11-03-2008, 04:16 PM
Black Landlord wrote:
I am pretty much never swayed positively by an ad, political or otherwise, unless it's merely introducing me to a product I didn't know about before.
I am frequently swayed negatively by an ad, for example a political attack ad, against whoever is responsible for it. But the same goes for non-political ads-- I feel less positively about Apple on the heels of the "I'm a Mac" ads for example-- the Mac guy is smug and superior and I end up wanting to go to bat for the PC guy.
The ad folks are not fools. Advertising is a well-honed science. They aim at your sub-consciousness. If they can plant a favorable feeling deep into the reptilian part of your brain, mission accomplished. That's why bad jingles and sheer volume are effective. Its all about branding.
I once had three young guys who worked for Nike in the back of my taxi heading downtown from the airport. I had to listen to them blabber for 20 minutes - 20 minutes of total pseudo-intellectual drivel about selling sneakers. By the end of the trip it was all I could do to stop myself from turning around and screaming, "You're fricken' shoe salesmen, not scholars - GET OVER IT!".