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If advertising "disappeared", would your buying habits change much?

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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 11:33 AM
Original message
If advertising "disappeared", would your buying habits change much?
Edited on Sun Dec-13-09 11:35 AM by SoCalDem
Would you quit buying razor blades, batteries, cars, clothes, toys, canned green beans?


If you think back to a simpler time, when there were no drug ads on tv, did doctors still prescribe meds for us?


Did we still buy appliances?

Advertising, or lack of it, has pretty much killed newspapers & magazines, and most of us click frantically when we see ads on the web...we pay for software to "kill" the ads..

and yet...

ads are everywhere..insidiously eating into our brains..trying to re-wire our synapses so that we ONLY buy Gillette, or Green Giant, or Kashi


Do ad people really think that I will buy the "Can-do" that the old lady in a petroleum ad extols?..what exactly IS "the can do" that Americans seem to have? If we have it, why keep advertising it?

I also do not plan on buying a locomotive anytime soon, but I keep seeing smiling men bragging about their locomotives..

It's also unlikely that I will be putting anything that Boeing or Lockheed make, on my shopping list anytime soon, either, but they keep advertising to me.


When so many things we use & buy every day are not even made here anymore, and seem to be toxic in one way or another, does it really matter all that much which "brand" we buy?

Ads SCREAM at us when a new thing is produced..we gotta have it..and then they whisper, when the product is recalled for causing explosive diarrhea or lymphoma.

We all like to claim a degree of sophistication, and say we are not affected by ads..we can ignore them, but how many Boomers can still sing the jingles we grew up with..even if the brands are long gone? I challenge you..


Libbys:evilgrin:
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CTyankee Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 11:36 AM
Response to Original message
1. I look long and hard for bargains whenever I can, so without ads I would be hampered
in my ability to save money on items I would buy anyway. I count on those savings to keep my budget in line and I watch it carefully.

Not all ads are bad. I never let them persuade me to buy something I don't need. But if the 18 year old dryer dies, I'm gonna be looking for a new one right quick and the ads help me comparison shop...
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Warpy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:05 PM
Response to Reply #1
24. Same here but some ads have had a profoundly negative effect
on my buying habits. I would never buy Wisk detergent, for one appalling example. Other outrageously sexist ad campaigns have turned me off to other equally effective products.

More than sale ads, the complaint pages online are a determining factor in deciding which large purchases to make. I'll pay a higher price if people aren't complaining as much about performance and/or service.

Some other advertising allows me to do comparison shopping without doing any legwork, such as comparing features on cars or computers before I start trudging around to stores to see which one has the best price on the models I have decided would do the trick.

Still, it goes all ways. Some is a turnoff, some is helpful, and some is just unwelcome noise.
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murray hill farm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:25 PM
Response to Reply #24
27. In the Supply and Demand scenerio....
ads attempt to create a demand, but it is less effective and will continue to be even less effective as the economy declines and then resets to reality. It has been an ad agency heaven for the past 10 or so years, with free flowing mega dollars from continuous equity mortgage refinancing and the resulting buying, buying, buying of luxury items that no one needs but were easily convinced that they "should" have and must have right now.
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NightWatcher Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 11:38 AM
Response to Original message
2. when an ad screams at me, I scream back at the tube (or radio) and make a note to avoid it
what, so you dont see yourself buying a CSX locomotive because I hear they can move a ton of freight 400 miles on a single gallon of gas....

As for the medical ads, if I've got that problem I dont wait for an ad to tell me how to fix it.
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Toots Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 11:38 AM
Response to Original message
3. How else does one learn about new products?
Edited on Sun Dec-13-09 11:38 AM by Toots
:shrug: I think there should be an advertisement channel so people can learn about new things but are not forced to hear/see them on Television that you pay for. Why should those of us that purchase either cable or satellite TV forced to endure countless advertisements? I don't buy TV for the ads and I don't wish to pay for them..
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dustbunnie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:32 PM
Response to Reply #3
30. The ads pay for the programs you watch though.

Without them, you'd be paying a lot to watch tv. :shrug:
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NoPasaran Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 10:02 AM
Response to Reply #30
95. I have cable, so I am paying a lot to watch TV
Yet for some reason they still insist on showing me commercials!
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dustbunnie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 10:23 AM
Response to Reply #95
97. Charlie Sheen makes $300,000.00 per half hour episode of a crappy show.

So yes, they still show you commercials.

You get to read the news for free on the internets because companies pay huge bucks to put that rectangular banner ad at the top of your favorite site. I could go on...
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distantearlywarning Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 11:41 AM
Response to Original message
4. Advertising mostly annoys me, but on occasion it is useful.
We bought a car because of a TV ad, a car whose existence I would never have even known about had I not seen the commercial for it. And we love our car.

I think drug advertising encourages people to think they have diseases they don't actually have, but I'm not a doctor so I don't have to deal with the brunt of the aggravation that drug advertising causes.

Actually, the one thing I really wish would be changed about TV advertising is that I wish it were illegal for TV stations to stack commercials in the exact same time slot on every channel. I would like to be able to change the channel to something else during a commercial break and not have to see another, different commercial break.
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Shagbark Hickory Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 11:42 AM
Response to Original message
5. The ads for Boeing, CSX, GE, et cetera are not to get you to buy a locomotive. They are to get you
call up your stock broker and invest in those companies.
For without shareholders infusing cash constantly, the multi-million dollar paychecks would stop flowing to executives.
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alfredo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 11:48 AM
Response to Reply #5
11. It also puts pressure on politicians. It shows they are willing to spend millions
on TV, even though they have nothing to sell to the audience.
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NightWatcher Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 11:57 AM
Response to Reply #5
17. it also prevents those channels "news" from saying anything bad about them
the "news" isnt going to bash BP or Shell when they spend a shitload on advertising.
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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:00 PM
Response to Reply #17
20. A+..Bingo... Hole in one.. etc
How often do we hear anything realllllllly bad about a company....on tv?

