View Full Version : Commercials think we're all stupid...
Vodstok
09-25-2008, 03:13 AM
Okay, I have been sitting on this for a while, but I finally feel like I need to get it off my chest.
There is an "Herbal Remedy" quit smoking commercial on the radio that says to try this:
Go into a drug store and ask for a aid for quitting smoking, the tell the person at the counter you want to take it home and use it, and then if, and only if you actyually quit smoking, then you will come back and pay for it. Here's what gets me:
"Now, if you do this, you would probably get arrested".
WHAT?
No, you wouldnt.
It would probably go like this:
Customer: I want to use this nicotine gum, but i dont want to pay for it unless it works.
Worker: No
See? No cops.
I also hate "banter" commercials, especially for TV shows that run on the radio...
"Hey, dont you like TV shows on FOX?"
"Yes I do, I sooo love House."
Echhh....
Demonique
09-25-2008, 04:12 AM
Oh I could rant about this all day. I'll try to keep it short.
Commercials bug me to no end.
The infomercials are hilarious- have you noticed that the people on them are so stupid, inept and incapable of simple motor skills that I am surprised they can walk. Like the knife commercials where the 'before' person tries to cut a tomato and it looks like they hit it with a brick. They can't open a bag. make juice or boil spaghetti without a major disaster.
Mainstream commercials all target what they think are the public's core values. If you buy our product it will make you more attractive, smarter, more popular and you will have more time to spend with the family (you bad parent you).
It disgusts me to see a commercial where the ad-people show a "happy mainstream family" going into paroxysms of joy because a cartoon character put a slice of bread on a sandwich.
Try reading the fine print on banking, insurance and drug commercials. If you are a fast reader - you may notice what they write often negates most of what they say.
I hope people aren't quite as greedy and vain as our advertizing industry portrays us.
Ok - I'm done.
novakru
09-25-2008, 04:31 AM
Ditech-the anti-christ of re-financing
Fast food commercials with their 'healthy menu':rolleyes:
Vodstok
09-25-2008, 04:37 AM
Please rant more :) that was fun to read. And I completely agree.
I hate the commercial sterotypes they have created, too. The biggest one for me is the "Smiling shoulder-length clean dreadlocked black guy".
ManchestrMorgue
09-25-2008, 04:44 AM
The commercials that really irritate me are the ones that try to come across as an independent test or report on a product.
Obviously, many people are so stupid that they can't realise that someone has to pay for commercials, and it is probably going to be the people who stand to gain financially from the sale of the good or service advertised.
Vodstok
09-25-2008, 05:08 AM
The commercials that really irritate me are the ones that try to come across as an independent test or report on a product.
Obviously, many people are so stupid that they can't realise that someone has to pay for commercials, and it is probably going to be the people who stand to gain financially from the sale of the good or service advertised.
this reminds me of the "Reality" commercials, mostly put out by Truth.org about smoking, where they are supposed to be these "hardcore" anti smoking people doing something in public, they even go so far as to blur a face or two to make it look more real...
the others that kill me are when they have the "people on the street" reacting to a huge banner being draped over the side of a building, but if you look at it for more than a second, the banner is digital, as is the "hidden camera" grain.
urgeok2
09-25-2008, 05:26 AM
all advertising assumes the vast majority of people are stupid - and have a herd mentality - and they are 100% correct.
all you have to do is print a big red FREE on a product and it flies off the shelf.
(or MORE)
they continue to advertise the way they do because it works.
sure if you possess an intelligence level somewhat above that of a water chestnut you'll take exception to the insulting stupidity of 90% of all forms of advertising ...
but guess what...
if you possess that degree of intelligence you're in a small 'priviledged' minority.
Vodstok
09-25-2008, 05:32 AM
So you are saying I am an inherently superior human being... I like your thinking :)
Oh, and I know most "sheeple" fall for the crap on tv. Its amazing how similar to rodents and crows most people are: If its shiny, it must have an objective value and is worth covetting, who cares if its plastic (Be it jewelery, a vehicle, or models...). Maybe thats why we always talk about how smart rats a crows are, it makes the vast majority of people feel less stupid to be compared to reletively smart animals. hmmmm..
