Ever heard an ad on TV that says "Get a second one free. Just pay an additional fee?" I got an ad in the mail today inviting me to borrow money. The headline of the ad was "invest in a debt free future." How does borrowing free one from debt? Why are we treated this way by advertisers? It's clear to me that I am not the target customer for these ads but who is? Are they right? Are we really stupid? I hope not.
I love the drug ads that warn... "Do not take this if you are allergic to this medicine" Yes, they think the average consumer is retarded.
the average consumer is a moron and advertisers know it. the evolution of advertising is a remarkably accurate depiction of society. for decades it was generally acknowledged that "sex sells", so advertising was all about the sex appeal of the product. know it's all about virtue signaling, so the protected classes are heavily featured and the "responsibility" of the products and manufacturers is often touted. of course the products weren't "sexy" then and the companies are no more ethical now, but the suckers eat this crap up.
In some cases the advertisers are the stupid ones. I see an ad regularly wanting me to contact my representative to prevent government from hurting small businesses by banning some sort of technology. I'm not stupid and I have no idea what technology government is trying to destroy. I can't even guess what is bothering the advertiser or even who the advertiser is. What a waste of money. The tomatoes that I bring home from the supermarket all have little stickers that I assume represent the grower. They are illegible. Furthermore I have no control over where the supermarket buys tomatoes so they are advertising to the wrong people. It is a nuisance to remove them from the tomatoes. I won't even get into the concept of using a nelly trans to advertise Budweiser Light. Car commercials on TV never tell me why I should buy the car they want to sell. Instead they suggest I will impress other people if I drive one. This approach appears not just on expensive cars. My own brand of Car tells me that, if I buy the car, I will make an indirect contribution to animal care. I know why I bought the car and it had nothing to do with animal care. I'm not against animal care. I'm against bad advertising. Perhaps the stupidity of advertisers has helped make the consumers the way they are. Sorry for the rant.
your first example is primarily a political ad. as we all know, a great deal of politics is about playing on fear and this advertisement would seem to be a prime example. as for those damn stickers, i'm not quite sure why they seem to be more and more prevalent. aside from organic produce (entirely about vanity and virtue signaling) i would tend to believe these stickers are more about product management and control than advertising. your other two examples are directly out of the virtue signaling playbook. you might say that they have no effect on you or even have a negative effect, as in the bud light fiasco, but the truth is that the message becomes a part of your consciousness and there is usually some visceral reaction. hear such tripe over and over again and it does have a cumulative effect on the vast majority of weak willed consumers. caring for animals may not be a good reason to buy a car, but it just might tip the scales for someone who can't quite decide between one car and another. a transgender spokesperson may seem silly or even distasteful, but it may also be the reason some mindless soul purchases such a putrid brew. everyone seems to want to be admired and these days virtue signaling has become a shortcut to such popularity. it is only natural that advertising should reflect this weakness.
You may find it hard to believe but I generally avoid advertised products because I understand the significant part of the price that is advertising cost. Sorry, it doesn't work on me. Have you seen the ads for "Balance of Nature?" 6 pills per day amounts to over $200 per month. I can buy a lot of vegetables for $200.
The marketing folks all really "believe" that they can induce you, because they can craft a narrative that creates a "connection" with you. And when it's entirely unnecessary, they invent the story, and you're simply supposed to trust that they know what's best for you. In a lot of ways, it isn't much different than the kinds of propaganda tyrants use. And of course, if the marketing doesn't work, these folks know they can rely on their "peers" who do this in government to make sure it can be codified in law to make you buy their garbage....
Not necessarily, they just know how people think, - what works and what doesn't. Now, politicians who advertise themselves DO assume people are idiots. Listen to Senator Scott claiming we need to vote for him, because otherwise we will all become socialists and communists, or Trump promising the moon from the sky, when everyone knows he lies about everything. Same goes with all politicians from both parties. Some car ads are useful, when they inform people of a campaign of them getting rid of past year models at a good price etc.
Marketing definitely works. Advertising definitely increases sales. The most effective advertising explains clearly how a product or service benefits a potential customer. My point is that advertisers have drifted away from that. I've seen an add for Viant which is an advertising service in which a man is about to kiss a woman but stops, looks at the camera and says that I should make the right choice by choosing Viant. The question, of course, is why should I choose them. What is it specifically that they do or do better than their competitors and how do they back that up. Imagine an advertising service advertising itself with an interrupted kiss. They would be at the bottom of my list. My car is a Subaru which I bought because of its reputation for reliability and it has been flawlessly reliable. But the ads tell me that, if I buy the product, I will make an indirect contribution to animal care. They miss the point entirely. I buy a car to get where I want to go whenever I want to go. It has nothing to do with indirect contributions. I'm all for animal care but not in an ad trying to influence me to buy a car. Give me some numbers about reliability and explain how they make the car that reliable. The car has some innovative safety features as well. Tell me about those. I like the car but I hate the advertising. There is nothing wrong with marketing except that the marketers have lost sight of explaining benefits all too often. And, of course, there is some good advertising so some do it right. There is nothing wrong with marketing. We should use our money to support advertising that hits the mark or, as in my case, use it for unadvertised products.
Yes. Not all advertising is bad but a serious portion of it is. Political ads have no meaning for me at all because they are image ads rather than benefit ads. I marvel that people vote for people with pretty faces and pretty words and fame when those characteristics are not an indication of suitability to the job. Today we are looking at choosing between two people that the public doesn't want in office. How did that happen? Fame. Frankly I view the electorate as incompetent in general.
As I said, political campaign ads are pathetic, and the reason why many of us hate campaign years. SOME political ads can be effective depending on the current situation. I think 'W' ads in 2004 with the hungry wolves representing terrorists, probably got many people to vote for him because of constant reminders of terrorism. Fear is a strong motivator. Yes, that is a great shame. I still think Biden will drop out using some excuse, - like medical.
a lot of people say that advertising doesn't affect them, most are lying to themselves. even the most thrifty of us, those that avoid the name brands and try to do our homework when making purchases, are influenced to some degree by such marketing. when i was in the market for a portable solar generator the first place i looked was one i had seen an advertisement for. i didn't end up buying their product, but the name recognition got my attention. name recognition breeds familiarity and that gives at least the illusion of quality.
