the stiff upper lip wold be far more conducive to sympathy), but also an old man all on his own in one calling for neighbourhood support (ah, poor, poor thing), and today, believe it or not, for cat food - in which a man starts blubbing before we see an image of his moggy, one of those ugly bald varieties; is it supposed to be funny?

Which leads me to wonder why it is that makers of these advertisements never stop to consider the diminishing returns to be gained from jokes - in any field. One is reminded of the visiting uncle... that one. Only the Meercat gets away with it - and we don't see so much of him these days, do we!

Well the advertising world is an odd one isn't it, so the answers to your questions have to take that into account. Imitation, flogging a dead horse, and no such thing as bad publicity, spring to mind. Even if an ad drops a clanger which could be seen as having a negative impact on a brand that may well be more than offset by the publicity - folk may complain about it but they know the name of the product that was being sold.
Mining the emotional field is in my view rather a nasty one as it has an impact on other causes for such concern - charity fatigue and /or blunting people's better natures. The justification may be showing real life - but breaking down in tears isn't the only bit of real life in cancer etc.

[Serial_Apologist]

Well the advertising world is an odd one isn't it, so the answers to your questions have to take that into account. Imitation, flogging a dead horse, and no such thing as bad publicity, spring to mind. Even if an ad drops a clanger which could be seen as having a negative impact on a brand that may well be more than offset by the publicity - folk may complain about it but they know the name of the product that was being sold.

The one for a certain refreshing product which talks of the danger of going "nose blind" is basically telling people that they've allowed their premises to reach a point of disgust that they are too stupid or unhygienic to spot - what kind of self-respecting person willingly announces this to the world when standing in line at the supermarket checkout? Ah - I know why YOU've bought that product - no, please keep your distance!

Mining the emotional field is in my view rather a nasty one as it has an impact on other causes for such concern - charity fatigue and /or blunting people's better natures. The justification may be showing real life - but breaking down in tears isn't the only bit of real life in cancer etc.

I really don't believe they are - these are ACTORS simulating grief etc, very bad actors - otherwise we would be told something to the effect that "The people shown in this advertisement are genuine sufferers, not actors".

It all just amounts to an ever-increasingly fake world of dishonesty and make-believe, and worrying assuming these companies have carte blanche to put out rubbish publicity based on market research or evidence.