Either they are an advertiser... a potential advertiser, or their parent company is an "owner" of the mega-media conglomerate
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conscious evolution Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:46 PM
Response to Reply #17
38. very true
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alfredo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 11:46 AM
Response to Original message
6. As far as grocery shopping goes, I rarely need what they advertise. A potato
doesn't need a multimillion dollar ad campaign, and same goes for broccoli. The benefits are apparent.
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Arctic Dave Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 11:46 AM
Response to Original message
7. Ads mostly sell brand names. The rest are the throw out the bait and see what sucker
bites. These are usually the stuff you really don't need.
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chandler2 Donating Member (179 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 11:47 AM
Response to Original message
8. Without advertising, you would have far fewer choices nt
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csziggy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 03:40 AM
Response to Reply #8
72. Yes, Proctor & Gamble would not have multiple brands for the same product
And advertise the hell out of each of them, which increases the cost to the consumer. Why does P&G need Tide, Cheer, Dreft, Era, Bold, Dash, Duz, AND Gain all as laundry detergent brands? (Some are now not sold in the US, but they are all brands sold by P&G in the recent past in the US.)

They are creating an artificial competition to raise demand and prices. All the advertising pushes this competition and ads to the base price of the products. Then the distributors further manipulate the consumers by paying for shelf space to control how much of each of their brands is available to actually be purchased.

I do not see how that many "choices" improve our lives or save us money. I would prefer that the companies provide a smaller range of better products at a lower costs.
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abluelady Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 11:47 AM
Response to Original message
9. This Boomer Has Lost Her Memory
The only jingle I remember is Alka Seltzer and I have never used it! I could probably name the things I've used as a result of an ad on one hand. Thinking about it, I realize I use most of the products I saw in my mom's house growing up. Maybe she bought as a result of ads?
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Fumesucker Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 01:52 PM
Response to Reply #9
49. Brylcreem a little dab'l do ya'..
You'll wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent.

See the USA in your Chevrolet.

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maddezmom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 11:47 AM
Response to Original message
10. Ajax the household cleanser.....
"You'll stop paying the elbow tax, when you start cleaning with Ajax/Use Ajax/Bum-bum/The foaming cleanser/Bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum/Floats the dirt, right down the drain/Bum-Bum-Bum-Bum-Bum-Bum-Bum".


my dad still sings this one while cleaning the patio furniture or whatnot. :D
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alcibiades_mystery Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 11:49 AM
Response to Original message
12. Nobody believes that they are affected by advertising
It's always "the other guy," who is "dumber than me." That's the only person who has ever been affected by advertising.

It would be interesting to do an inventory of all the possessions of people who think that way. I did this experiment once in a class with students. Let's just say the results were, er, predictable.
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conscious evolution Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:42 PM
Response to Reply #12
34. I can believe it
Have you ever compared kids toys and stuff to what they watch on tv in addition to the ads?
Hint:Hannah Montana
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RufusTFirefly Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 07:50 PM
Response to Reply #12
65. +1
It's dangerous to think one is immune to the influence of advertising.
Ads affect not only our buying choices but our sense of what's important.

Medical ads actually succeed in "creating" ailments.
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Louisiana1976 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 03:14 AM
Response to Reply #65
68. George Carlin once said, "Doctors have invented a cure for which there is no disease."
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raccoon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 09:23 AM
Response to Reply #65
86. Yeah, like menopause has suddenly become an "ailment" instead of a natural part of life. nt
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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 11:34 AM
Response to Reply #86
102. and all the things that go along with aging, simply MUST be "fixed"
:grr:
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raccoon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 09:23 AM
Response to Reply #12
85. You said that right.

If advertising were to suddenly disappear, I'd think I'd died and gone to heaven. :rofl:




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Egnever Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 11:04 AM
Response to Reply #12
101. What was predictable?
the fact that people had products that were advertised for? Are there products out there that dont advertise in one form or another?

Without knowing more about what exactly was "predictable" it sounds as though you made some pretty wild leaps with your logic.


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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-15-09 05:23 AM
Response to Reply #12
114. People forget how much more intrusive advertising has become in their own lifetimes
Before tv, ads were only on radio (you conjured up in your own mind, just how clean something was, or how glistening the dishes were)..

and the ads in the paper were usually for LOCAL stores, where the money spent STAYED in the same community...many times for goods made nearby, by your own neighbors, family, friends, and then sold in stores where those same types of people worked.

or you bought a magazine, which back then were not ALL ads.


Even when TV started up, the ads were short, and the actual program was not interrupted every 4.5 minutes.

VCRs & TIVO have changed the landscape, but now we see more & more shows on tv that no longer start and end on the hour/half-hour, so often thwe recording of the show fails...I am always watching something I recorded, only to end up missing the last 2 minutes, because it has time-shifted , due to the TV programming gremlins.. I have NO doubt that they do this to discourage the recording of the show, because we all zip through their precious commercials..

Hell, even PBS now has ads..at least they run them before the program, but PBS is now hampered by those ads.. It's kind of hard to do cutting-edge expose's , when that scandal-magnet may actually be part of a conglomerate owned by one of their major sponsors..
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90-percent Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 11:52 AM
Response to Original message
13. Advertising
I'm 55 years old and consider myself fortunate to have read Mad Magazine in my youth. From around 1957 or so to possibly the present they accepted NO ADVERTISING and had a lot of very funny material about advertising and how the consumer was being hosed.

