Track this topic | Email this topic | Print this topic

I had this question running through my mind for the longest time whil watching ad's on TV..."I wonder who actually orders off the TV, or even on ad's online, like pop-ups?"

Who here buys stuff off the ads they see on TV or on the internet, cause i certainly don't! Dont know quite why, just isn't compelling enough i guess.

--------------------

<DrkMagimaster282> MWAHAHA. I,
DrkMagimaster282, shall wreak havoc and destroy...
<Mother>TIIIIIIMMYYY...are you planning evil, unkind revenge again in the bathroom??
<DrkMagimaster282>UMMMMMMMM...NO.

CoN day is May 27th, 2005
Join elder-geek.com for unbiased reviews, no console wars here...

Any first-year advertising student (as I was years ago) will tell you, the goal of the ads isn't to make you buy anything. It's to move you up the chain closer to buying what they're selling until you eventually make the decision yourself.

For instance, take an ad for a car, let's say a Toyota Camry. You probably don't want a Camry, but for the sake of argument let's say you might be buying a car of some kind soon. If you see an ad for a Camry, and then you begin shopping for a car, the Camry's already in your head. If some of the features of the Camry (let's say roomy back seat, large trunk, good gas mileage) are things you're looking for, then you're that much closer to buying a Camry because the ad already told you those features are in that car.

Yes, the odds of someone seeing an ad and then immediately running out to buy that product are slim to none. That's okay because it's not the goal anyway, and to assume that advertising has failed because it's never made you buy anything is a symptom of not seeing the whole picture. Good advertising will help you buy the product and you won't even know the advertising had an impact.

Now, that just explains why your question may not really be relevant; however, to directly answer, I most certainly have. It's not like I see an ad for a Camry and run out and buy one, but if it's something like a new flavor of coffee at Dunkin' Donuts, or maybe an online ad for a CD that I've not heard of but sounds as if it could be interesting, I will follow that ad to try it out. I'd be surprised if most people in my age group, who have actual discretionary income, haven't done the same.

--------------------

"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

I tend to wait and hope that it comes to WalMart or other large retailers before I get it. I
have a MagicBlender, DigiSketch, and use those vacuum-storage bags all the time. But I
never feel comfortable ordering via phone. Bizarrely enough, and although I grok that it's
not necessarily more secure, I feel better ordering in-person, or with the secure-site logo
in the bottom left.

So I love the products that are sometimes too weird to launch nationally, but get onto tv
anyway, but not enought to ORDER NOW! OPERATOR IS STANDING BY! ONLY "&RAND"
MINUTES REMAINING!

Doesn't always work, though: I missed my opportunity to get one of those doo-dads that
pops dents and bumps out of cars. Someone I knew fixed a car of mine with it---really
works! Looks weird, but worked. Dammicht.

By-the-way, I'm convinced that in the most recent ads for that instant fold-over chopper
(for vegetables, cheese, etc), they speed-edited the falling-down motion. It looks choppy
as the slicing part comes down, as if the demo-person clearly ran into resistance as the
device sliced the whatever up, but they decided to pretend it doesn't.

--------------------

Putting the A's in W lm rt: A11smart, Jobclass: Retailer.

Well i did buy the BOSE surround sound system and a flat screen widescreen Television, and a security system... thats it

--------------------

I fear nothing, not even death

Plus, the advertisments on TV, radio, and the internet, pays for the TV shows, radio station,s and web sites as their sponsors. Without the stupid ads, we can't watch our shows, listen to our radio stations, or go to our favorite web sites.

--------------------

"Thought I was dead, eh? Not until I fulfill my dream!"
Seifer Almasy


"The most important part of the story is the ending."
Secret Window


"Peace is but a shadow of death."
Kuja

I'm such a sucker for food advertising. Nothing else seems to work on me, but when I see ice-cream or chocolate or something I make a mental note to dash to the 24 hour for some later. Or sometimes I order pizza just because I've seen the number on the TV. Call it what you will, but I don't think I'm simple-minded; just hungry.

--------------------

Scepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, had not left one entire idea in his mind.

Me on the Starcraft.

I hear that, Sweetdude (Heh! Nice webonym). Especially for brands I don't always
buy, like the DrPepper blitz right around the SuperBowl. Sometimes, commercials
do a great job of reminding you of their products, getting back into that mindshare.

Here's a parallel thought to DM282's original line: how about Google ads? I Gmail,
Galendar (or whatever their Planner/Calendar is called), and of course search with
Google, but virtually never click their ads on those pages. And sometimes I have to
force myself to remember to click on sites they serve, say webcomics, so that the
sites get some payscale recognition. Has anyone ever shopped via a G-Ad?

Hmm, all these categories; iit would have made a good poll, DrkMagimaster282!

--------------------

Putting the A's in W lm rt: A11smart, Jobclass: Retailer.