MINDLESS MUSINGS

I have had a deep-seated contempt for advertising going back a long time and it is only the logistics of compartmentalising and organising my thoughts that have led to this being post #71. I find it irritating and terrifying just how inundated we are with this perpetual persuasion. It is fucking everywhere we turn and it is created by very clever people for the sole purpose of influencing our thoughts and behaviour!

Long before mobile phones these mini manipulators were unavoidable. “Free to air” TV and radio sponsored and relentlessly interrupted by advertisers. Newspapers and magazines prices kept low by advertising which ends up being half the fucken content you see inside! Massive billboards with attention grabbing images and slogans dotted along the roads and highways. Little billboards on the walls inside trains and larger ones on the walls of the stations. Same thing on the inside and outside of buses; on the rear hoods of bloody taxis for fuck’s sake!

You go to the movies for some ad free entertainment and have to sit through the annoying bastards before you even get to the previews. Any popular sporting event? The players are wearing logos and brand names; it’s printed all around the boundary fence; it’s painted on the damn grass!

It boggles the mind how much money gets fed into this insatiable beast. It wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t creating profit that’s for sure. All those funds being invested in plugging the product or service rather than improving it. It’s more profitable ensuring you ‘think’ the product is good than its actual quality.

Think about that for a moment. Brand recognition is more about how you feel about the product than its superiority over competitors. I can clearly remember the advertising wars between Pepsi and Coca Cola in the 80s. Media attention was focused on how much money each competitor spent on their campaign and what big name celebrity they could afford to promote their product.

An even more glaring example can be highlighted by these two giants: The Pepsi Challenge. Random people asked to taste two unmarked colas and pick the tastiest one. Pepsi wins hands down. They have the better product, but Coke still reigns supreme. In another amazing experiment people are given the same challenge, although this time they can see the cans and brands. Coke wins.

Why?

Because “Coke is it!”, “Coke adds life.” And you “Can’t Beat the Real Thing”! Pepsi just tastes better than Coca Cola to a bunch of random strangers on the street. With Coca-Cola “Life tastes good!” It just feels better drinking Coke. Don’t believe it? Look at the scoreboard; the sales spell it out.

Just as an aside, have you ever felt like a beverage was out of place with a certain meal because of constant exposure? In Australia when they were the big three fast food chains, KFC and Pizza Hut served Pepsi, while McDonalds served Coke. If for any reason the drinks were swapped, I would notice a mismatch. It wasn’t bad, just weird. Just me?

Anyway, the thing I think most of us overlook is that the budget is not only for celebrity endorsements and ad placements. More crucial than those is figuring out the best person/place and time for these extravagant campaigns. Research people, research!!! That’s where the smart money goes.

Paying marketing experts, artists, psychologists, statistical analysts and all kinds of eggheads. Not to improve the actual product – those guys have a little room down the hall. No, the team responsible for conditioning the preferences of the populous get their own floor! Nay! building!

Over a century of science and research on successful propaganda techniques are applied to us almost constantly. That’s fucked up right? I mean that is truly terrifying!

How many of our preferences, desires and goals have been covertly implanted? Not just in relation to goods, services and holiday destinations, but our whole concept of what constitutes a ‘good’ life.

Whenever you think your life is not up to scratch or other people are more successful; how are you measuring that? Where do your ideas regarding ‘quality’ and ‘luxury’ originate?

What the fuck is Schweppervescnece?

What the fuck is ‘The Real Thing”?