Mad helped teach me how to QUESTION AUTHORITY and see some of the hidden meanings in the work of "Madison Avenue". This groundwork segued nicely into Frank Zappa and National Lampoon, both of which have a lot in common with Mad's values. I've been in to Zappa since I was 17 and he's my hero to this very day and he left behind a fantastic written legacy in the form of the gazillion interviews he gave in his lifetime. Out of all Zappa was good at, the thing that resonates the most with my is his VALUES, as a thinker, small business owner and as an American. Frank was proud to be an American and devoted a good portion of his energies in to being a good citizen. The culmination of that was the 1984 and 85 PMRC hearings, where he went anywhere anyplace anytime for any reason at all to speak aggressively against rating rock records. In an utterly fearless manner. After all, how many could testify in front of the entire body of Congress and take them to task for being wrong?

As an avid consumer in "post industrial America" (yes, there's some Zappa songs about that!) I try to be an educated consumer. So I know what I'm buying and the value in it and spend a lot of time hunting for local garage sales, craigslist and Ebay. I guess I'm inclined to avoid the middle man, huh?

I'm in laid off economic oblivion, so I'm slowly starting a CNC shop with the equipment being bought at about five cents on the dollar, simply because it's old and at the end of it's life cycle. But, I like old cars and really enjoy bringing something old and worn out back to productive life.

In that vein, you'd be surprised how much machinist stuff you can find at garage sales - retired tool makers have a lot of cool stuff piling up in their basements for sure!

-90% Jimmy
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Tejas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:29 PM
Response to Reply #13
29. +1 - excellent, right there with ya!
"Cutting out the middleman" can be challenging, good for your self-worth and a fun sport too.
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mitchum Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 01:26 PM
Response to Reply #13
45. Mad Magazine was instrumental in making many of us early advertisting...
bullshit detectors :)
Along with all of it's other fantastic qualities, it was so significant in that regard.
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TheMightyFavog Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 06:22 PM
Response to Reply #13
61. Which is why it pissed me off that MAD started printing ads a few years back.
Edited on Sun Dec-13-09 06:22 PM by TheMightyFavog
Right around the time they also started printing in color.

Bill Gaines is spinning in his grave.
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RufusTFirefly Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 08:46 PM
Response to Reply #13
66. +1 from another person "warped" by Mad Magazine
I'm sure it had a major role influencing my approach to things.

And I'm glad.
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raccoon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 09:24 AM
Response to Reply #66
87. Ditto. nt
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Louisiana1976 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 03:21 AM
Response to Reply #13
69. I loved MAD Magazine in my youth (the late 60's through the 70's
so recently when I was in Barnes & Noble I picked up a copy to peruse. Alas, it contained ads. It didn't seem to be as funny, either. :(
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LWolf Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 11:56 AM
Response to Original message
14. No.
I buy what I need, not what I see in an advertisement.

If I want a deal, I'll shop online until I find it, even at local stores.
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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 11:57 AM
Response to Reply #14
16. me too.. the first word in my google search is CHEAP.. 2nd is free shipping
:)
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LWolf Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:10 PM
Response to Reply #16
25. lol
:toast:
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Mz Pip Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 11:57 AM
Response to Original message
15. I hate TV ads
which is why I TIVO everything I watch. Before TIVO, I set my VCR to record the programs. There is nothing more annoying than to have a program break on some dramatic moment only to have some guy cheering at you that you need a new truck.

I do look at print ads for sales and if there is some new product of interest I'll look it up on the internet. But I'm not much of a shopper. It's Costco,Trader Joe's and the local produce market for all my needs. I've done most of my Christmas shopping online or at local independent shops.

I agree about the drug ads. They turn you doctor into a pusher. Most of this stuff you can't buy over the counter anyway so all they make people do is tell their doctor they want some of this miracle drug. I've had this conversation with my doctor and he agreed that people often just want a pill so they don't have to change their life style.

I do remember the jingles and I'm also old enought to remember the dancing women dressed in cigarette packages advertising cigarettes.
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90-percent Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 11:58 AM
Response to Original message
18. Another point
Is how much consumer stuff out there exists only at the pleasure of massive corporate advertising. There's so much stuff out there where 90% of the cost to the consumer is the advertising budget invested to get you to buy it in the first place. I'm buying more and more generic to get a better value and also stick it to the corps.!

this can all be summed up in the quote I remember from Steve Jobs when he was begging corporate genius John Scully to run Apple for him in the mid 80's; "Do you want to be a part of something that will change the world or do you want to sell colored sugar water the rest of your life?" It has got to be bad for the soul in some way to be engaged in selling products that are 90% hype and 90% not worth the money you're paying for it, huh?

-90% jimmy

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Louisiana1976 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 03:29 AM
Response to Reply #18
70. Good point. The stuff I use the most I usually buy store brands or generic.
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rd_kent Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:00 PM
Response to Original message
19. I purposely DO NOT buy products that have the most ads.
Most of those commercials make me NOT want to buy, and I don't.
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ThatsMyBarack Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 09:34 AM
Response to Reply #19
91. Well put.
Me, too! :hi:
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Echo In Light Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:01 PM
Response to Original message
21. Not at all. We teach our daughter that ALL marketing is deceitful, & is mind/spirit pollution
If we're watching a tv channel that has commercials, that shit gets automatically muted since it's VERY bad for people and gets significant mileage in keeping the populace brainwashed, and a whole lotta D.U.M.B.
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murray hill farm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:38 PM
Response to Reply #21
31. I find it ever so amusing & fun...
to watch and listen to ads...and then to take them apart in my mind to see what buttons they are attempting to push in me to get me to buy. Are the after my security button( make me more safe, healthy,comfortable)? My self esteem button ( make me sexier, younger, more liked or admired)? My fear button (invest in gold? buy insurance? get a home security system? buy antibacterial soap)? You get the picture! Very soon, you can free yourself from the influence of it and it is a good mind and spirit self awareness exercise.
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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:41 PM
Response to Reply #31
33. Cialis wants you to buy TWO bathtubs
:rofl:

