6.2.13

Commercials

A number of days ago I had stood up to watch "Last Call" with Carson Daily. I do like music so I'll sacrifice some sleep to listen to about 2-3 songs. Mind you, it doesn't start till 1.00 a.m. It's a good sacrifice though.

Well, I don't really listen or watch commercials but at times I do. And the thought crept into my mind that these companies creating the commercials are very creative. One that catches many men's attention is these Carl's Jr commercials. Now first off, that axiom that sex sells hits the head on the nail. There is always a woman portrayed in a sexual manner and provocative way. Does that really boost sales? Other ones that I find very 'good' are the e-trade commercials with the little baby. Ingenious, ain't it? The whole purpose of the advertisement is to get people to buy their products, that's it. Through crook and hook they'll do it. Women's products are even more blunt with phrases like "'cause you're worth it" and 'beautiful' actress/models promoting a certain shampoo, make-up or hygiene product. On the flip side the men's department ain't no different. Look at the Old Spice commercials. Men will feel more 'handsomer', I guess, by using these products. How that is so is a quagmire to me. Seems nowadays confidence is from without and not within. The following below sums all this up best.

"Commercials do not announce [a product's price] nor accurately represent its size, weight and dimensions. On the contrary, such features are intentionally distorted by tricks of staging, such as special camera angles and lighting, and by tricks of wording, such as "family size" or "economic size".

Product descriptions are vague and ambiguous. Ingredients, for example, are rarely mentioned, certainly not by generic name. On the contrary, they are often deliberately disguised by invented terms: "pain reliever", "anti-wetness spray product", "cough suppressant", "sleep remedy", "germ chaser", and so on. Food and candy are described as "chocolatey" or "peanuty", glossing over how much real chocolate or real peanuts are used, if any. Breakfast foods are described as "yummy", never as "sugary".

Who is it that produces products advertised on television often remains a mystery. Brand names are stressed, but not corporate ownership or affiliation, it is a rare television watcher who knows that the company producing Twinkies and Wonderbread is owned by General Mills, that Creative Plaything is owned by CBS, Inc., that White Cloud and Charmin - toilet paper rivals on the air - are both made by companies which Proctor and Gamble owns.

For what reason does General Mills, a food and agricultural conglomerate, sell toys, while ITT, an international conglomerate that once specialized in communications, sells food? Commercials do not tell." (1)

NOTES
(1) Rose Goldsen, "The American Conscious Machine", Journal of Social Reconstruction, 1, April-June 1980, pp 98-99