Bad Ads

I was very excited a few weeks ago to see an article about a local radio station that was actually helping its advertisers to get the most for their ad budgets. They asked the listeners to take a web survey on which ads on the station they actually liked and why. I love this idea, because I generally hate advertising (thus TIVO and NPR are two of my favorite things). Nothing is worse than hearing the same ads again and again and again- yes this mostly happens on the radio. There are some ads that actually make me change the station- and vow never to use the product hawked. This is bad for the station and the advertiser- so bad advertising hurts everybody.

I remember one particular ad that was a dial turner- I think it was for a company selling awnings for your backyard. It was one of those spots where they pretended that people were having a conversation about their product and explaining it to us. One of the people kept interrupting the other by whining "Tell them about the discount, Harry" or some other name - depending on which version it was. Yes, an annoying ad with several variations- thinking we wanted to have someone whine at us. Also they always advertised the discount, so why run out and buy it if there was always a discount.

There's another ad that's getting into the same category just because its been running for soooo long. Its even for a company (Accountemps) I actualy worked for- they helped me get my current job. Still they have been running the same series of ads for at least a year and a half. They generally feature a super-temp named "Bob" who can walk in and save a company and even get other people in trouble because he outshines them. If I was in charge of hiring people I wouldn't want this guy show me up. Please, I don't care how well these ads are working - do something else, like yesterday.

GEICO has been running a bunch of ads over the last few years and generally they are doing very well. They have the cockney lizard who I guess is supposed to appeal to the ironic hipsters- talking about pie and chips and other Britishisms. I don't need new car insurance and I don't care how witty their lizard is. They also have (sometimes) funny ads where "stars" help real people tell their stories (I'm not even sure this is the same company) In either case why do I care if my Insurance company is cool, hip and funny- I just want the best price and service. These things aren't really talked about.

Probably my most hated ads as a category are for "Lite" beer. I'm probably a bigger beer snob than I am a sandwich snob, so I am quite annoyed when I see these ads where people go to great lengths to get their favorite lite beer. They usually are stealing it too - from their roommate or neighbor- what kind of message is this. Drink bad beer and commit petty theft? These ads generally don't say anything about how the beer tastes- not even versus other lite beers. They are just creating a "brand" identity. Why would I choose a beer based on a funny commercial and not taste?

Do these bad ads stay on the air because they work- or because they work well enough? A good ad can become iconic and a cultural milepost. Who knows how many more cars would be sold by certain dealerships if they did something other than YELL at us.

Advertisers - stop being so lazy and come up with something good that doesn't insult most of us. Oh, and I have plenty of room on my blog for banner and animated pop-up ads, just drop me an e-mail.