and to live outdoors:)

with a naked partner
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csziggy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 03:43 AM
Response to Reply #33
73. Their more recent ads have a line about knowing when to get out of the bathtubs!
I hope it is not when some body else is passing by.
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conscious evolution Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:49 PM
Response to Reply #31
39. That is a great exercise.
Dr. Bernays would hate you.
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greenbird Donating Member (432 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 05:49 AM
Response to Reply #31
78. That's what we do in our home
We get a good laugh, and hopefully my fourteen-year-old will benefit. She certainly chimes in!
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murray hill farm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 02:03 PM
Response to Reply #78
111. Your daughter is learning to
look at the whole world in a way that will benefit her in ways too numerous to imagine, at this point. You too!
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Echo In Light Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 09:19 AM
Response to Reply #31
84. There's an excellent book I read in the 90s called Age of Propaganda
... and what the author's did was take numerous, well known examples - be they political messages, tv commercials, etc - and broke each down, revealing strategic slants, disinfo and biases. It was startling to me how easily detected the bullshit was, yet millions upon millions of people would buy into the illusion hook, line and sinker.
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EFerrari Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:02 PM
Response to Original message
22. Lots of them. I remember all the lyrics to Perry Como songs, too.


:rofl:
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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:04 PM
Response to Reply #22
23. I have bowler on one of my leagues, named Libby
and her team name?

"Label, Label, Label"
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Overseas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:21 PM
Response to Original message
26. We have banned cigarette ads on TV for some reason.
Edited on Sun Dec-13-09 12:27 PM by Overseas
When alcohol ads are aired, people cannot be shown drinking, for some reason.

Seems like those regulations were implemented because someone thought advertising was powerful.

And yet, we have earnest discussions on TV about the obesity epidemic in America without touching on the power of all those ads pitching yummy junk food all day long.

I've seen special segments on the TV talk shows about the obesity problem-- it's the parents' fault, they should get their kids to exercise and eat right-- it's the fat, it's the sugar, it's the video games, it's all the soda we drink. Then the show breaks for ads for hamburgers and chocolates and chips.

Then we return to the mysterious rise in obesity over the past decade, during which time the number of ads on TV has increased and the number of homes with TV has increased. But the discussion continues for another 15-minute segment addressing our lack of discipline as a society and maybe even the composition of school cafeteria food and reduction of sports programs. Then more commercials for junk food and digestive support and antidepressants and allergy pills.

Well, if advertising plays so little a role that we don't even need to include it in our serious panel discussions or pop psychology talk shows about the sharp rise in obesity, then let's go ahead and restore those cigarette ads right away. Apparently advertising isn't that important after all.

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dustbunnie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:29 PM
Response to Reply #26
28. Absolutely agree with you!

I remember this topic was aired on another thread ages ago, but it's amazing how right you are.

It'd be really interesting to see what would happen over time if KFC, Mickey D's, Pizza Hut, Wendy's, Pillsbury, etc... were banned from the air waves. Or at least, had to post warnings the way that pharma companies do.
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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:40 PM
Response to Reply #28
32. I'm reminded of an encounter we had with a "Twinkie-Man"
My son was about 4, and we came upon a merchandiser re-filling the Hostess section.. The guy turned to my son, and said "Hey son, here's a box of the really fresh ones", as he handed him a box.... My son said "Those things rot your teeth & will kill you"..The guy laughed a little and went back to stocking the shelf:)

But he never turned up his nose as pumpkin bread or homemade donettes:)
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dustbunnie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:57 PM
Response to Reply #32
41. Good for your baby!

It's always funny when kids tell the truth in public. :D

But seriously, it would be great if all kids had the opportunity to learn what yours did. The warnings after the junk food commercials would be worse than those of most pharma commercials... rotten teeth, obesity, nausea, diarrhea/cramping, upset stomach, bad skin, gall bladder issues, liver issues that rival those of alcoholism, cancer... and the list goes on!
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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:59 PM
Response to Reply #41
42. I miust be the only Mom in the US, who never bought a box of Twinkies
and who has never even tasted one:)

I have to admit, I did love the Hostess Sno-Balls as a kid though:)
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dustbunnie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 09:37 AM
Response to Reply #42
92. That makes two of us. :-)

Never had a Hostess Sno-Ball either.

Luckily my mother was fascistic about the food that was brought into the house, then by the time I flew the nest had caught the health and wellness bug so it was never an issue.
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Overseas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 03:43 PM
Response to Reply #28
55. I may have been the one that aired it. Because the power of the snack ads on TV
is so rarely mentioned in all the earnest debates about obesity.

We pretend they don't count but still don't allow wild happy fun ads for cigarettes back on TV.

It would even be interesting if we had fast food ads featuring people who look more like their most devoted customers, hooked in to that beguiling combination of fat, salt and sugar they serve.
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dustbunnie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 09:42 AM
Response to Reply #55
94. Yep, see the couple of posts below! n/t
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Louisiana1976 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 03:36 AM
Response to Reply #28
71. Or better yet, showed people who actually consumed their products.
Not handsome actors and gorgeous actress claiming to eat those products --everyday people who regularly eat those products.
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dustbunnie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 09:41 AM
Response to Reply #71
93. Yep. Mickey D's has taken to using emaciated college-type guys and girls lately.

Some of the others use thin, middle-class families in their ads.

On the other hand, the companies that service the fall-out of the obesity/food industry DO use people that consume these products. Gas-X, Pepto Bismal, etc... often depict very overweight, couch potato-ish people in their ads. Funny that.
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tabbycat31 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 07:04 AM
Response to Reply #26
80. try watching an hour of TV aimed at children
I'm talking channels like Nickelodeon, ABC family, etc. Most of the ads are junk food-- it just blows me away. No wonder kids are so fat these days.

