Not To Make Anyone Feel Like an Old Fart...

[Greenleaf]

I've participated in marketing research studies, some of them for advertisements. Focus groups are usually hell because the participants are so dumb it annoys the life out of any right-thinking person who might be in the room. Reality is that ads are stupid because people are stupid. What you see is what the people want. Simple and true as that.

 

[forsooth]

I totally agree. Ads are what they are because that is what works. Companies would not waste huge sums of money on today's advertisements on radio & TV if they did not work.

Just wonder what the pipe-smoking culture would be like if, for 6 months, advertisements could be seen and heard promoting it. Maybe the esteemed Bamster would switch to a pipe, a la Gerald Ford.

 

[Carlos]

Ads are what they are not because they work. But because they do get some positive results. At the same time they are pissing off other people who will never purchase their product. So, they can find a way to measure positive results. But how do you measure those that refuse to purchase the product because they felt assaulted by the ad? There is no way to count the number of people who felt their time was wasted, and in the best way possible, refuse to open their wallets as a protest. There is no sure way to know how large the target audience really is. People guess all the time. But they really do not know. But to sell ad space, they try to make out like they really know. It's all a guessing game.



So those that want to advertise flood the market with their chosen method. Ignorant to the possibility that they could be doing better.

 

[forsooth]

I guess I have a little more positive attitude about commercial advertising. They enable me to get the content I desire without cost.

Anytime that I get a little flustered with commercial advertising, I remind myself that the alternative consists of government-sponsored content, such as NPR. That's the same government that is trying (successfully, sadly) to subdue my liberties. No thanks, I'll take the boring, overblown ads any day.

And, yes, they do work. I look at the products about my home and I see DeWalt and Makita tools, a new Honda automobile, Del Monte and Green Giant canned foods, Crest toothpaste, an Eizo monitor, an HP printer, Klipsch speakers, a few best-selling books, and, as I mentioned in a previous post, Old Spice bath gel.

And, as a fairly new pipe smoker, I just enjoyed some of the tobacco I ordered from pipesandcigars.com, of which I became aware from an internet advertisement.

 

[Carlos]

Why is it so hard for people to get smarter? To be more clever. We see a little of it at Superbowl time. A bit more during football season with the beer ads. But like any good thing, sometimes the advertiser thinks more of a good thing is better and we get sick and tired of it. A business needs to be easily found. There are times when that means billboards, and other times when it means Yellow Pages or Google. Sponsors have their logos all over any place they can. That's a part of life in this country, and others. But if we cannot control it, then it becomes a nuisance. Just like the ads you see when viewing this site as a guest.


As far as NPR is concerned. No Federal funds are given to NPR directly. Less than 6% of their total funding does come from federal monies given to member stations. The bulk of monies for NPR come from public contributions and corporate dollars.

 

[Dutch]

This one below always lures me, even though I don't always follow thru. I'd be in real trouble if I had that gambling addiction gene...


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[forsooth]

Hi, Carlos --

I didn't want to leave the NPR statement without comment. When "All Thing Really Are Considered," NPR receives approximately 41% of its funding from taxes, either directly or indirectly (e.g., tax breaks). (Note: this is not the figure that NPR promotes, of course.)

My main argument in this thread is that if I don't like the content of a commercial radio station, I turn it off, and they are no longer receiving the benefit of my listenership (i.e., a potential customer for their advertisers).

I don't choose listen to NPR, but my tax dollars are still supporting its biased (IMHO) content. Not fair. This is money that I could be spending toward a nice tobacco order.

And now I'll shut up.

 

[Carlos]

Interesting point about counting the tax breaks received by corporations and individuals as part of the government funding. That is a two edged sword. One one side, some claim that makes them more government funded. But it's nearly all in the form of tax breaks, not direct monies to member stations. Hard to claim government influence with tax breaks only given to contributors.

I don't see the government having any more influence because of it. I see greater potential influence by both corporations and individuals. Corporations I may, or may not trust or like. And individuals like me. A greater participation by individuals in NPR than in any other news source. That can only be a good thing.

Remember jingles. I mean really clever jingles. From the 1960's. And earlier times. Hear one today and if you were around when I was, you will immediately remember what that product was. Maybe even who sang it or the radio/TV show that it sponsored. I don't ever recall being flooded with the same advertising back then. Perhaps it was a simpler time. Or more civilized time when people had more respect for others. I don't much like all there is in modern times.

 

[Doc Manhattan]

Remember jingles. I mean really clever jingles. From the 1960's. And earlier times. Hear one today and if you were around when I was, you will immediately remember what that product was. Maybe even who sang it or the radio/TV show that it sponsored.

My grandma used to sing me old radio jingles! "You'll wonder where the yellow went / When you brush your teeth with Pepsodent." And "Ticonderoga Pencils / Have won their way to fame / A fine American pencil / With a fine American name."

I don't harbor any rose-tinted illusions about a mythical Good Ol' Days, but I will admit, it was indeed a simpler time when you'd hear an ad for pencils!

 

[DocRx]

I will kill the next caveman or gekko i come across!

 

[sand18f]

I have noticed that somethings require only minimum advertising:

1. Rolex watch.

2. Colt 1911 A1

3. Randall Knife

4. Holland and Holland guns

5. Talisker 18yr Old Scotch

6. Stetson Hats

7. Bershire Hathaway

8. A 24oz. well grilled, over oak wood. steak.

9. A real leather bound book.

10. A handmade pipe.

I often wonder why that is so?

Thanks
Bill

 

[LIPIPE]

Bill: Because some guys who have been around since we have appreciate some of the finer man things in life and go after them. It's great to wear a rolex and smoke your pipe under a stetson while enjoying a good shot of scotch. Later in the afternoon, an hour or two at the range is great fun with a great gun. Especially in retirement, we have the time and the inclination to indulge ourselves in the material possessions that we did not have the time or the cash for in the busy years working multiple jobs and looking after big houses with lots of kids wrecking them. I'm a fart who believes we owe it to ourselves and I have no problem rewarding myself, just a little now and then. Things that give us pleasure are worth every penny. I can tell from looking at your avatar that you and I are men who appreciate some of the finer things a man can have. Live large my friend!

 

[sand18f]

The greatest joy in the world, to me, is giving it all away.

 

[LIPIPE]

Well then don't hesitate to PM me anytime. I'll be glad to help you out.

 

[Sasquatch]

I feel really uncomfortable advertising both for my work (carpentry and renos) and my pipes. I refuse to have an angle. I try hard to make okay stuff, and build a reputation for that.

But it is SURELY helpful to add a little magic to a "big time" product, whether it's something as mystical as "dead root" briar or whatever it is they pour into Rolexes that make them 10 times more expensive than a Swiss Army watch.

 

[LIPIPE]

Sas: Rolex is just hype. I wear a $50.00 Amitron I purchased at Walmart and it keeps perfect time. Your large pipe is a beauty. Don't be uncomfortable and keep up your good work. Anybody with common sense who enjoys a pipe appreciates what you make.