Is the Advertising industry hateful?

bikes_and_dogs

My leading question may give you an insight to my thoughts.
Television ( my go to media of choice) seems to carry three main types of advert.
1. Guilt trip you into thinking that you can contribute to a charity and save starving children, rhinoceros, polar bears etc. for £3 a month.
2. Annoy you into remembering their brand by sheer repetitiveness. The McDonald's whistle chime and the "Go compare" bloke spring to mind but there are countless others playing the same trick.
3. Brands basically telling us that we are missing out on the idealistic life they present if we do not buy their products.
The school curriculum should include lessons on seeing through the advertising industry's manipulation.

slowmart

Just look at the marketing in cycling.

Discs, 12 speed , tubeless, aero, etc all pointless reasons to pay over inflated prices for a new bike.

Bill Hicks had a superb outlook on marketing people

https://youtu.be/tHEOGrkhDp0?si=UbfmuQ0fwwqs7cy1

pangolin

You're watching too much live tv

bikes_and_dogs

pangolin said:

You're watching too much live tv

I try to make point of recording my viewing pleasure beforehand so that I can fast forward the adverts. It feels good to outsmart them in my own small way.

briantrumpet

Thankfully Youtube seems to have given up its recent annoying habit of trying to get people to turn off their adblöckers.

It does cheer me up what a splendid job AdGuard does on clearing up the junk and making websites bearable.

briantrumpet

bikes_and_dogs said:

The school curriculum should include lessons on seeing through the advertising industry's manipulation.

Actually, studying advertising in various formats would be a brilliant subject for all sorts of areas:

psychology
graphic design & cinematography
business studies
sound design
cultural & social history
language usage

etc.

bikes_and_dogs

I should have included a fourth category - Gambling firms that tell us how much fun we can have, but failing to mention that their huge advertising budgets are financed by the odds being stacked firmly against you.

bikes_and_dogs

briantrumpet said:

bikes_and_dogs said:

The school curriculum should include lessons on seeing through the advertising industry's manipulation.

Actually, studying advertising in various formats would be a brilliant subject for all sorts of areas:

psychology
graphic design & cinematography
business studies
sound design
cultural & social history
language usage

etc.

yeah, it's all a bit arty and cultural, nothing to do with being a big exercise in parting folk from their money. Silly me.

briantrumpet

bikes_and_dogs said:

briantrumpet said:

bikes_and_dogs said:

The school curriculum should include lessons on seeing through the advertising industry's manipulation.

Actually, studying advertising in various formats would be a brilliant subject for all sorts of areas:

psychology
graphic design & cinematography
business studies
sound design
cultural & social history
language usage

etc.

yeah, it's all a bit arty and cultural, nothing to do with being a big exercise in parting folk from their money. Silly me.

That'll be covered in the psychology bit in particular, how the barstewards warp people's minds, using language and imagery to make us think we need stuff we don't need, essentially by making us feel unfulfilled, and that their 'stuff' will make us happy (but actually empties our souls out of meaning at the same time, bit by bit).

As you might tell, reading between the lines, I'm no more a fan of it than you are, though I do just want to share the poster for my next concert, so you know where you can buy tickets...

Pross

Advertising industry in using techniques to sell things shocker.

briantrumpet

I think there used to be a saying that you knew that 50% of your advertising would be wasted, but you didn't know which 50%.

Stevo_666

Not hateful, they're trying to sell stuff which sometimes annoys us. Having worked for a couple of advertising/media buying groups it seems to be easier for me to ignore their output.

bikes_and_dogs

Pross said:

Advertising industry in using techniques to sell things shocker.

I don't mind adverts designed to inform, I object to adverts designed to manipulate. Far too many fall into the latter category.
The fact that big brands can afford to pay for this psychological warfare and profit from it is frustrating.

pblakeney

bikes_and_dogs said:

Pross said:

Advertising industry in using techniques to sell things shocker.

I don't mind adverts designed to inform, I object to adverts designed to manipulate. Far too many fall into the latter category.
The fact that big brands can afford to pay for this psychological warfare and profit from it is frustrating.

Twas ever thus.
They've just become less subtle.

rjsterry

bikes_and_dogs said:

I should have included a fourth category - Gambling firms that tell us how much fun we can have, but failing to mention that their huge advertising budgets are financed by the odds being stacked firmly against you.

How do people think that any form of gambling operator makes money if the odds aren't stacked against the punters? Not sure why advertisers should be required to state the bleeding obvious.

rjsterry

bikes_and_dogs said:

Pross said:

Advertising industry in using techniques to sell things shocker.

I don't mind adverts designed to inform, I object to adverts designed to manipulate. Far too many fall into the latter category.
The fact that big brands can afford to pay for this psychological warfare and profit from it is frustrating.

*All* advertising is intended to encourage/manipulate you to buy (more of) the product. Objecting to businesses profiting from advertising is objecting to the very idea of a business.

rjsterry

briantrumpet said:

bikes_and_dogs said:

The school curriculum should include lessons on seeing through the advertising industry's manipulation.

Actually, studying advertising in various formats would be a brilliant subject for all sorts of areas:

psychology
graphic design & cinematography
business studies
sound design
cultural & social history
language usage

etc.

These subjects have been and are studied in great depth. There are at least two museums I know of dedicated to the subject.

briantrumpet

rjsterry said:

briantrumpet said:

bikes_and_dogs said:

The school curriculum should include lessons on seeing through the advertising industry's manipulation.