It's either fast food, sugar cereals, or junk food.
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seeinfweggos Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:43 PM
Response to Original message
35. off subject here
but is that a shamwow jesus has?
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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:57 PM
Response to Reply #35
40. Indeed it is.. a MIRACLE Sham-Wow!
:)
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seeinfweggos Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 01:00 PM
Response to Reply #40
43. that's really funny
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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 01:52 PM
Response to Reply #43
48. just for you.. a preview for my new pic.. a bit cheeky
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seeinfweggos Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 01:55 PM
Response to Reply #48
51. i like, so you did these yourself?
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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 01:56 PM
Response to Reply #51
52. I modify stuff I find
I am sort of skill-less in the "making" department:)
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Bitwit1234 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:43 PM
Response to Original message
36. Just because a super super rich sport star, or movie star tells you
to buy something means nothing to me. I buy what I like and have never ever paid attention to any type of advertising. The execption...when you get the ads in the news or other wise from the food stores as to what is on sale that week etc....Example Tiger Woods or Madonna could follow me around all week and say buy this by that. And if I wanted some other brand I'd buy that. they have absolutely positively no influence on my purchases what so ever.
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fizzgig Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 12:45 PM
Response to Original message
37. not really
i can't remember the last time i bought something solely based on advertising. i did see a commercial for a tool my husband really wanted, but i've since forgotten who made it and what exactly it was called.
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CBR Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 01:07 PM
Response to Original message
44. I don't know. I just think I have changed.
Yesterday my husband and I went to downtown Philly with the intention to buy our Christmas gifts (we always choose a big gift for ourselves and buy each other a small, more meaningful gift to be opened on Christmas day) and my husband's birthday gift (which is Tuesday). I wanted to buy a new coat -- went to some small stores, Macy's, Burlington, Army/Navy store etc... By the end of the day, I decided to forgo the coat, buy some buttons and repair the one I currently own instead. I could not find one thing I wanted. Three years ago I would have dropped hundreds on useless clothing items. Other than food, wine and smaller needs (e.g. hose, socks etc...), I just have no desire to purchase anything.
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bridgit Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 01:40 PM
Response to Original message
46. No, not really, now if coupons disappeared
:cry:
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CrispyQ Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 01:45 PM
Response to Original message
47. Many, many years ago I would go through all the Sunday ads & make note of which store had what.
My house filled up with junk. When I stopped that, so did the flow of junk. As for TV ads, they are so damned loud that I surf to another channel or mute them. I ask several questions before I make my purchases. Is it vegan? Is it organic? Is it full of crap ingredients/materials? Is there excessive packaging? Where was it manufactured? And most importantly, is it necessary? This doesn't mean that I don't buy non-organics or that I never purchase anything from China (I wish that was easier!), but asking these questions forces me to put some thought into what I buy.

I de-cluttered my house several years ago & the liberating feeling that accompanied that act was incredible!

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csziggy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 03:51 AM
Response to Reply #47
74. If I need to buy something, I will check the ads
But I no longer subscribe to the local crappy newspaper so I do it online and only look for what I actually need. Salescircular.com is a terrific resource for that - they go through all those Sunday morning ads, put the items into categories and each category has its own table for fast comparison. It makes it easier to stay focused and not get distracted by things you don't really need.

Recently I was shopping for a scanner, but after over a month I have determined that local stores are no longer keeping dedicated scanners in stock, just all in ones. So I saved myself a lot of time just looking at the Salescircular website versus plowing through multiple store ads. Eventually, I will have to order a scanner online, I guess, but I am putting if off as long as possible.

For grocery shopping, I check my local stores ads online and make my shopping list according to what is in season, on sale or is needed for my menus for the week. Again, that makes it easier to stay focused - and since I make my list while having access to my recipes and my menu, I am less tempted by the things I don't need.
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S n o w b a l l Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 01:55 PM
Response to Original message
50. Advertising works...
Without it we wouldn't have any tv to watch, businesses would go under and there would be staggering unemployment.

As a previous small business owner, I've seen how it works and now as a TV account exec, I've seen how it works. Major advertisers do it to create top of mind awareness.

When you think of toothpaste, tissues, laundry detergent, razor blades, batteries, bleach who do you think of? Crest, Kleenex, Tide, Gillette, Clorox, 9 times out of 10.

It may not influence you, but it influences a lot of people. Most advertising is done to introduce a sale, a new product or service. How are you supposed to know about it if it's not advertised? How do you know that a new business opened up that carries a brand that you've been looking for? It's a competitive market out there, especially for small businesses. They have to compete by advertising.

When I go out to sell advertising to small businesses, I'm there to be a consultant not a salesman. I'm there to help them be successful because I've been on the other side and know it works. Those businesses that I walk into that say they never advertise are usually out of business within 6 mos to a year. I had my business for 5 years and only got out of it because of my divorce. If I hadn't advertised, I wouldn't have lasted a year. If you don't show and tell people about your business and what you have to offer, people won't come in.

I can understand why people hate ads, but it's a necessary evil. Keep in mind when you're watching your favorite tv show, that you're watching it because of advertising.
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Echo In Light Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 09:31 AM
Response to Reply #50
90. And that from the programmer's perspective, the 'shows' are the actual 'filler'
I disagree 100% though that it's a "necessary evil." That's the same horse shit level headed business people use to assure the public that their lucrative acts of aggression (phony War$) are likewise "necessary."
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dustbunnie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 10:13 AM
Response to Reply #90
96. It's not in the same vein at all.

There are some great applications for advertising and without it, the corner small business would die. Your neighborhood pizza joint, the dry cleaner, etc... they all depend on their advertising drives, the two-fers and coupons they hand out, to stay in business and provide for their families.

