Remote Control Advertisers Are Hooking More And More Viewers With Commercials
Oh, commercials are on — time to stretch your cramps, go to the bathroom and fix a snack. Does anybody pay attention to those pesky interruptions that always seem to block the flow of boob-tube entertainment?
Believe it or not, people do. Millions of them. In fact, commercials are what, ahem, pays for your TV viewing. The question is: Do they work? That depends on what commercial you have just viewed and if it actually caught your attention. I know somebody who, for the last three hours, has been scanning stations just looking for commercials, only to write down observations of their effect and taking notes of their anatomy. Oh, wait — that person was me. What did I learn from watching all of those commercials? A new way to waste time that I’ll never get back. What else did I learn?
* If a commercial isn’t original in theme, it will never sell. One that really sticks out is a commercial I saw during halftime of the Super Bowl. It was advertising Tabasco sauce. A stereotypical redneck was sitting on a lawn chair, drinking an entire bottle of that devilish red juice. He finished the container and a mosquito plopped on his leg, then began his pesky “instinctive duty.” The bug finished his meal and began to fly away. About six feet away from his departed victim, the insect simply exploded! The result was completely unexpected, original and left an impression on my mind.
In other words, the commercial was a success in two ways. It was remembered, and then written about in an article for the newspaper.
* Animals sell! To name a few creatures that have recently become manufactured mascots. The “Bud-Weis-Er” frogs, the “Yo Quiero Taco Bell” Chihuahua dog, and the “I have no slogan” Coca-Cola polar bears (aren’t they cute?). We all love seeing animals with lips that move and say things. Of course if our pets really talked, we’d probably disown them after they told our friends what we said behind their backs.
The basic idea behind animal advertising is that it appeals to our imaginations, where every goose works a register, and all donkeys are lawyers.
Three: Commercials about nothing with a slogan at the end are more a waste of time than Jerry Springer! I’m sure you’ve seen one or two of such commercials (most of them for shoe or beer manufacturers). Hello, subliminal advertising is out, lizards are in. So makers of crummy commercials, beware, your reign on mindless droning is over. The public demands good commercials.
But, of course, viewers still have the power to be spontaneous, adventurous and just all-around exciting by doing just one simple thing: turning off the tube.