View Full Version : 10 Things I Hate About Ads
1. Old people acting `young' - This weighs in at #1....it fails to be funny every time, and is wearing out faster than chicken-crossing-road jokes. Get a new idea, ad people! And young people acting old doesn't count!
2. Needless movement to indicate commonality and humour - punces at the end of Ford ads, Bakers Delight ads, the Big Brother KFC ad.
3. Kids with badly given lines - the only good child actors are in ads for kids, not for parents.
4. Bad singing - no money from me, you foul charities and westie car sellers.
5. Talking about the product in a `real' setting in an `unreal' manner. - any womens products, although these are often guilty of 2.
6. Smug voiceovers - this means you, ****er car manufacturers
7. Comments from `real' customers - I don't care if they are real, they look fake. Show a bad comment.
8. Kieren Perkins - he just ****s me.
9. The Christian Television Association - who keeps giving them money/air time?
10. Rhetorical questions.
The stupidest ads are the ones that don't even advertise the product.
Like those Statewest ads, where it says, "We show real committment to customers".
You really think that somebody is gonna go and get a loan with that credit union just because I saw some drop kick get his chest waxed on TV?
And those Mitsubishi ad's with the catchy songs. All it does is make the song popular!
PrideofSA
5 Jun 2003, 00:43
I think you guys are missing the whole point to advertising....I'll let you work it out.
Mr Eagle
5 Jun 2003, 02:01
I don't think I've seen a Hungry Jack's ad that didn't annoy the crap out of me in over a year...sure as hell wouldn't make me go eat their food.
Funny thing is, all the companies you've mentioned with annoying ads are getting plenty of free advertising right here. Looks like those 'annoying' ads were quite effective.:eek:
Originally posted by U-DOG
Funny thing is, all the companies you've mentioned with annoying ads are getting plenty of free advertising right here. Looks like those 'annoying' ads were quite effective.:eek: Only if they want me to make a point of not buying their products.
I think the whole idea of ads is for the consumer to remember their product.
Apparently, it works. Even if the ad is absolute rubbish and they may know this, it still sticks in the persons head.
Also with music that goes along with it, it doesn't just make the song popular, it makes you think of the product. Every time you hear that song on the radio after you have seen that ad, chances are you will think of the product.
If this is the case, then the advertising is doing its job...
Yes,
and that is what makes ads very annoying
View sig for a unified opinion on the advertising industry.
Originally posted by TheMase
If this is the case, then the advertising is doing its job... And so is good advertising. If both are doing their job, why make crap advertising?
The advertising that doesn't work is the obscure crap
Originally posted by ozzult
The stupidest ads are the ones that don't even advertise the product.
Like those Statewest ads, where it says, "We show real committment to customers".
You really think that somebody is gonna go and get a loan with that credit union just because I saw some drop kick get his chest waxed on TV?
It's called brand advertising....amazingly where they are trying to get you to remember the brand...funnily enough it worked.
I understand the points about remembering the brand and the ads etc.
But the fact of the matter is, do you think anyone is actually going to purchase (what they survive on, revenue) a Mitsubishi, because of those ads?
Mr Eagle
5 Jun 2003, 13:06
Originally posted by CarterS
It's called brand advertising....amazingly where they are trying to get you to remember the brand...funnily enough it worked. Point is that lots of the crap ads comes from brands we already know - they don't want exposure, they want sales.
And there is only so much benefit to be gained from name recognition before it becomes BAD name recognition.
Originally posted by ozzult
I understand the points about remembering the brand and the ads etc.
But the fact of the matter is, do you think anyone is actually going to purchase (what they survive on, revenue) a Mitsubishi, because of those ads?
No, of course no-one will buy any type of car based on people jumping up and down and catchy music playing in an ad - the direct aim of the ad is not to get you to run down to the dealer and purchase.
