The other night Ms. Wolf and I were watching a show on Amazon Freevee which includes short, annoying ads. I usually zone out during ads.
But then I was pulled out of my zone because, for the first time in my life, I saw TV ad for guitar strings. And not just any guitar strings, but the brand of guitar strings I use.
That’s like Minority Report focused advertising.
A little impressive but mostly a lot frightening.
Move off the grid? I am the grid!
Yikes!
AW
"But then I was pulled out of my zone because, for the first time in my life, I saw TV ad for guitar strings. And not just any guitar strings, but the brand of guitar strings I use.
I really dislike advertisements. If a person watches any shows on tv, they are bombarded with
the message that they really need to buy more stuff, whether they need it or not. They have these 1 minute little drama skits trying to tug at your heartstrings, and get you to buy their product or service. And with “smart” advertising, I’m sure that there will be little drama skits put together for each and every one of us,or close to it.
When I stream sports, the volume is off, and music or a podcast is on. I do have to
listen to some of the hockey announcers, because I don’t have a real good feel for the game, and
they explain stuff pretty good at times.
D’Addario or Ernie Ball?
Nickel electric or bronze acoustic?
Wound or plain G?
10s or 9s?
When they can match you down to your favorite gauge, data science has gone too far. LOL
Many of the sites I visit sell ad space through syndicates that in turn are used by Sweetwater, an online seller of top end music gear. The ad mechanisms are real-time integrated so within SECONDS of surfing Sweetwater to look at Fender Stratocasters, a Roland Fantom 8 synth or Marshall amp, there they are, appearing in banner ads on newyorker.com, etc. The exact model and color I was just lusting/ looking at only seconds earlier.
Seriously, the targeting and tailoring capabilities in use right now are turning the entire world into 7,753,000,000 individual Truman shows. It’s no wonder the world can’t agree on anything. No one is seeing exactly the same world presented to them. Nearly everything we see is manipulated to conform with what algorithms think they know we want to see or condition us to want something someone is trying to sell.
WTH
I don’t understand why so many here voluntarily subject themselves to advertising.
I don’t watch live TV, I record everything so I can fast forward through commercials. Not only does this avoid commercials, it saves time. Commercials consume between 1/4 and 1/3 of the broadcast time. Getting rid of them reclaims that time for more important things, which is pretty much anything other than watching commercials.
I use an ad blocker when surfing the internet. I will occasionally turn it off if necessary to read something, but it must be interesting enough for me to do that. And if the site is one I return to often enough, I consider paying for a subscription and keeping the ad blocker on.
By doing this, I have never noticed a highly targeted ad. I’m sure there is still some tracking going on, but I never have to put up with the excessive ads.
I’m not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the way, I developed the ability to tune out advertising. I don’t ever recall, even as a kid, seeing a commercial and thinking that I needed to get whatever they were advertising. I can recall plenty of ad jingles, particularly from 60’s - early 90’s TV ads, but those never moved me to action.
I guess I’m just Madison Avenue’s worst nightmare.
—Peter
D’Addario or Ernie Ball?
D’Addario
Nickel electric or bronze acoustic?
Phosphor Bronze
Wound or plain G?
Wound
10s or 9s?
Medium
Finger picker. I hate plastic picks.
AW
I’m not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the way, I developed the ability to tune out advertising. I don’t ever recall, even as a kid, seeing a commercial and thinking that I needed to get whatever they were advertising
I would bet all of my portfolio and more that if I was to go into your pantry and medicine cabinet I would find it chock full of brand name products, even though there are similar products of equal quality available as generics.
Advertising is sometimes issued to get you to buy a new product or convince you that you have a need you didn’t know you had, but more often it is to convince you to buy THIS product instead of THAT product.
And if it didn’t work, they wouldn’t do it.
I would bet all of my portfolio and more that if I was to go into your pantry and medicine cabinet I would find it chock full of brand name products, even though there are similar products of equal quality available as generics.
Next time you’re in Southern California, give me a call. I’d be glad to introduce you to my medicine cabinet and pantry.
Let’s take a quick tour.
Store brand flour and sugar and pasta.
Store brand medicines. (OK, there’s DayQuil in there at the moment, but that’s because of pandemic-blamed shortages at the time of my last purchase.)
Store brand colas, butter, cheese.
I’ve recently discovered an alternative to McCormick spices. So that’s a conversion in progress.
Yes, I have some name brand products. It’s going to be unavoidable. Sometimes there are no good alternatives. Not everything is available in a generic form. In a couple of places, I believe the brand name tastes better. (eg, peanut butter. I’ve tried store brands, but the taste and texture is not the same as my preferred name brand.)
And if it didn’t work, they wouldn’t do it.
Of course advertising works. I never said it didn’t. But it largely works because people allow it to work. I make a conscious effort to resist advertising.
—Peter
PS Hit me up off board to arrange that portfolio transfer. I could use the help with my retirement.