h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I once did a marketing course at college. One of the first things we had to do was to write down what we thought marketing was.

One offering read:

"Marketing is a fundamentally dishonest activity practised by crooks in sharp suits aimed at foisting excessive quantities of unwanted and substandard goods onto honest, hardworking and underpaid purchasing officers"

Needless to say the author was a purchasing officer.

I have rather the same feelings about advertising, which, is of, course a element of marketing


Stephen

Picasso said that: (and I may be paraphrasing here)

'It is the artists job to convince people of the necessity of his fads.'

And that seems to be the basis premise of advertising: Convincing consumers that they must have what you are selling whether they need it or not.

This raises interesting questions about modern life, fashion and consumer culture and what we mean by 'need'. The desire of the metropolis dwelling individual to participate in their environment inclusively can produce different needs.

In increasingly commercial surroundings amid the anonymity of those who inhabit the same space, common or shared experience is often sought by projecting feelings and emotions on to products and material goods which occupy a place in a society's consciousness. In this way people can feel a belonging. The product provides a social conduit outside of its supposed use, the object becomes a means to communicate with each other. Thus the term 'buying into' something.

Manufacturers and advertisers have become increasingly wise to this cultural phenomenon look at Tamagochi's and mobile phone facias, not to mention gizmo features on trainers with: air filled soles, torsion systems, split toes, velcro! Yes they represent fantastic diversity and wonderful innovations, but...do we need them? Many people seem to think so.

Advertising costs the companies a lot of money..which is why I get annoyed when supermarkets/shops expect me to pay them to advertise their company by purchasing their carrier bags..I don't mind advertising their company if they give me the carrier bag for free..but..I'll not pay to do their advertising!

As fot TV adverts some of them are better than the programmes they're interupting..my favoutites being..the coffee couple ads..such great ads. that I can't remember which instant coffee they were advertising....though to be fair.that probably has more to do with my bad memory than bad advertising..another favourite of mine the is black guy (with the nice smile) singing in the halifax advert..though..I can't stand the chubby bloke or the female singing in other halifax ads....

Emmily

Hi Emmily, me again! Im not following you, honest.

Yes advertising does cost companies a lot of money but it also increases their sales (and hence production runs) which cuts production costs. They would tell you that the latter outweighs the former and that prices are reduced as a result. And if they dont then the competition puts the companies out of business. Actually, of course, this is a gross over-simplification and rarely works to the benefit of the consumer.

What get up my nose to a very considerable extent are the ads (of whatever sort) that sell on image without any reference at all to the benefits - or even the desireability - of the product. They strike me as being fundamentally dishonest and even sinister. Isn't there an element of brainwashing there?

Yours again,

Stephen

The coffee was Nescafe Gold Blend- I hastily add the only reason I know that is becuase they starred Anthony Stewart-Head, latterly of Buffy fame.

The thing which really p**ses me off about the advertising industry is that they have appropriated the word 'creative' to describe their activities almost exclusively I know of a lot of other jobs/vocations/whatever where a much higher degree of creativity is required, not least my erstwhile occupation of research scientist.
George Orwell had a much more appropriate description when he described advertising as being 'the rattle of a stick in a swill bucket'.

Thanks....I thought it was Nescafe..but..couldn't remember the Gold Blend bit..

I think the worst kind of advertising is that aimed at children..if you've ever watch childrens cable channels..especially near christmas time..you'll know what I mean....they are young & gullible enough to be brain washed..I'd like to believe most adults are more cautious of adverts..&..don't take them at 'face value'..but..I could well be wrong....

Emmily

hi all,

nothing to say (just now) on advertising...

I'm here to thank KerrAvon () for informing me that 'Mr Giles' and the Gold Blend guy are one and the same!

Of course, i'm revealing my predilection for the antics of the Slayer and her Scooby Gang in the process...

You are absolutely right, of course! Much advertisig is aimed at kids who having seen it pester their parents into buying whatever it is - or, less frequently, spend their own hard-earned.

Despicable but all but impossible to control.

Im not sure about adults being immune though, even if most of us would like to think we are. For a start, the enemy is getting pretty subtle and sophisticated these days. Also, there are a lot of people about with more money than they really need (Developed economies only!)who dont have to think too carefully about what they spend it on. The advertisers' natural (you might almost say legitimate!) victim.

Not a problem Spaceman- if you look around ASH's fan sites, of which there are a great many, you'll probably even find downloadable versions. Not that I hang around ASH fan sites of course. Or Alyson Hannigan ones. No, not me

there is such a thing as an AS-Head fansite?

There are many, many of them- many drooling ladies looking at pics of when he was in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, screen caps from everything he's ever been in... Do a search for "Anthony Stewart Head" on google - you'll get about 16,300 results....

If I were to drool over anyone it'd have to be Sean Bean.(&..my alien friend..A Visitor to Planet Earth)..end of drooling back to subject topic....

Stephen..I believe with consumer programmes such as Watchdog..&..documentries about how companies are run..we are much more aware of corperate 'tricks' than we used to be..I myself am very suspicious of companies than claim something they are advertising seems too good to be true..as watchdog say.."If something seems too good to be true, it probably is"..(or something simular)..a good thing to remember....

Emmily

Hi (again) Emmily!

It's nice to know you are so aware. I think I am too but wonder if I really need that digital camera or a GPS to tell me exactly where I am in the world within 30 ft or a 4x4 off-roader. I really want them though cos the ad men have (almost) convinced me!

Trouble is that half the time ads dont even address the benefits of the things they sell. Its all meaningless image and that is what I find sinister; they are playing with our minds!

More regards!