Actually, studying advertising in various formats would be a brilliant subject for all sorts of areas:

psychology
graphic design & cinematography
business studies
sound design
cultural & social history
language usage

etc.

These subjects have been and are studied in great depth. There are at least two museums I know of dedicated to the subject.

Indeed, just think that it would be a good umbrella subject at school level to touch on may related areas that might enthuse pupils, and something to which thy can all relate.

rick_chasey

Manipulating isn't the right word for people selling you stuff. Suggests subterfuge, which is not at play.

It is persuading.

Pross

bikes_and_dogs said:

Pross said:

Advertising industry in using techniques to sell things shocker.

I don't mind adverts designed to inform, I object to adverts designed to manipulate. Far too many fall into the latter category.
The fact that big brands can afford to pay for this psychological warfare and profit from it is frustrating.

Why would an advert look to inform? Advertising companiesd are paid large sums of money to encourage people to buy their clients' products. It has always been that way. There are regulations around false advertising and other regulations governing the industry although these will be, and always have been, pushed to the limits.

secretsqirrel

I don’t see the mainstream advertising industry as hateful, it is after all quite strictly regulated. I actually appreciate a well made advertisement e.g Guinness ads even though I don’t drink the stuff.
A favourite of mine https://youtu.be/69MpLiYhsXw?si=l3JBItDpbZmSen9H

I would ‘go after’ social media influencers who tap into the insecure and vulnerable.

I haven’t been able to sit on my bike since getting that Turkish Brazilian buttlift 😉

lesfirth

briantrumpet said:

I think there used to be a saying that you knew that 50% of your advertising would be wasted, but you didn't know which 50%.

I seem to remember it as 90% and 10%

briantrumpet

lesfirth said:

briantrumpet said:

I think there used to be a saying that you knew that 50% of your advertising would be wasted, but you didn't know which 50%.

I seem to remember it as 90% and 10%

90% of my memory is useless, but I don't remember which half.

Your version sounds more likely.

MidlandsGrimpeur2

The school curriculum should include lessons on seeing through the advertising industry's manipulation.

It will never happen, but 'The Hidden Persuaders' by Vance Packard would be good curriculum reading. It is probably the most comprehensive book written on the psychology of consumerism and advertising and written in the 1950's but perhaps even more relevant today.

Oh, and just watch 'Mad Men' as well!

surrey_commuter

briantrumpet said:

lesfirth said:

briantrumpet said:

I think there used to be a saying that you knew that 50% of your advertising would be wasted, but you didn't know which 50%.

I seem to remember it as 90% and 10%

90% of my memory is useless, but I don't remember which half.

Your version sounds more likely.

No Brian, you are correct but it is seen as an apocryphal story as nobody can find the oiginal quote.

Half of the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The trouble is that I don't know which half

briantrumpet

surrey_commuter said:

briantrumpet said:

lesfirth said:

briantrumpet said:

I think there used to be a saying that you knew that 50% of your advertising would be wasted, but you didn't know which 50%.

I seem to remember it as 90% and 10%

90% of my memory is useless, but I don't remember which half.

Your version sounds more likely.

No Brian, you are correct but it is seen as an apocryphal story as nobody can find the oiginal quote.

Half of the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The trouble is that I don't know which half

I suspect the wasted portion is waaaay higher, but that the 10% or 1% or whatever (combined with the general keeping something in the public eye) still makes it worth it, a bit like scam callers... they only need 1 in 1000 to fall for the scam to make it worth doing.

rick_chasey

You lot sound like faceolbook salespeople. “You can target the exact audience with our data” yada yada.


Nothing wrong with sales and advertising, as long as it’s within the rules.

Pross

rick_chasey said:

You lot sound like faceolbook salespeople. “You can target the exact audience with our data” yada yada.


Nothing wrong with sales and advertising, as long as it’s within the rules.

It’s almost like you’ve decided what people have said without reading what they’ve said as I think most of us have already made comments along the lines of the bit in bold.

rick_chasey

Pross said:

rick_chasey said:

You lot sound like faceolbook salespeople. “You can target the exact audience with our data” yada yada.


Nothing wrong with sales and advertising, as long as it’s within the rules.

It’s almost like you’ve decided what people have said without reading what they’ve said as I think most of us have already made comments along the lines of the bit in bold.

Not everything I post is an attempt to disagree with someone, Pross!

pblakeney

rick_chasey said:

Pross said:

rick_chasey said:

You lot sound like faceolbook salespeople. “You can target the exact audience with our data” yada yada.


Nothing wrong with sales and advertising, as long as it’s within the rules.

It’s almost like you’ve decided what people have said without reading what they’ve said as I think most of us have already made comments along the lines of the bit in bold.

Not everything I post is an attempt to disagree with someone, Pross!

.
The below comes over as confrontational though, even if your main point was polite.
.

rick_chasey said:

You lot sound like faceolbook salespeople. “You can target the exact audience with our data” yada yada.

Pross

rick_chasey said:

Pross said:

rick_chasey said:

You lot sound like faceolbook salespeople. “You can target the exact audience with our data” yada yada.


Nothing wrong with sales and advertising, as long as it’s within the rules.

It’s almost like you’ve decided what people have said without reading what they’ve said as I think most of us have already made comments along the lines of the bit in bold.

Not everything I post is an attempt to disagree with someone, Pross!

The 'you lot' at the start of your comment suggests you had a different view to 'us lot'.