The aim of the ad would be to position the product in a certain way to a certain target market - luxury, cheap, fast, chick magnet, whatever. Then when you are down looking for a car, maybe you don't know too much about cars, since you have seen that Mitsubishi ad so many times maybe Mitsubishi might pop into your mind and you might lean in that direction.
Following on the car example, purchasing a car isn't exactly an impulse buy as buying a bag of chips at a supermarket would be, so a lot of the ads for cars will be brand advertising (the 'Ford dealer' ads I think are very good) as well as trying to push people who may be close to buying a car and/or not certain as to what to get in a certain direction.
Originally posted by Mr Eagle
Point is that lots of the crap ads comes from brands we already know - they don't want exposure, they want sales.
Look at all the crap in your house that you never use and don't need! Advertising works!
dreamkillers
5 Jun 2003, 16:47
Bring back the free steak knives..............:p
wagstaff
5 Jun 2003, 17:49
Originally posted by Porthos
1. Old people acting `young' - This weighs in at #1....it fails to be funny every time, and is wearing out faster than chicken-crossing-road jokes. Get a new idea, ad people! And young people acting old doesn't count!
KFC is a repeat offender in this area.
A variation on this that irritates the hell out of me is having older people stereotyped as negative, prejudiced, dreary, repressed, anti-youth, etc... - as hackneyed as they come
Having had the dubious pleasure of working in this industry on the creative side, the worst thing is the lack of bottle of the clients and the arse wipe account executives.
You never get to see the great ads that are conceived.
Having said that, it's all lies anyway.
Appleyard
6 Jun 2003, 13:47
A good time to link to The Ad Graveyard:
http://www.zeldman.com/adgraveyard/
Appleyard
6 Jun 2003, 14:13
But let's address what is really wrong with advertising in Australia.
The four rules in Aussie TV ads seem to be:
1. Make the type as big as possible.
2. Have someone shouting at the top of their lungs.
3. Make it ugly.
4. Make it cheap.
The biggest offender is Harvey Norman. I'd never go to Harvey Norman because their prices are NOT that cheap, but their service is. Other shops carry the same products at or around the same price. So many retailers offer a "lowest price guarantee" as their core value that it is meaningless these days.
Super A-Mart, A-Mart All Sports and their ilk are crappifying our TV screens on a daily basis. This discount culture they are pushing is a sham and people know it. It devalues the retailer image and the image of the brands.
Yet these retailers keep advertising. Not because it is super successful, but because they churn through their customers with bad selection and service and have to keep blasting their message to bring people back.
Once people go into Harvey Norman they will often see the range is not so great and the prices are on par with other places, so HN have to buy ad space like it is going out of style. They are running on loud ads to keep brand recognition when they have been around so long their advertising should have evolved beyond that. Word of mouth, better selection and better service would be a far more effective tack.
I've never seen a JB Hi-Fi ad on TV but I know exactly who they are through word of mouth. No one but Harvey Norman has ever suggested Harvey Norman as a good place to shop. (Though once I walked into JB the blaring music and so-so selection, combined with harassed staff badly in need of deodorant re-application put me off doing any real shopping there.)
The MUTE button on my remote gets a good workout when the ads come on. During my stay in the UK the ads were actually part of the entertainment.
The Australian viewing public is being treated like complete idiots. Big retailers seem to think that slight subtlety is too much of a reach for the average Bruce and Sheila. Other companies have forgotten the maxim "better to be clear than clever".
The cheap furniture, bedding and electrical mob are neither clear nor clever.
Appleyard
6 Jun 2003, 14:17
Originally posted by Porthos
3. Kids with badly given lines - the only good child actors are in ads for kids, not for parents. Though I must stop you there. There is one ad for an antiseptic cleanser that has some pretty funny kids in it. But they are kids doing an ad as kids would. It taps into what all parents have seen their kids do, play acting in their own skits and shows, and delivers the message well.
