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I'm often struck by how excessive it has become when seeing photos from history of any town. Where once spaces were for people now they seem to be spaces to sh

I'm often struck by how excessive it has become when seeing photos from history of any town. Where once spaces were for people now they seem to be spaces to shout at the people. Marketing, ads, signs get bigger, brighter and every available surface has been turned into an ad spot. Most high streets and tourist spots have now become as attractive as a Geocities site using every available tag and font.

FussyZeus 9y ago
The advertising industry in general is hitting just ludicrous saturation levels. I barely register ads anymore because there are just so fucking many now. My brain is attuned to shut them out, which makes them less effective, and the only solution the ad industry seems to have is MORE SODDING ADS. What also strikes me is how many billboards in my commute route (not long, but still) are blank, or rather, just have the owner's spiel on them about outdoor advertising and how to get your ad on one. A lot of them have looked like that for a long time, maybe we're finally hitting saturation?
- nkrisc 9y ago
  I enact my own personal rebellion by actively avoiding products I've seen advertised, given the opportunity to do so. If I'm choosing between Product A and Product B and I can't tell any difference between them, but I've seen Product A shouted at me in ads, I'll choose B.
  - nugi 9y ago
    I also do this, as do a few friends. It may not be effective, but it feels great not to support terrible ads. It seems like my process for shopping begins with whitelist search (Does my favorite brand make one?), to domain search (what options are available), to blacklist filter (nope, not that brand), now finally actual product evaluation, then price/value judgement when combined with any emotional(immediate) or future rewards for buying the product. I then check my balance/wallet, make a second value decision, and accept that I can't afford it and buy the cheap one, if at all. /s But that is why some bad brands persist, simple economics. The advertising is just a byproduct at that point, there to establish it as 'viable' in our mind for that final desprate decision. My favorite ads demonstrate without evangalizing, and let me feel like I decided. How hard is that?
- Clubber 9y ago
  I believe it also works at a subconscious level to build brand recognition. When you need or want something, your mind references your memories to find suppliers and determine which you want, etc. This is based on what you know of the product which is also heavily influenced through consumption of advertising. An example would be - I need car insurance. I know some vendors are All State, State Farm and Geico (via endless commercials and ads). I will call them and compare prices. Any vendor that isn't in your mind is less likely to get a call.
  - FussyZeus 9y ago
    I suppose I can't definitively say that the subconscious thing isn't happening, but if it is, I don't see much evidence of it. Whenever I need something like insurance, I'll usually start from companies I've heard advertised, but I always compare rates and I'm open to other companies too. I suppose it gave them a marginally better shot at my choosing them, but I didn't pick any based on their ads. In fact, the company I ended up going with I didn't see any ads for recently as they don't advertise very hard in my area.
    - maroonblazer 9y ago
      >I suppose I can't definitively say that the subconscious thing isn't happening, but if it is, I don't see much evidence of it. If one has no awareness of a product or brand then they can't recall it to include in their consideration set when deciding on a purchase. The ad industry has done a significant amount of research to determine what kind, and how many, messages for a product or brand a consumer needs to be exposed to such that they are more likely to recall it, aided or unaided. >the company I ended up going with I didn't see any ads for recently But you did see ads previously, which put them in your consideration set.
      - alpos 9y ago
        I think the part they miss has been the ease with which people can establish awareness of the major market players once they have a need. If anything ads are more useful for small/new companies than the big ones that currently drive all the pressure for targeting. I have severely limited my exposure to ads for a few years now. No regular TV / streaming only, ad-blockers + disabled javascript by default, no daily commute. With all of that I am almost certainly on the low end of the "brand awareness" scale. Even still, I just do a regular internet or maps search and I am suddenly aware of all the major market players for whatever I am after. In this sense, getting me to buy your product is more a matter of location and market share than the location or targeting of your ads. I'm sure a lot of people currently operate this way and there's really nothing stopping everyone on earth from operating this way. With that in mind, I don't think it makes sense for ad studies to assume the information needs to be forced into my head or the product won't have a chance.

FussyZeus 9y ago

The advertising industry in general is hitting just ludicrous saturation levels. I barely register ads anymore because there are just so fucking many now. My brain is attuned to shut them out, which makes them less effective, and the only solution the ad industry seems to have is MORE SODDING ADS. What also strikes me is how many billboards in my commute route (not long, but still) are blank, or rather, just have the owner's spiel on them about outdoor advertising and how to get your ad on one. A lot of them have looked like that for a long time, maybe we're finally hitting saturation?

nkrisc 9y ago
I enact my own personal rebellion by actively avoiding products I've seen advertised, given the opportunity to do so. If I'm choosing between Product A and Product B and I can't tell any difference between them, but I've seen Product A shouted at me in ads, I'll choose B.
- nugi 9y ago
  I also do this, as do a few friends. It may not be effective, but it feels great not to support terrible ads. It seems like my process for shopping begins with whitelist search (Does my favorite brand make one?), to domain search (what options are available), to blacklist filter (nope, not that brand), now finally actual product evaluation, then price/value judgement when combined with any emotional(immediate) or future rewards for buying the product. I then check my balance/wallet, make a second value decision, and accept that I can't afford it and buy the cheap one, if at all. /s But that is why some bad brands persist, simple economics. The advertising is just a byproduct at that point, there to establish it as 'viable' in our mind for that final desprate decision. My favorite ads demonstrate without evangalizing, and let me feel like I decided. How hard is that?
Clubber 9y ago
I believe it also works at a subconscious level to build brand recognition. When you need or want something, your mind references your memories to find suppliers and determine which you want, etc. This is based on what you know of the product which is also heavily influenced through consumption of advertising. An example would be - I need car insurance. I know some vendors are All State, State Farm and Geico (via endless commercials and ads). I will call them and compare prices. Any vendor that isn't in your mind is less likely to get a call.
- FussyZeus 9y ago
  I suppose I can't definitively say that the subconscious thing isn't happening, but if it is, I don't see much evidence of it. Whenever I need something like insurance, I'll usually start from companies I've heard advertised, but I always compare rates and I'm open to other companies too. I suppose it gave them a marginally better shot at my choosing them, but I didn't pick any based on their ads. In fact, the company I ended up going with I didn't see any ads for recently as they don't advertise very hard in my area.
  - maroonblazer 9y ago
    >I suppose I can't definitively say that the subconscious thing isn't happening, but if it is, I don't see much evidence of it. If one has no awareness of a product or brand then they can't recall it to include in their consideration set when deciding on a purchase. The ad industry has done a significant amount of research to determine what kind, and how many, messages for a product or brand a consumer needs to be exposed to such that they are more likely to recall it, aided or unaided. >the company I ended up going with I didn't see any ads for recently But you did see ads previously, which put them in your consideration set.
    - alpos 9y ago
      I think the part they miss has been the ease with which people can establish awareness of the major market players once they have a need. If anything ads are more useful for small/new companies than the big ones that currently drive all the pressure for targeting. I have severely limited my exposure to ads for a few years now. No regular TV / streaming only, ad-blockers + disabled javascript by default, no daily commute. With all of that I am almost certainly on the low end of the "brand awareness" scale. Even still, I just do a regular internet or maps search and I am suddenly aware of all the major market players for whatever I am after. In this sense, getting me to buy your product is more a matter of location and market share than the location or targeting of your ads. I'm sure a lot of people currently operate this way and there's really nothing stopping everyone on earth from operating this way. With that in mind, I don't think it makes sense for ad studies to assume the information needs to be forced into my head or the product won't have a chance.