Seeds of Wisdom: "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
If you've been reading my blog, you know that I've been thinking about the Cluetrain Manifesto, which has led me to think about TV commercials and ads.
So many talk down to us like we were idiots - which we would be, if we actually believed what they say about their product or service was true. Various hair products, deodorants, toothpaste are a few that come to mind. Others are so vague no one but the ad agency and the company have a clue as to what the product or service is. For instance, MLife and for a long time Cingular - now at least they admit to being a wireless company.
The only kind of commercials I can tolerate are those that are humorous. My favorite one right now is the Blockbuster commercial with the hamster and the rabbit. I love when the hamster is dancing and he's shaking his bonbon. He says, "See if you can do this." The rabbit responds, "I don't want to see anything do that." Cracks me up every time. But ... it does not make me want to run to Blockbuster and rent a movie. It wouldn't make me drive further to rent a movie, if I had another video rental store that was closer.
I like the Visa check card commercial with Kevin Bacon, but it doesn't leave me longing to sign up for one. The funny Budweiser commercials make me laugh, but they don't convince me to switch from Newcastle Brown Ale.
So how effective are these commercials really? My husband never watches them. He channel surfs when a commercial comes on. They cost a bundle to produce, which adds to the price of the product. Makes no sense.
Other than the funny ones which are amusing, I think I'd much rather have an ordinary person - not a model or an ad pitch person - do the commercial. They could come on, tell me a little about themselves and why they use the product. Very simple. No big ad agency fees. Lower cost for a quality product. Wouldn't that be nice?
So I've decided to do something about it. I'm working on a project called Cyber Kat's endorsements. I'm going to make a list of products I use and tell you why I use them. I figure the best way for us to really know whether a product works is to tell each other.
The list will grow as I get to work on it. We'll see how it develops. Maybe I'll set up some comments so others can endorse them too, or maybe I'll just post what responses I get in e-mail. Perhaps other Bloggers will also put up a list of endorsements - think of the possibilities!
Posted by Cyberkat at March 5, 2002 7:59 AM | TrackBack