Monday, May 13, 2013

Great Product: Bad Commercial



No one my age could have watched more television than I did.


From before I could sit up on my own, my parents couldn't put me in my crib and expect a moment's peace until I saw the Rival dog food commercial at 11 pm:  "Rival dog food, arf, arf!"

When I could get up and turn on the television myself, I'd watch the test pattern until Modern Farmer came on. Then, Farmer Gray Cartoons.  Although, to be completely honest, someone else did the same thing.  Vive la Google.


As Yogi Berra said, "You can see a lot by just watching."



Now, if you've read this far, you probably don't watch enough television


If you've read this far, you don't watch enough television. A sad indictment.  And, "If it please, my Lord, I shall read the charges before my learned colleague Mr. Horace Rumpole speaks on behalf of the defence. 



The race to the bottom accelerates if you eliminate baggage


Over the years we've watched stimulation take precedence over information.  And we have no one to blame but ourselves.  Or, as my cat, Trygg, says, "There are no unintended consequences, only unwanted consequences." From the Quotations of Slim Fairview.


I watched a lot of MTV, when MTV stood for Music Television.  No problem with the sound work. The songs were great. The visuals?  Cut to, cut to, cut to.  There it was:  



The Site Bite


There is the old joke.  "SEX.  Okay, now that I have your attention."  The speaker would then go on to inform the audience.

Now, we grab the attention of the audience, then proceed to distract the audience.  It would seem that Mystique is the technique.

The technical term for it is, "Cut to:"  It is used in the script to describe, well...



A character is setting the dining room table.

Cut to:

Stranger on porch is about to knock on the front door.


We may call this this the Conditioning Force Factor.  The technique is similar to the principle behind Judo.  You use your opponents force against him.  Now, we use it against ourselves.



Case in Point


Watch a home remodel or makeover show.  There we see 5 people with sledge hammers smashing cabinets and walls.  We become increasingly eagre to see the results. Or do we?  At the end of the programme, what do we really see?  Cut to: Cut to: Cut to:

Candlestick, chair leg, Geranium...

Cut to: Cut to: Cut to:

Knob on a stove,  plate on a table, switch plate on the wall...

Cut to: Cut to: Cut to:

And, of course, I must mention the recap. This is where the host does a voice over retelling small, segments of the process while the film editor replays the same three scenes of the same five people with sledge hammers, smashing cabinets and walls.



Not a problem?


It is if you advertise on Television.

Beeeeeeeeeeep!

Beep, beep.

Beeeeeeeeeeep!

ZOOOOM!!!!



  • EMBRACE THE CHALLENGE

  • LIVE THE DREAM 

  • SOAR TO NEW HEIGHTS


Of course, if you are targeting the Male Demographic, you get the "hot babe!"  Unless, of course, you 


  • Kiss the Prom Queen

  • Get punched in the face

  • Leave alone

Knavery.  It's what defines us. (It is something you can do in a Yugo.)




Now, if you are targeting the Female Demographic



  • Be Empowered

  • Be Liberated

  • You're going to go a long way, Baby


Anyone smell the scent of a cigarette print ad?


We have now shortened the audience attention span to the point where there is no room for information.



Good Commercial Bad Commercial


There are some potent visuals.  The Giraffe, The Elephant, The Penguins are nice attention grabbers.  The tag line? Well, yes.  It is a residence and not a room.  But the true sell is the fact that I can see that the residence is roomy.  I see lots of space.  Kudos to The Director!

A competitor offers a similar product.  However, they begin with negatives.  Or "negs" as Howard Wolowitz, on The Big Bang Theory, calls them.  We find that "The Room" does not have pictures of my family, or my yoga mat.  However, I do see a man with his face in the Fridge and a woman on the sofa doing stretches.  (Is the product so cramped that she has to do stretches?)  To be honest, I can't remember what "The Room" even looks like.  All I remember is the woman is doing yoga on the couch and not on the floor and a guy with his face in the Fridge.



What to do about it?


As my wife has said, "Doesn't anyone from the company watch the commercials before they put them on television?"


From the Quotations of Slim Fairview. "No one agrees with somebody else's opinion. Only his own opinion expressed by somebody else." ~ My Dad.




Cut to:  

 
Your Client's Office.  "Maybe Slim is right.  Maybe we should watch the commercials before we put them on television."


Sincerest regards,


Slim


Further reading: Mad Men: Ad Men or Sad Men? 

http://sidestreetjournal.blogspot.com/2013/03/mad-men-ad-men-or-sad-men.html


NB


If you find anything here to be helpful, please do not hesitate to send me a really tricked-out laptop and to put a few dollars into the envelope along with the thank you note. Slim




My LinkedIn Profile:





Pack it up and ship it off to me.




slimfairview@yahoo.com


Copyright (c) 2013 Slim Fairview
All rights reserved.

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