Originally posted by Appleyard
Though I must stop you there. There is one ad for an antiseptic cleanser that has some pretty funny kids in it. But they are kids doing an ad as kids would. It taps into what all parents have seen their kids do, play acting in their own skits and shows, and delivers the message well. I will concede that advert. I agree that it is kids making it as kids, as opposed to kids acting like mindless line-delivering drones, which I find happens more in adult oriented stuff.
wagstaff
17 Jun 2003, 19:55
Another couple of trends that irk me about ads:
*Ones that satirise 1950s homelifestyle with the housewife (in full cliched mid-1950s getup) getting excited about some new modern appliance. Tedious the first time, tedious when done the 1000th time
* Commercials that rip-off the theme music from '2001: A Space Odyseey'. The worst thing is they rip it off with some lame version that sounds like its been done on a second-hand electronic keyboard.
swansrock4eva
17 Jun 2003, 22:55
I feel for anyone who has the horribly unfortunate luck of watching ads on regional TV. I'm smack bang in the middle of suburban sydney and couldn't get a local TV signal to save my life so during ads, channel surfing or coffee breaks are abundant because these ads are just so incredibly bad. I want my real ads back!
happy_in_hell
18 Jun 2003, 12:09
How about ads that don't make any sense... (may have been said, I have a headache and a Uni exam soon)
Do you really want a cereal that rips the clothes of your siblings?:D
I don't mind ads (gives me a chance to channel surf!)
dreamkillers
18 Jun 2003, 12:13
On my last trip south I was amazed at the number and time of most ad breaks compared to what we get up here.
We generally have 3-4 ads going no longer than 2-3 minutes is the norm for up here in Darwin but in Adelaide/Melbourne/Brisbane it appeared to be 5-6 ads (or more) going close to 5 minutes each break.
RoosLuver
18 Jun 2003, 12:41
Originally posted by Porthos
4. Bad singing
that emporio (sp?) biscuits ad annoys the hell out of me!
Grimace
18 Jun 2003, 19:17
I really, really don't like that little kid's laugh in the Blue Ribbon ice cream ad. He reads what he sees on the ice cream tub and asks his mum, "Wot does that mean?" and blah blah blah...
The worst thing about ads is how they sometimes shows cut into an ad break too quickly and you miss some of the program. I know it's only a second or two but it really *****es me off when it's one of my favourites. I guess the tv station is to blame here?
lioness
22 Jun 2003, 22:22
Originally posted by TheMase
I think the whole idea of ads is for the consumer to remember their product.
Apparently, it works. Even if the ad is absolute rubbish and they may know this, it still sticks in the persons head.
Also with music that goes along with it, it doesn't just make the song popular, it makes you think of the product. Every time you hear that song on the radio after you have seen that ad, chances are you will think of the product.
If this is the case, then the advertising is doing its job...
That's true about the music, I do find when I listen to songs I think 'damn that song was used to advertise friggin (insert product name here)' :mad: but it works in a negative way with me. If I think of a product while listening to a fave song, I vow not to buy it. :D
go team
23 Jun 2003, 11:03
Originally posted by Porthos
5. Talking about the product in a `real' setting in an `unreal' manner. - any womens products, although these are often guilty of 2.
would you rather they present these ads in a realistic fashion?
goaldrush
23 Jun 2003, 11:09
I hate it when the ad is on for 2 or 3 minutes. Utter boredum
The Scarecrow
23 Jun 2003, 19:53
I'd be happy if there were no ad's during a Movie, that is just annoying. Every other time is okay....
Katthawk
23 Jun 2003, 23:40
I'd love it if they'd do the European thing by putting ads at the end of movies and the popular shows. This would sorta make advertisers think about 'entertaining' a bit more.
It's not that advertisements make me buy anything but surely we are getting to the stage where everyone is getting sick of consumerism.
C'mon people, it's time to boycott the crap ads and buy NOTHING.
Go on, just don't buy anything you don't really need for a couple of weeks or a month or more and save up for something you really do need or want. I dare ya
:D (at least I am trying to)