Anti-advertising
I'm much more the victim than the knowledgeable analyst when it comes to modern advertising. Nevertheless, risking sounding like Andy Rooney, is it just me? I'm focusing on radio here, despite being a limited consumer of the medium. But it seems like at least half of the ads have one or more aspects that are sufficiently irritating that at best I am left with no recall of product - and in the remainder of cases a resentful memory is what lingers.
There are at least a couple types of advertising that seem to have taken over the airwaves and especially tend to make me cranky. One is the "forced emoting" type, particularly popular when it is some sort of conscience-tweaking public service that is being promoted, though unfortunately the sappy "let me stick my fake feelings in your face" tone is becoming more and more pervasive. One recent example is a 60-mile fundraiser walk for breast cancer. How can you not approve of the cause? To hell with patriotism as an obligation! So why does the narrator feel compelled to talk breathily as though his spouse is dying in the other room? Come on: (a) she survived, as he tells the tale and (b) he's a shill in the first place, faking emotions badly.
And speaking of faking emotions, another category of annoying and routinely ineffective (at least with me) radio adverts involves the faux-testimonial. These pretend to be interviews with users of a product (restaurants a common theme) but are patently faked by hired voices. The dialogue is often very cheesy and at best not credible. Voices are so routinely mellifluous and trained that they are a dead giveaway. One annoyingly repeated local example has the speakers change roles halfway through - the supposed drugstore clerk demo-ing digital photo machine suddenly morphs into an agog consumer being cued by former customer! The idea of never underestimating the stupidity of the American public with legs. Of course recent presidential elections may be all the validation needed for a "never underestimate" marketing program.
There are at least a couple types of advertising that seem to have taken over the airwaves and especially tend to make me cranky. One is the "forced emoting" type, particularly popular when it is some sort of conscience-tweaking public service that is being promoted, though unfortunately the sappy "let me stick my fake feelings in your face" tone is becoming more and more pervasive. One recent example is a 60-mile fundraiser walk for breast cancer. How can you not approve of the cause? To hell with patriotism as an obligation! So why does the narrator feel compelled to talk breathily as though his spouse is dying in the other room? Come on: (a) she survived, as he tells the tale and (b) he's a shill in the first place, faking emotions badly.
And speaking of faking emotions, another category of annoying and routinely ineffective (at least with me) radio adverts involves the faux-testimonial. These pretend to be interviews with users of a product (restaurants a common theme) but are patently faked by hired voices. The dialogue is often very cheesy and at best not credible. Voices are so routinely mellifluous and trained that they are a dead giveaway. One annoyingly repeated local example has the speakers change roles halfway through - the supposed drugstore clerk demo-ing digital photo machine suddenly morphs into an agog consumer being cued by former customer! The idea of never underestimating the stupidity of the American public with legs. Of course recent presidential elections may be all the validation needed for a "never underestimate" marketing program.
posted by Sir Gumbo at 11:30 PM
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