I get to read most of my news and a lot of interesting stuff on the net for free, because the site has allowed banner ads to defray their costs. I watch television shows for "free" because the advertisers are paying for the actors' and producers' salaries. I can't imagine how much it would cost me otherwise.

My relatives who live in very rural areas LOVE their catalogs and also do much of their shopping online. I love the weekly specials at my grocery store and don't give a shit that they're seducing me, or that I'm responding due to greed.

Even people who supposedly live the "underground" life aren't immune. George Carlin et al may have been huge critics of advertising, yet their handlers spend huge bucks on it to sell out venues, and they appeared regularly on late night tv to self-promote. Bands, musicians etc... write lovely songs eschewing the consumer lifestyle, then also use advertising to get people into their venues.

That's the way it is.
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Echo In Light Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 10:57 AM
Response to Reply #96
100. And given that it takes up such a significant portion of the corporate culture background...
... it's good for people to be wary of its uses, rather than remaining passive and uncritical of the enormous influence marketing has on shaping/guiding the public mind.

Bill Hicks on Marketing:

By the way if anyone here is in advertising or marketing... kill yourself.

No, no, no it's just a little thought. I'm just trying to plant seeds. Maybe one day, they'll take root - I don't know. You try, you do what you can. Kill yourself.

Seriously though, if you are, do.

Aaah, no really, there's no rationalization for what you do and you are Satan's little helpers. Okay - kill yourself - seriously. You are the ruiner of all things good, seriously. No this is not a joke, you're going, "there's going to be a joke coming," there's no fucking joke coming. You are Satan's spawn filling the world with bile and garbage. You are fucked and you are fucking us. Kill yourself. It's the only way to save your fucking soul, kill yourself.

Planting seeds. I know all the marketing people are going, "he's doing a joke..." there's no joke here whatsoever. Suck a tail-pipe, fucking hang yourself, borrow a gun from a Yank friend - I don't care how you do it. Rid the world of your evil fucking machinations. Machi... Whatever, you know what I mean.

I know what all the marketing people are thinking right now too, "Oh, you know what Bill's doing, he's going for that anti-marketing dollar. That's a good market, he's very smart."

Oh man, I am not doing that. You fucking evil scumbags!

"Ooh, you know what Bill's doing now, he's going for the righteous indignation dollar. That's a big dollar. A lot of people are feeling that indignation. We've done research - huge market. He's doing a good thing."

Goddammit, I'm not doing that, you scum-bags! Quit putting a goddamn dollar sign on every fucking thing on this planet!

"Ooh, the anger dollar. Huge. Huge in times of recession. Giant market, Bill's very bright to do that."

God, I'm just caught in a fucking web.

"Ooh the trapped dollar, big dollar, huge dollar. Good market - look at our research. We see that many people feel trapped. If we play to that and then separate them into the trapped dollar..."

How do you live like that? And I bet you sleep like fucking babies at night, don't you?

"What didya do today honey?"

"Oh, we made ah, we made ah arsenic a childhood food now, goodnight." "Yeah we just said you know is your baby really too loud? You know?" "Yeah, you know the mums will love it."

Sleep like fucking children, don't ya, this is your world isn't it?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDW_Hj2K0wo
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dustbunnie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 12:27 PM
Response to Reply #100
103. Right. And how many times did Bill Hicks appear on David Letterman?

12 times? 15? You do know that shows like DL exist for people to come on and shill their latest movie, CD, comedy show, etc. They're nothing more than advertising disguised as late night conversation.

Bill Hicks claimed the high road in his comedy routines, but like I said earlier, his handlers paid for plenty of advertising to get people to come and see his show. You posted a clip from Youtube. What do you think Youtube is?
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Echo In Light Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 12:47 PM
Response to Reply #103
104. And how many times was his act censored by Letterman's handlers?
... and not b/c of profanity. Actually, in recent yrs he invited Bill's mother on and apologized for it.

("Bill Hicks claimed the high road in his comedy routines...")

You and I aren't going to find any common ground here, so, that's that.
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dustbunnie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 12:49 PM
Response to Reply #104
105. That's okay. I was just pointing out the hypocrisy and/or naivete of the purists.

We don't need to take it any further.
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LeftyFingerPop Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 08:33 PM
Response to Reply #100
112. I know plenty of folks who work in advertising...should I tell them to kill themselves?
Edited on Mon Dec-14-09 08:33 PM by LeftyFingerPop
Because you and Bill Hicks don't like it?
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OffWithTheirHeads Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 01:07 PM
Response to Reply #96
107. I watch television shows for "free"
I suppose if your time has no value. I think 20 to 25 minutes of my life for each hour of "free" T.V. is whey too high a price. I simply have given up on "free" T.V.

As for print ads, I have never seen one for Broccoli or Beets on sale. Just Potato chips or soda pop. Shit I don't need and don't buy.

And what exactly is ADM trying to sell me anyway? A factory farm?

I have pretty much figured out what Shell oil is selling me. A war in Afganistan.

G.E. keeps trying to sell me tanks but I can't have one because California gun laws won't allow me to own one.
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dustbunnie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 01:23 PM
Response to Reply #107
108. Well, but that's it. Just don't watch tv and you won't have to watch insipid, dopey ads.

That's the simplest solution. For those who love their tv, they get to watch while being subsidized by advertisers. It's simple really.

My local grocery store has a website with all of their weekly specials, which include everything from vegetables to keeping my hair clean. I consult it before going so I can menu plan and get the best savings at the same time. When there are coupons for products I like, I load up. It's convenient for me and thousands of other people.

