I'm a kept man, and yet there's still opportunities to sell out.
Who'd a thunk it?
For the record, this is what Wile E. Coyote does when he's not chasing that meep-meep bird.
Honestly, I actually think this is a fairly cool idea, though I'm uncertain there's anything they offer that would fit a blog like this. Not unless the OTO, Lego, Antikythera, and the Israeli Porn Industry offer concurrent advertising opportunities. Our readership is fairly market savvy, and mostly we bitch, not rave. Effective advertisements have not traditionally begun with the words "Mother Fuckers".
6 comments:
You're gunna start thinkin' I'm just contradictory for the sake of it. :)
I hate this idea, and others like it.
Don't get me wrong: I think one of the best ways to market a product is to get people to talk about it. But paying them to talk about it makes it... well... dirty. Biased. Corporate-controlled.
For all my ranting against religion, I hate it less than I do corporate power. I hate corporate power. No, I fucking hate corporate power. The fact that this kind of shit exists will eventually mean I have to start asking if I trust the recommendations of my friends, and that's just wrong.
Advertisements were all well and good when they subsidized television. Then it got out of hand. It's hard to throw a friggin' stone without hitting someone's marketing.
I suppose we can keep the corps out of our blogs for only so long. ...I just hope that by then, we've found some other media to migrate to.
I agree with Seth Godin. In fact, the man is one of my heroes, I've decided. r_b_b, I know you're into marketing, so you should read everything this man has ever written (but start with the most recent). Anyway, he has a lot of things to say about brilliant marketing, but the most important one--the absolute best way to market your product--is to make a better product.
Let people do their own talking.
As someone who spent several years in graphic design/marketing/advertising I have on several occasions tried to explain how it works to people. Those who actually think about it will do research and buy a product that they need based on the information available.
Most people don't think about it. Advertisers have tapped into that, discovering that it is much easier to tell people what they must have whether or not they actually need it.
In the words of comedian Bill Hicks, "If you do a commercial, you're off the artistic role call. Every word you say is suspect and is like a turd falling out of your mouth and into my drink... And that goes for everyone except Willie Nelson."
I do advertising so I feel obligated to comment... oh and I like debate/bitching. I do agree that marketing has gone to far and is far too pervasive. However, Regardless how many scenic views it blocks a good marketing piece will always entertain me. Wit, humor and great imagery can always attempt to sell me something without offending me. Too bad so much of it is just freaking crap.
I will also have to disagree with Jake agreeing with Bill Hicks. Although not 100% sure what is being referred to by the "artist role call" I feel the need to share my artistic statement here:
Art is a process not a product. Once the art process is complete all that remains is a byproduct of this process. These leftovers are merely a document recording the event. They can be enjoyed and valued but only the artist can experience the real art. Watching the creation or art process can get you closer to the art but still only the artist is experiencing the real art.
Okay, since everyone else is making calls to authority, I'll add that my father is a VP of marketing, my mother has done advertising for the bulk of her life (and is doing it now), and I was a graphic artist throughout college. So there! :)
One of the things that bothers me about advertising is that, while we tout "free market" as one of the advantages of our country, advertising is anything BUT. It's absolutely forced upon us. Jammed down our throats all day, every day.
Fucking pisses me off.
Why isn't advertisement opt-in?
Seriously.
...Why can't I say, somewhere, that I'm interested in a new computer desk, always keen to look at new synthesizers, and that I love role-playing games. I also laugh at the Sonic commercials. Oh, by the way, I'd always like to know what movies are playing. Then, the cable company can say "okey-doke", and pipe THOSE commercials to me.
I wouldn't leave the room when they came on.
Instead, they fuck it all up.
ABSURD!
It's all about Permission.
[French accent:] Swine advertisers!
Great comments, guys! Loved the quote Jake shared, Brad's assertion about Process vs Byproduct, and Jeremy's idea of opt-in ads on cable.
This comment paid for by VoteJake.blogspot.com, Wegscheid.com, and WhatSilence.blogspot.com. Stay tuned for the Warner Bros cartoon hour, next on Repeated Expletives (a division of ACME Widgets, inc)
Yeah, maybe pay-per-post is a bad idea.
I'd rather my friends know that (when I'm spouting ill-considered nonsense) it's just 'cause I'm crazy, not that I'm getting paid to do so.
That's why I hated retail so much. Every game was a great one on the job - but only a select 20% were when I was off the clock. Thank my-second-favorite-egregore that I'm free from that now.
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