Foxy

"Dear Bronwyn, Once again, you totally nailed it. I only wish I had your talent."

Thank you, Foxy. You have any modicum of talent I might possess in spades, and much, much more! I agree with your comments regarding examinator's threads. They're great. They have us all digging deep I think.

Col

"I realized a long time ago, we all make choices, that some retarded morons make bad ones is not something I am required to accept responsibility for. I am more concerned with ensuring some bureaucratic half-wit, who could not hold down a job in private industry, is not in a position to make decisions which might impinge on my personal rights and discretion."

You're in fine arrogant form again I see, Col. What's happened to that more decent side that we all caught rare glimpses of in some of the lighter threads over the festive season? Not packed away for the year I hope, only to be brought out and dusted off next C/mas. In my mind, I'm still holding onto that refined image of you at Foxy's party - resplendent in black tie, complimenting the host and reciting your poem! :)

snake

"I have always thought that much advertising borders on the immoral as it raises everyone's expectations to an unattainable level."

Spot on. Such great comments from such a lowly and reviled creature! Quite apart from the immorality that you point out, is the environmental degradation and resource depletion being brought on by the wasteful sea of consumption that advertising creates.

Ludwig

"Jeez I hate going into a shop (such as the workshop where I went to get new tyres for my car recently) where there is some obnoxious commercial radio station blaring out manic advertising for about 50% of the time…that you just can’t escape…and totally crap music for the other 50%!"

Same here, with a passion. You should have picked up the obligatory waiting room mag while you were about it and got the full hit of crap advertising!

In the mornings, I hit the radio button right on the hour and get 4 mins of news and off. Won't put up with the garbage on the local commercial radio.

For TV, I just love my remote, it kills all ads including SBS and ABC.No matter what they say the volume IS louder when ads are on. I pride my self on how quick I can beat the ads.

I detest ads and deliberately avoid the shops that use high presure ads. The same goes for products. Yep, and loud music keeps me out of shops.

I bought some airline tickets this morning,on line, and the airline has some type of a bonus scheme going, you know where points are given for each purchase. Well try as I might I could not get a list of the, so called, benefits so told them to stick it.

There is a mobile phone shop near here that spells phone 'fone' so I went in one day when passing and told them I would never buy from them. If they can't even spell the name of their product properly, what chance of getting decent service from the idiots.

I also detest abstract signs for toilets and weird styles of writing on signs and advertismants.

Personally, I don’t particularly like advertising and don’t take much notice of it. I do suspect some of you are giving advertising more power than it really has. I don’t think advertising per se does all that much to create demand for products. Peer comment, peer pressure if you like, is much effective in terms of market creation. My kids want IPods because their friends have them, not because they have been taken in by advertising. However, cultural advertising (placements in movies and other cultural offerings) certainly has an affect.

Advertising is more about branding. Of course that creates an advertising arms race. If the competition is spending millions on advertising, you have to do so as well in order to keep your brand in the game. Seeing a furniture advertisement doesn’t give me a major urge to go and buy furniture, but when I need a piece of furniture, I remember that one firm seems to have good prices, perhaps I should go there. Once they have me through the front door the advertising has worked.

Annoying advertisements are useful, because they attract attention and get people talking about the product. What more could a company want?

In a sense advertising positions the product in the best possible light hiding flaws, so technically it is lying. However, there are laws in many Western countries limiting what is allowed in advertising, so it doesn’t get too bad. Try travelling through India. Lastly advertising on the internet is much, much worse. I really don’t have a ready solution. The excesses can be limited, but that is pretty useless when the internet can’t be regulated. Like a lot of other things, training the populace to ask questions about the claims is the best approach.

The most dishonest advertising I've heard lately has been the rash of academics spouting absolute BS about the imminent disaster, in their field, unless bucket loads of money is poured into their research. Must be grant time.

What makes it even worse is that it is spewed out as news. Each does of course have the obligatory reference to global warming being to blame for part of the problem.

While ever we have an almost totally dishonest academia, I don't see how we can expect any better from those who actually work for a living.

Agronomist,
Thank you for your response.

My concern is not for the likes of OLO posters to us ads a little more than a petty annoyance. My fears are for those not equipped by naivety, ignorance, education or conditioning et al.

The problem with statistical analysis when imposed on people they address approximately 66% of people (Std. Dev. either side of the mean) logically mean that up to a statistical 34% of the people are constantly ignored.

My experience in crisis intervention services has given me the overwhelming view that people don't come in two flavours smart or dumb and as such I've seen good people been sucked in by ads because they for what ever reason they have no other point of reference but the media.
Look at the comments on talk back radio, hardly the most informed opinions.
For that reason I reject the ultra 'caveat emptor' approach much favoured by a number of conservative commenters.
I consider myself relatively informed and independent but trying to find real details on products is a battle for the smart and determined. I site the purchase of a washing machine as point in fact. Despite my best efforts I was duded.
IT IS THE CONTROL OF AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION AND THEREFORE EFFECTIVE DENIAL OF CHOICE THAT IS UNDER QUESTION.
Take the GM content in foods... manufacturers over ride our right to know on the basis that it is too difficult or might be rejected by the public. I always believed that informed pubic choice was part of democracy and market forces. What happened to level playing field?
While I have little concern about GM as such I still abhor the corporations ambitions to be the food gatekeepers and for that reason I boycott GM foods...as is my right.
It is a fact that the worlds best psychologists are not in medicine but marketing trying to manipulate consumers. See previous posts for examples.

Bronwyn “What's happened to that more decent side”

He is still alive and well and thanks you for remembering him : - )

I was responding the examinators comments regarding

“the 'bogan' debate” and “Child mothers who can't cook et al.”,

who as the initiator for the thread, has some responsibility for setting the tone.

I was merely following along with the ‘tone’ as set.

Unlike a few here, I admit I find advertising useful, especially when recently looking for a refrigerator, a Harvey Norman ad came on the radio telling of their sales special and I got the fridge I wanted at 65% the best price being offered from the other electrical retailers for the same make/ model.

Similarly, when looking for houses to buy or rent, who has not gone first to the local papers?

Although, when not needed, papers go straight from letter box to recycling bin.

But I find all those government ads annoy me because it is my taxes which I would have put to better use than on propaganda and social engineering.

Regarding consumerist purchasing, I am on the fourth phone on the same plan, I replace when it suits me or when the article is showing early signs of failure.

I buy a new computer every year to 18 months. That is likely to continue or increase but I use them to make a living (tool of trade).

I recently bought a new LCD TV to replace a CRT one which was 12 years old and the picture stopped working, my risk assessment of the old one was: too expensive to get fixed.

Examinator “the corporations ambitions to be the food gatekeepers”

I would agree but I would also observe, such gate-keeping is often the reserved ambit of government who, tend to royally stuff it up.

Imho we would be better off, abandoning regulation and researching cheaper tort proceedings.