There is both "good" and "bad" advertising. Some advertising helps those Mom and Pop businesses stay afloat and that's a good thing.
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Echo In Light Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 01:27 PM
Response to Reply #107
109. I caught a tv ad for Boeing that interspersed weddings, military personnel, & silo missile launches
= all American CREEPY
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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 01:44 PM
Response to Reply #109
110. The flag, Mom, apple pie AND a Missile..Gawd bless the yoooesssaaaay
:rofl:
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S n o w b a l l Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 08:52 PM
Response to Reply #90
113. I considered it a necessary evil when I owned my business..
I hated spending the money on it, but I had to do it to survive.

If you ever owned a retail store, maybe you could comment rationally on the subject.


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OffWithTheirHeads Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-15-09 09:56 PM
Response to Reply #113
115. Actually, I owned an HVAC business in the S.F. Bay area
Do you have any idea how much it costs to advertise here? I could have spent every cent I made and not had any impact whatsoever. I spent Money on an an ad in the local San Mateo times. "PG&E got you by the bills". They pulled it in two days. Too offensive for their audience.

Maybe you can afford to advertise your business if you live in Podunk. In the SF bay area, you had better be a billionaire.

My local Grocery store does not advertise here. They can't afford to. Safeway advertises here and if you need Twinkies on sale, you're good to go. If you need actual food, your fucked.

Advertising is telling lies and promising people things that they won't get by buying your product. Sex, a hard on, a reverse of aging. It's all bullshit and you would be better off ignoring it all. At this point, you can't believe ANYTHING that Corporate Amerika tells you. You live in the Matrix, you just don't realize it.
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S n o w b a l l Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Dec-16-09 08:28 PM
Response to Reply #115
116. My store was in LA...
not exactly podunk. My rent was 3k/month. I happen to believe you have to invest money back in your business to bring more money in and that's what I did by advertising. And I certainly didn't lie in my ads.
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seeinfweggos Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 01:58 PM
Response to Original message
53. the only ads that affect me are the sales in the newspaper
i don't need marketing to tell me what products i need. but telling me where the stuff is the cheapest is actually usefull.

oh, and jesus selling shamwows is always helpful.
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The_Commonist Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 02:00 PM
Response to Original message
54. My buying habits would not change.
I never look at or pay attention to ads.
I don't have a TV.
I never click on ads on the internet.
I've got a donor star here at DU, so I never see ads.
I even used to work for an ad agency (as a technician), and they told me I was the most frustrating type of consumer, because I am unaffected by advertising.
I know what I like, I buy very little, and you can't convince me to buy your crap with some fancy graphic design and a few psychological keywords...
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katkat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 05:09 PM
Response to Original message
56. Ads? What are those?
Edited on Sun Dec-13-09 05:15 PM by katkat
I got rid of my tv early in the year, and I run Firefox with FlashBlock and AdBlock. Magazines are largely a waste of money, so I pretty much don't buy those.

The only ads I see are in my very local newspaper and they're useful, in this rural area, for telling you when the crops are for sale at the local farm stands. That's about it.

I was suckered into about ten years of HRT because it was supposed to be heart-healthy, etc., only to find that it increases the risk of heart damage and cancer. Ditto Fosamax for "building bones" only to find that it can cause jaw death. So the "ads" from BigPharma, which often take the form of indoctrinating doctors, cut no ice with me now. (Pardon me while I feel a little :mad: about this experience, with those evil lying bastards who don't care how many people they kill or maim as long as they make money.)
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Hippo_Tron Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 05:13 PM
Response to Original message
57. I am affected by ads that inform me of products I did not know existed
For example about a year and a half ago, they came out with a brand of shaving cream that basically had the consistency of lotion. I didn't know it existed until I saw an ad that featured a bunch of girls touching this guy's face or whatever. I can tell you that I'm past the age where that sort of advertising works on me. I did go out and buy the shaving cream, though, because I did think a shaving cream with that consistency would be good for my skin.
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eridani Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 06:54 AM
Response to Reply #57
79. Same here. I'm probably going to buy a mini video camera
Up until now, they've mostly been too complicated for people who really aren't shutterbugs, but this is a simple point and shoot with it's own USB stick for easy uploading. It supposedly holds about an hour of video--easily enough to capture demonstration highlights. I wouldn't have known about it without seeing an ad.
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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 09:13 AM
Response to Reply #79
82. Before you buy one, google the model number & read the customer comments
I find them a LOT more helpful than any ads.. since the ones with "issues" are more likely to respond, and forewarned is forearmed:)
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surrealAmerican Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 05:55 PM
Response to Original message
58. It's not really a question of weather you personally ...
... base your purchasing decisions on the ads you see.
All of our buying habits would change without advertising because what would be offered for sale, and where it would be offered, would be radically different in a world without advertising.
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Raine Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 06:14 PM
Response to Original message
59. Yes somewhat, that's how I find out
about new products.
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lib2DaBone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 06:17 PM
Response to Original message
60. I actually like to know about better products and good deals....
I don't know if I necessarily need a "Sham-Wow" or a "Chia Pet"... but I would like to know when new products come on the market.
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Paper Roses Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 06:52 PM
Response to Original message
62. Many ads make me less inclines to buy. Sometimes there are no options.
Case in point: Comcast.
Save that humongous ad budget and lower the blinking rates.
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Lorien Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 06:52 PM
Response to Original message
63. When I stopped watching TV and getting magazines I found that
my desire for new "stuff" also vanished. It was rather liberating.
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Gregorian Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-13-09 07:03 PM
Response to Original message
64. A subject I like. I have never done ads.
That doesn't mean I haven't seen them. I remember the Alka-selzer "I can't believe I ate the whole thing". But, I grew up in a neighborhood from heaven. Tv was not part of my house. And my friend next door, who's dad was a Harvard educated architect, was the coolest man on earth. A Cary Grant if I ever saw one. He even has his same accent. He and his wife would watch tv, before remotes, with a long stick of wood and a clothespin on the end, attached to the volume knob. A martini in the other hand. When an ad came on, they quickly turned the stick.

