Yes I’m jumping on the bandwagon.
The bandwagon whose name I won’t mention because that’s what they want me to do. But you all know the one I’m talking about. The one with women playing sports and eating crisps.
I’m jumping aboard because it pisses me off.
Not because it’s offensive to women or anything like that.
But because it’s just stupid, and cheap, and easy, and it gives advertising a bad name.
And God knows it already has a bad enough name as it is.
Advertising is exploitative, manipulative, lowest common denominator stuff.
Or that’s what people tell me anyway.
But it doesn’t have to be.
When it’s done properly, when it’s genuinely creative and engaging, advertising can come up with some of the most powerful and impressive stuff you’ll see.
Sure, the objective is to sell stuff. But at the end of the day we’re all trying to sell something.
It’s a bit like in school when it’s always ‘a few of the bad kids that ruin it for everyone else.’ Easy, cheap and crap advertising like this just perpetuates the bad image that advertising has.
Sure the advertising world is populated by twits and tossers just out to make as much dough as possible, but you get people like that in all walks of life.
It’s also full of genuinely creative and ambitious people who want to make something new, worthy and interesting. Guys who want to do amazing stuff like the spectacular ‘1984’ ad to launch the Apple Macintosh, Bing’s brilliant Decode Jay-Z campaign from last year or the Voyeur Project from HBO in 2007, stuff that’s about much more than just encouraging people to put their hands in their pockets and splash out on your latest moneyspinner.
I’d like to think that most people get into advertising to be a part of really cool things like these. Using a hot model with digitally enlarged knockers to sell crisps just makes it harder for everyone else to get some credit and respect for the great work they do.
Selfish gits.
But what do I know eh? I’m just a noob. This whole business could chew me up and spit me out before I’ve had a chance to use sex to sell anything. All I'll have then are my naive ambitions and a packet of crisps (come on, I had to buy the crisps, did you see that girl's chest?).
Any particular feeling on the Lynx Ad about "Premature Perspiration"? I think it is usually shown in the cinemas and not so much on telly but have ya come across it and if so, what are your feelings about that one? :)
ReplyDeleteHey Steph, thanks for the comment.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I've seen the Premature Perspiration ad. It doesn't annoy me in the way the Hunky Dory ads do but I just think it's a bit silly. I see that they were going for funny but I think they landed fairly wide of the target.
That's how I see it anyway.
What did you think yourself?
I think the Lynx Ad was just stupid and I was seriously wondering what the hell the point is. It did annoy me a good bit now.
ReplyDeleteThe Hunky Dory ad and the Lynx ad have one thing in common the use of sex to sell stuff. Bit too much of that around these days - or perhaps...shock and horror...I am getting old and cranky!? (/me shakes fist: Get off my lawn!!!!)
Yeah you're right. Sex is used too often because it's seen as the easy sell.
ReplyDeleteI do think that sex can, in certain situations, be very effective in advertising.
Unfortunately it's used in far more than just those situations.
Pfft, everyone's cranky these days, old or not! (shakes fist - you're not getting your ball back, that was one time too many)