Ezen Baklattan Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 I sort of agree with Tribefan here, but I see where Dash is coming from. Obviously marketing exists to exploit our desires in life (but I don't think it brainwashes us that significantly much more than our friends/family influence us to do a particular thing. To have your own, true, uncorrupted opinion, you need to isolate yourself from everything), and I can even agree that a consumerist lifestyle isn't going to do us many favors in the future. Having said that, I think this issue is a bit more complex than what people play it out to be. Let's face it, we're not really going to eradicate advertising as it is any time soon, but I don't think people like going to Starbucks and McDonalds because advertising has turned them into sheeple. In fact, they're kind of opposites. Starbucks is located everywhere, and people find it to be their most convenient option. (For what it's worth, I prefer a local Michigan place, but that's beside the point), while McDonalds and other fast food places are cheap enough that they are often popular among low income families (This applies to a lot of junk food, really. Obesity rates are shockingly high among those of lower socioeconomic status). Not saying that advertising doesn't influence people, but you have to take into account other factors too. Look, I'm not saying this isn't an issue worth considering, and I don't know enough about foreign markets to understand how advertising works there, although I imagine it functioning in a slightly similar, if less extreme manner. I'm not even totally disagreeing with you here, but I think you're underestimating society's ability for people to make well thought-out choices. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dementeleus Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 I sort of agree with Tribefan here, but I see where Dash is coming from. Obviously marketing exists to exploit our desires in life (but I don't think it brainwashes us that significantly much more than our friends/family influence us to do a particular thing. To have your own, true, uncorrupted opinion, you need to isolate yourself from everything), and I can even agree that a consumerist lifestyle isn't going to do us many favors in the future. Having said that, I think this issue is a bit more complex than what people play it out to be. Let's face it, we're not really going to eradicate advertising as it is any time soon, but I don't think people like going to Starbucks and McDonalds because advertising has turned them into sheeple. In fact, they're kind of opposites. Starbucks is located everywhere, and people find it to be their most convenient option. (For what it's worth, I prefer a local Michigan place, but that's beside the point), while McDonalds and other fast food places are cheap enough that they are often popular among low income families (This applies to a lot of junk food, really. Obesity rates are shockingly high among those of lower socioeconomic status). Not saying that advertising doesn't influence people, but you have to take into account other factors too. Look, I'm not saying this isn't an issue worth considering, and I don't know enough about foreign markets to understand how advertising works there, although I imagine it functioning in a slightly similar, if less extreme manner. I'm not even totally disagreeing with you here, but I think you're underestimating society's ability for people to make well thought-out choices. I agree with you, but that last bit is a doozy. Almost no one consistently makes well thought-out choices. People make emotional and instant decisions for the most part. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dashrendar44 Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 (edited) I agree with you, but that last bit is a doozy. Almost no one consistently makes well thought-out choices. People make emotional and instant decisions for the most part. Marketing gurus are having a field day exploiting this "flaw" in human psychology. Product placement is one of those many tools to push that button in their arsenal. First thing you learn as a salesman is to recognize impulsive decisions the earliest and indulge them to close the deal by disconnecting rationality. Edited June 10, 2015 by MADash Rendar 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordmandeep Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 The point is it is up to people to make the decisions and parents to shape kids. I dont understand the point of this debate? Are people calling for a ban on advertisements of things that are bad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezen Baklattan Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 By well-thought out, I primarily meant choices that aren't justified by "Cause Mr. Television told me to buy it!". Obviously advertising works to appeal to the ethos-pathos-logos trifecta within ourselves, but people will still turn to options that a financially reasonable or even preferred by friends/family. It's basically peer pressure on a much larger scale, and considering it's from mega-million-or-possibly-billion corporations, it can be problematic. Having said that, I think we should teach children while they're still young about thinking critically about advertising and not just going off of everything they say, becoming more informed consumers as a result. With this being so prevalent today, it's important that we send this message. Obviously the media and advertising won't change any time soon, but as long as we understand the effects they have on us, then it could pave the way for better decisions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordmandeep Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Imo with internet shopping and people watching less TV, that has already happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dementeleus Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 By well-thought out, I primarily meant choices that aren't justified by "Cause Mr. Television told me to buy it!". It's not just that, though. It's the fact that you hear/see a company's name and logo so much that subconsciously it comes to mind when you need/want that particular product. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezen Baklattan Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 (edited) It's not just that, though. It's the fact that you hear/see a company's name and logo so much that subconsciously it comes to mind when you need/want that particular product. Ah, brand identification. You have a point there, much like how iPhones collectively represent all smartphones. That's often a result of monopolization of advertising, if not that component of industry. Then again, Android seems to do just fine simply because of better prices generally. I'm not saying that there isn't a connection though. Like I said, I don't completely disagree with a lot of what you're saying. I just don't think the situation is quite as extreme as it's made out to be. Edited June 10, 2015 by Spaghetti 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AniNate Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 (edited) Yes, there's typically more than one prominent option for most products. No one I know of declares eternal loyalty to one just because they see it in a movie Edited June 11, 2015 by tribefan695 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Futurist Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 I agree with you, but that last bit is a doozy. Almost no one consistently makes well thought-out choices. People make emotional and instant decisions for the most part. All mega corporations and advertising companies have hired psychologists and psychiatrists in their staff. They all know we are driven by our emotions and impulses more than anything else. Free will and well thought out decisions are mostly an illusion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozymandias Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Mmmmmm.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezen Baklattan Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Free will and well thought out decisions are mostly an illusion. Well, you have been one for hyperbole in the past. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goffe Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Well, you have been one for hyperbole in the past. It's Futurist thing 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AniNate Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Anyway, I think product placement's only as effective as the movie it's associated with. If Garbage Pail Kids were the first thing I associated Pepsi with, I'd probably never buy it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezen Baklattan Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Anyway, I think product placement's only as effective as the movie it's associated with. If Garbage Pail Kids were the first thing I associated Pepsi with, I'd probably never buy it Who can forget this classic moment in cinema? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jandrew Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Well damn, this thread is a 180 of what I was expecting. Wasn't expecting paragraphs of debate and thought, I just thought people were gonna post their favorite and least favorite instances of PP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeCee Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 (edited) Here we go then. It's funny how Starbucks failed in Australia. They opened their first of 84 cafes in 2000 but in 2008 closed 60 of them. Edited June 11, 2015 by DeeCee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonwo Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Australia already has a coffee culture especially in Melbourne and I imagine Starbucks launched far too late whereas many places like the UK, the competition is pretty slim. I watched Jurassic World today and that film was chock a block with product placement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killimano3 Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Product placement is the logical next step for advertising. Advertisers thought for a long time that the best way to get there product out there was to get as many ads as possible wherever possible. This worked for a while but the number of ads just kept rising and rising and with the internet that number exploded. Truth is nowadays people from younger generations myself included are significantly more desensitized to traditional advertisements in general. Most ads that pop up I can't even tell you what they are I close them without even noticing. Likewise with video ads it's almost physically impossible for them to convince me to buy their product as I just do not care nor do I trust a word they say. Ironically the belief that maximum exposure for ads was the best way led them to being less effective overall and meant that in order to account for this ad numbers would need to be exponentially raised. When that doesn't work we're left with product placement. Slipping in references to popular brands and companies so that you subconsciously remember them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezen Baklattan Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Also, FREE BIRDS had the best product placement of all time. No more discussion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