I avoid tv with ads. I only listen to noncommercial radio. Never an ad. I can't even tolerate the sound effects on Keith and Rachel's shows. I'm close to giving them up over that, but I do watch. The flashing lights and crazy idiot sounding voices on commercials these days would drive me insane in mere moments. I refused to listen to Air America simply because of the ads. I really hurt over that. I wanted so badly to listen. They'd have been better as listener supported. Their loss. I'm as ad pure as a caveman. I'm careful about what goes into my eyes and ears.

I listen mostly to Resonance FM out of London. The British accent is growing on me. I can hardly tolerate the American voice now.

The strangest thing has happened. Society seems to be following my example. Maybe they've been watching me. My button up 501's. My old pickup truck. Leaving a high paying engineering job for a cabin in the country.

I'm guessing most people on this forum avoid commercials.
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Manifestor_of_Light Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 12:22 AM
Response to Original message
67. To find out how it started, watch this documentary.
THE CENTURY OF THE SELF, produced by the Beeb.

Available on YouTube. Edward Bernays was the man who invented public relations and shaped modern advertising. He was Sigmund Freud's nephew. He took the discoveries of Freud about how unconscious motives and used those to direct advertising.

This is why ads are aimed at psychological needs we all have:The need to fit in with the crowd, the need to be different, the need to be part of the majority, the need to be powerful, the need to be sexually attractive, etc.

My daughter said that in her high school English class they looked at ads and analyzed what need they were appealing to. I wish I had had education in propaganda techniques back then.

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Mithreal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 04:38 AM
Response to Original message
75. Luckily, people without an income don't need to worry about this
hope the advertisers catch on
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Johnny Noshoes Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 04:50 AM
Response to Original message
76. If advertising disappeared...
If advertising disappeared so would my job and at 55 a new job that pays anything like the current one does does NOT exist. At least not for me at my age. Hell the only reason I still have this job is because before the last mass layoff someone decided to go back to college and I got transfered to that person's position.
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old mark Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 05:18 AM
Response to Original message
77. We buy almost nothing by brand name - we shop mostly for house brands,
which usually are either the same or slightly better than the big names.



mark
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Lucian Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 07:08 AM
Response to Original message
81. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate...
so we can buy shit we don't need.
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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 09:17 AM
Response to Reply #81
83. Two of our 3 boys "got the message" and have managed to
Edited on Mon Dec-14-09 09:18 AM by SoCalDem
avoid the car-payment trap that has impoverished so many of their friends, as they started out in life..

So many young people start out with so damned much debt, they NEVER know what it's like to have extra money to save..

and to the point, the youngest of our sons & his wife (1 & a half yrs) married) paid for their own (mostly) very expensive wedding, themselves..paid in advance for their 3 week honeymoon ..1 week in Florence, Italy and a 2 wk. Greek cruise, and a year later plunked down 76K on their first house.. a house built in 1978....in SoCal,.,.,and they are not one penny in debt:)
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raccoon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 09:28 AM
Response to Original message
88. When I was a preschooler, some cereal was advertised as giving you the ability to fly.

So I ate some of the cereal, climbed on the stove (which was off, fortunately) and jumped off.

I didn't fly.



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snooper2 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 09:29 AM
Response to Original message
89. Egyptians used papyrus to make sales messages and wall posters.
Commercial messages and political campaign displays have been found in the ruins of Pompeii and ancient Arabia. Lost and found advertising on papyrus was common in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Wall or rock painting for commercial advertising is another manifestation of an ancient advertising form, which is present to this day in many parts of Asia, Africa, and South America. The tradition of wall painting can be traced back to Indian rock art paintings that date back to 4000 BC.<4> History tells us that Out-of-Home advertising and Billboards are the oldest forms of advertising.

As the towns and cities of the Middle Ages began to grow, and the general populace was unable to read, signs that today would say cobbler, miller, tailor or blacksmith would use an image associated with their trade such as a boot, a suit, a hat, a clock, a diamond, a horse shoe, a candle or even a bag of flour. Fruits and vegetables were sold in the city square from the backs of carts and wagons and their proprietors used street callers (town criers) to announce their whereabouts for the convenience of the customers.

As education became an apparent need and reading, as well as printing, developed advertising expanded to include handbills. In the 17th century advertisements started to appear in weekly newspapers in England. These early print advertisements were used mainly to promote books and newspapers, which became increasingly affordable with advances in the printing press; and medicines, which were increasingly sought after as disease ravaged Europe. However, false advertising and so-called "quack" advertisements became a problem, which ushered in the regulation of advertising content.

As the economy expanded during the 19th century, advertising grew alongside. In the United States, the success of this advertising format eventually led to the growth of mail-order advertising.



Edo period advertising flyer from 1806 for a traditional medicine called Kinseitan



just sayin' :)

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onenote Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 10:29 AM
Response to Original message
98. thinking back to a "simpler" time -- there were still lots of ads
And, by the way, without advertising, DU itself might not exist.

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Vidar Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 10:54 AM
Response to Original message
99. No.
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TxRider Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-14-09 12:51 PM
Response to Original message
106. Yes my buying would change.
Not because advertising ever convinces me to buy anything.

But without it I would be unaware that a product exists, and unaware there was a product available for need I have.

So it is useful, but I generally only pay attention if an ad grabs my attention due to it addressing a need I have a product to fill already and haven't been able to find one that fills it.
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treestar Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Dec-16-09 08:37 PM
Response to Original message
117. I don't think so
I don't think I consciously respond to ads and sometimes they annoy me enough that I refuse to buy whatever it is.

I think that's why I'm not rich. I'd see it as a waste.

Telemarketing for instance, would seem like a waste of time and money to me. Whoever does that must know it works and it must pay or they wouldn't keep doing it.

But I personally would never buy anything via telemarketing.
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