ManchestrMorgue
09-25-2008, 05:35 AM
Yeah that's it. Companies wouldn't spend the vast amounts of money that they spend on advertising if it wasn't paying off.
And the majority of people, I am convinced, are incapable of critical thought. Look at all the people that lose vast amounts of money to Nigerian scammers via spam mail. And these are people with reasonable sums of money to be scammed out of.
Vodstok
09-25-2008, 06:05 AM
Yeah that's it. Companies wouldn't spend the vast amounts of money that they spend on advertising if it wasn't paying off.
And the majority of people, I am convinced, are incapable of critical thought. Look at all the people that lose vast amounts of money to Nigerian scammers via spam mail. And these are people with reasonable sums of money to be scammed out of.
Very very true. And how in the HELL does anyone fall for these any more? This assumes they A. Have a computer, B. Can read email, C. are incredibly stupid, and D. Never watch the news or even Dr. Phil (Which is surprising because this kind of moron is exactly his demographic)
Modern advertising has shown that P T Barnum was more than just a showman: he was a philosopher of exceptional wisdom.
Roderick Usher
09-25-2008, 08:56 AM
They're all lies.
Commercials are simply lies told to get you to spend money on products you do not need.
I've drilled this one into my kids' head and it's working - they are becoming less responsive to advertising and learning to question anyone who is trying to sell them anything.
When my eldest busted me for acting in commercials and asking "why?" I promptly called my commercial agent and quit.
They're all lies.
Commercials are simply lies told to get you to spend money on products you do not need.
"IN A WORLD....WHERE NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS....GO SEE...THE MOVIE THE CRITICS ARE CALLING...A MASTERPIECE...GO SEE....GIALLO"
What do we do in a case such as this?
:D
Vodstok
09-25-2008, 09:06 AM
Scream in terror for the dead have risen.
http://blogs.wncn.info/betweenthelines/files/2007/10/lafontaine-2.png
Scream in terror for the dead have risen.
http://blogs.wncn.info/betweenthelines/files/2007/10/lafontaine-2.png
nah......he did the soundbite months ago.
Vodstok
09-25-2008, 09:34 AM
nah......he did the soundbite months ago.
In that case... believe it. Dan the Man never lied. Not with the "In a world" line.
Kemal
09-25-2008, 12:57 PM
I love the drug commercials where the voice over lists a parade of horrors in a calm, soothing tone.
"...may cause impotence, constipation, paralysis and in rare cases death."
urgeok2
09-25-2008, 01:00 PM
"IN A WORLD....WHERE NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS....GO SEE...THE MOVIE THE CRITICS ARE CALLING...A MASTERPIECE...GO SEE....GIALLO"
What do we do in a case such as this?
:D
hahahahahahahaahhahaha !
you're a cold fucker when the mood hits :D
even worse than me !
Vodstok
09-25-2008, 01:13 PM
I love the drug commercials where the voice over lists a parade of horrors in a calm, soothing tone.
"...may cause impotence, constipation, paralysis and in rare cases death."
what kills me is the one for asthma, that sometimes causes a massive fatal asthma attack...
I also love the antidepressant commercial where everyone says in a placid, moderately pleased voice that it has a "low risk of sexual side effects"
The one that gets under my skin the most is the one that is supposed to be a doctor and some interns walking around, and they just so happen to be having a conversation about the benefits and side effects of the drug...
and of course, these all work so well, i can remember the anno0ying commercial, but not the actual product. How;s that for a nice little "fuck you"... :D
The Shroud
12-16-2017, 05:20 PM
Oh, I have one for you! Just today I saw a commercial for a drug. While it was, as was said earlier, listing a parade of horrors, this one was for the "temporary relief of" ...get this... "frown lines", which they talked about as if it was some kind of disease.
Christy Brinkley was hawking it and it was being described as "pure" as if it was safer or something. Despite the fact that it could cause death.
I don't remember the name, but I think it might be a new kind of Botox as I noticed a word something like "botulitum" and Botox is made of chicken botulism, from what I've heard.