Stephen

Stephen if you can afford to buy items like that on the whim of an advertising campagain..(I can't find my spell checker..secrets out..I can't spell..)..then your being paid too much....I'm only teasing....
It's probably as much to do with not being able to afford to buy things I don't need..as much as being aware..and 'sale' items are not worth the cost..unless it's an item I was going to buy anyway..and there are 'loop holes' to look out for there..

Emmily

Hi there...I saw advertising was the talking point and I thought I would drop in and offer a few words. I have a business degree and my area of concentration was marketing (though it is not my current profession). I took a couple of courses in advertising practices to meet my degree requirement, which for a while totally ruined my TV watching and movie going experiences. The thing about advertising is that it is everywhere, and it is being thrown at you when you aren't even aware of it.

For example, have you ever noticed in a movie or TV show that a lot of the time the can of soda or bottle of beer that the character is consuming has a generic label and brand name...that is unless some company forks over the funds to get there product into the show. That is how we get Will Smith wearing a certain pair of sunglasses in the Men in Black movies, the leading man in a movie swilling a particular brand of beer, or the leading lady smoking a particular brand of cigarettes. While it is not screaming at you "Notice my product" or "buy my product" it is advertising...specifically known as product placement. They pay money in hopes that the image of their product will stick in your mind and ultimately influence your buying behavior.

And what about the displays in your favorite grocery/department store? Companies have their products set up in attractive displays right there in the store...at your point of purchase...in hopes of catching your attention before you can move on to other things. The idea is you see it first, you buy it first. Coupons and coupon distribution machines in the grocery store work the same way.

And then there is your favorite arena...the place where you may go to take in a concert or sporting event. Most arenas sell their naming rights to companies...be it a bank or a retailer or whatever. So everytime you are watching the big game on TV, the announcer comes back from the commercial break only to offer you another advertisement..."Live from the Center!" Its an advertisement, its gets their name out there to the masses. In a lot of cases, even the score box on the bottom of the screen contains a logo of some company who paid to have it put there for 15 minutes. Every race car is a rolling advertisement, with their sponsors name blazoned on the side/hood/wherever. The same is the case with the jerseys of professional athletes. Those jerseys are laden with patches and emblems from team sponsors. While the company is paying the money to financially support the team, their compensation for their investment is that they get advertising from that little patch or emblem or logo being seen by all who is watching the event.

TV and print advertising are the typical forms of advertising that we see every day and notice. And even those are getting sneakier. Have you ever noticed a 1-second commercial. They are out there, and getting more and more popular. The TV networks are particularly guilty of this, in between the commercial for coffee and deodorant, you may see the image of a character from a show with the name of the show and the time it comes on. It looks like the station had a techinical glitch or something, and sometimes that is the case, but other times it is just another ad. A friendly reminder from the network that this is their show, this is the guy that stars on it, and this is what time its on. It's strange, but they do it. As for the run of the mill 10, 30, and 60 second TV ads, we know what they are. A lot of times they are annoying, especially the ones that are played at every break or have no relevance whatsoever. Have you ever noticed that its the stupid ads that get the most chatter from the viewers? Advertisers are aware of this. Sometimes creating something totally stupid or out of left field helps them break through the clutter, and it gets you talking about it. Any person in advertising who is good at their job will tell you that word of mouth is the most powerful and effective method of advertising. While you may not speak favorably of what you have seen, you tell someone who tells someone who tells someone else, and next thing you know, there is a whole group of people who are aware of a certain product. And whether we like to admit it or not, it sticks with us when we are standing in the aisle of a store, or thinking about where to open an account, etc. Making people aware of what they offer is what advertising is about, and if one of the five people who have heard about a product or service actually goes out and buys it then the advertiser is successful.

I guess that is all I have to say for now...well except for Thank God I decided not to pursue advertising as my profession.

Touchee Emmily! Actually I cant afford to buy stuuf like that at all but the ads make me want them and I probably would if I could if that makes sense!

Yes of course there are other influences as well. I was just isolating one for ease of discusson!

And I do believe that advertising fills a real role in the world..I just dont like the way some of it is done that's all!

..I couldn't resist the temptation of saying that Stephen....

If I elaborate a bit on the 'sale' tricks/loop holes..let's say I have a chain of stationary shops called 'Em's Pens'..I have a line of pens that are not selling..I want to promote them..&..make a bit extra on them..as far as I'm aware it is legal for me to do the following..the regular price of these pens is £5.99..on Friday..I increase the price to..£9.99..then on the Saturday I change the price again to £6.99..&..advertize them as 'sale' items..£3 off..&..the gullible buy them..believing they are geiing a bargain..that's just one of the loop holes/tricks I know of..I'm sure they're plenty more ways unscrupulous companies use to make mugs of us....

Emmily

Hey, you wanna know a really bad form of advertising? Alcohol companies hire out-of-work actors and actresses to go into pubs, have the drinks their employers make, and act like they're having an inpossibly good time. They then call over a lonely looking person for a drink and, when the next round comes, the lonely looking person will say something like "Oh, I'll have what you're having", because he/she doesn't want to lose their new 'friends'. Of course this strategy probably costs the company more in free drinks than the increased profits will make up, but still...

By the way, did you know that some ads are deliberately made annoying so that they stick in your head!

What really makes me mad is when I go to the theatre and before the 30 minutes of previews come on, I gotta sit through 20 minutes of commercials. Now, if these commercials advertised something on sale in the concession stand or something related to the movie, that would be one thing. But these ads range from Jeep Liberty to Mach 5 razors to Britney Spears.

And now I got myself all worked up and angry.

Love,
Riot Carnage