And yet I like Mad Men
Mar. 6th, 2008 09:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thebratqueenEver since I read Deadly Persuasion I can't help but look at ads in terms of what they're quietly selling, in addition to what they're obviously selling.
The obvious sell is for the product. "Buy/use this and your life will be better/faster/sexier/richer." The quiet sell - well that depends. For example, this commercial for Chase Visa that I just saw. Guy wants to buy a huge flatscreen TV, Chase offers a service where he can check his balance instantly and rest assured that he's got plenty of credit so he can buy the biggest TV in the store.
Obvious message: Use Chase Visa. Quiet message: It is totally acceptable to make huge and costly impulse purchases so long as you have plenty of credit available.
Other ads have other quiet messages ("Drink as much as you like! You've got a designated driver!") but it amazes me how often the "Spend as much as you want! You have credit!" ad comes up. After all, how many times do we hear "No payment until next year!" It becomes a small wonder that this country is having such a credit crisis. We're surrounded by a culture that convinces us that the norm is to buy now, worry about it later.
Semi related to all this, I came across this article on How to Inoculate Your Children Against Advertising. I figured quite a few of you on my flist would love reading it.
The obvious sell is for the product. "Buy/use this and your life will be better/faster/sexier/richer." The quiet sell - well that depends. For example, this commercial for Chase Visa that I just saw. Guy wants to buy a huge flatscreen TV, Chase offers a service where he can check his balance instantly and rest assured that he's got plenty of credit so he can buy the biggest TV in the store.
Obvious message: Use Chase Visa. Quiet message: It is totally acceptable to make huge and costly impulse purchases so long as you have plenty of credit available.
Other ads have other quiet messages ("Drink as much as you like! You've got a designated driver!") but it amazes me how often the "Spend as much as you want! You have credit!" ad comes up. After all, how many times do we hear "No payment until next year!" It becomes a small wonder that this country is having such a credit crisis. We're surrounded by a culture that convinces us that the norm is to buy now, worry about it later.
Semi related to all this, I came across this article on How to Inoculate Your Children Against Advertising. I figured quite a few of you on my flist would love reading it.
