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The Forum > Article Comments > This new and improved life > Comments

This new and improved life : Comments

By Jeremy Ballenger, published 22/11/2005

Jeremy Ballenger argues there is an insidious daily assault on our self worth.

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And How!

The selling never stops, and laughter is the best way to deal with this constant onslaught-adverts in the toilets - too much.

NSW Railways now have a poster in the train carriage informing their customers how hard they are working to make the "complex" railway system simpler = trains shall be on time. The poster also offers the excuse that people sometimes fall ill while on the trains and this has an effect on other parts of the Sydney Network??

I think of Tokyo, Japan and the trains arriving every 2 minutes on the Metro system, as do all trains throughout Japan, and yet, not one company (NSW Government-Sydney/NSW rail) but a number of companies own various railway tracks in Tokyo, yet they manage to co-ordinate. Tokyo has a larger population living/working in the City than the entire population of Australia.

Many countries with efficient railways systems have people fall ill while travelling on trains - their system is not affected.

This advertising by NSW Railways has the effect of NOT selling and for this I am thankful as it helps my budget, and I get a laugh too.
Posted by Pachelbel, Tuesday, 22 November 2005 11:39:24 AM
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Jeremy Ballenger sees through the hype clearly enough, but so can anyone if they choose not to be deluded by spin - commercial or political.

So these word games only 'assault our self worth' to the extent that we permit them.
Posted by Greenlight, Wednesday, 23 November 2005 1:16:46 AM
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this kind of so-called self-labelled 'viral' advertising is just one of the many new, more 'subtle' forms of advertising that are being tested out on us.

a while back some bright spark in advertising 'realised' that many people are put off by blatant and/or noisy advertising. so they borrowed a few more ideas, and tried to be gentler.

but the message is still the same: surely your life would be better if you had product x? i mean, wouldn't product x enhance your lifestyle? fix your personality problems, improve your value to others?

as if having (the right) condom in my pocket makes me more attractive ...
Posted by maelorin, Wednesday, 23 November 2005 10:20:07 AM
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In today's world if you can get people to notice and remember your ad your almost there. A lot of advertising just goes unnoticed. So thumbs up to that little sugar ad.

Valerie
Posted by Valerie, Wednesday, 23 November 2005 7:04:32 PM
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Most of this crap advertising comes directly from the mouths of people in research focus groups, that's why its so colourless and mealy mouthed.
Advertising takes what it calls "insights" from these odd groups and crafts (?) ad messages out of them. They don't say what they'd like to say about their product anymore, they say what they think you want to hear. So when people talk about being time poor and guilty about their kids, you guessed it, it finds its way into Ikea and sheet ads.
Bloody pseudo-understanding which ends up in the bland, soothing tones of the corporation.
Posted by enaj, Thursday, 24 November 2005 2:55:40 PM
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Advertising is virtually a science combining psychology, economics, group dynamics, motivational techniques etc. Australia has the second highest level of visual advertising per capita outside the US, and it shows. Can't even take a leak without staring at some ad.

But save your scorn for the buzz marketer. Such parasites should be tarred & feathered. Now that'd make me laugh.
Posted by bennie, Thursday, 24 November 2005 3:39:22 PM
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What's a buzz marketer?
Posted by lisamaree, Thursday, 24 November 2005 3:44:01 PM
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To Enaj.

The reasons why advertisers do not praise products directly is because the advertising world discovered in the 1950’s that such promotion was ineffective.

Advertisers began to take great interest in the psychological needs, drives, motivations, instincts and thought processes of different demographic groups in order to tailor ad campaigns that satisfied the emotional needs and drives of targeted consumer groups. What resulted was a revolution in advertising and the study of human psychology is now mandatory for aspiring advertising executives.

So successful have advertisers like Mojo, or Saatchi and Saatchi become, that ad men now openly boast that they can engineer advertising campaigns where the targeted consumer demographic will slaver for their sponsors products like Pavlov’s dog.

The key to understanding advertising, is to accept that it is never directed at the conscious rational mind. It is directed entirely at the unconscious mind which works entirely by emotion. The absolute champions of this art are large advertising hoardings on busy roads. The advertisers know that they have but seconds to put their message across to their prospective target drivers.

Believe it or not, your emotional, unconscious mind works much quicker than your rational conscious mind. (though it is much less accurate) You may have seen advertising hoardings which you could not understand rationally. But somehow you feel that you know what the message is, even though you can not articulate that message verbally. That is because it is not directed at your rational mind. Advertisors avoid the rational part of their targets mind because that part of their brain that has inbuilt, hard wired skepticism and critical analysis circuits.

And customers thinking rationally is bad for sales.
Posted by redneck, Thursday, 24 November 2005 6:23:17 PM
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