6 ms·

The point of traditional advertising IS pretty much to waste money, similar to how the point of a peacock's tail feathers are to waste resources... it is a sign

The point of traditional advertising IS pretty much to waste money, similar to how the point of a peacock's tail feathers are to waste resources... it is a signal to potential partners (business or romantic) that they are so capable they can waste resources. It is a signal of bonafides.

jackson1442 6y ago
I'm not entirely sure about that, at least not in all cases. I was recently in the market for a new mattress, so went to a mattress store and tried some out. Even though Tempur Pedic is all the rage with their insane ad spending, I was not all that impressed, and found a considerably cheaper mattress that felt much higher quality. Now, this may all be sales mumbo-jumbo, but the sales rep noted that a lot of people come there only interested in Tempur Pedic mattresses, which he regards as "literally a piece of foam, total crap mattresses." They sell at such a high price point because they advertise so much, while the mattress I found came from a no-name brand that doesn't advertise at all, and was therefore cheaper. So I guess in some markets, advertising does work. I've never heard of someone telling me how much they loved a mattress unless it's a Sleep Number or a Tempur Pedic, and those advertise by far the most.
- datagram 6y ago
  I guess that's the thing; for a lot of industries, people aren't generally going to make a purchase without doing some amount of research. Maybe Tempur-Pedic was on their mind when they entered the store, but once they're in the store they're generally going to end up trying out several mattresses. I /love/ my mattress (and have said as much to friends), but I honestly couldn't tell you the brand off the top of my head; I just went to a store and picked whatever felt the best. One could argue that Tempur-Pedic has to sell at a higher price point to make up for the money they spend on advertising.
unethical_ban 6y ago
I'm genuinely shocked at how many people think advertising doesn't work. Just because it doesn't make a person consciously stand up and say, "I want a Snickers" does not mean the ad didn't work. Like, honestly, are there people here suggesting viral ads don't work? Or don't understand the point of Coke or Mercedes Benz ads are for? Coke establishes themselves as the defacto soda. There is no other soda, or if they are, wish they were coke. MB ads among other things reinforce to MB owners the wisdom and luxury of their brand. To own an MB is to be part of a club, one that is advertised across the media spectrum. If MB didn't advertise at all, they would either become another commodity brand, or have to be so luxury that only word of mouth is necessary (Bently, etc). Now, maybe that's what cortesoft is saying "get you to waste money" but if it got you to waste money on their product, it worked.
- cortesoft 6y ago
  Sorry, I think you misunderstood my point a bit... I think I am agreeing with you. My point was that advertising's purpose (from a consumer point of view) is for the ADVERTISER to waste money, to signal that they have confidence that their product is good enough to recover the cost of wasting money on advertising.
  - zymhan 6y ago
    They weren't disagreeing with you in their reply, just emphasizing the same point.
- pmontra 6y ago
  I understand the point but the MB example could be off the mark. According to their site [1] they sold more than 2 M cars in 2019. Luxury yes, at least a bit, but a pretty large club. Maybe Ferrari and similar brands? But they do a different kind of advertising. [1] https://www.daimler.com/investors/key-figures/markets/ https://www.daimler.com/investors/key-figures/markets/
  - curryst 6y ago
    I don't think they meant that it's a private club. Personally, I think it's less about luxury and more about value signalling. Having a Mercedes says that you're comfortable financially, and they're "dignified". I'm not saying it's true, but it's what their marketing generally implies. Luxury is generally just a dog whistle for value signalling merchandise. Ferrari does different value signalling. They imply wealth because of the cars performance, and they're generally a much more obvious signal. They're usually a bold color like red in the ads, and the body styles are distinctive. You could miss a Mercedes in a group of sedans; you're not going to miss the Ferrari. The private club brand, to me, is Rolls Royce. I would guess because I never see ads (and rarely see them in person), so my only references are pop culture where they're associated with the ultra wealthy.
xiphias2 6y ago
This was true in the past, but nowdays it’s much easier to try out a product and see reviews. With Uber it would be so easy to penalize drivers who cancel because they don’t like where I’m going, but I’m still wasting 30 minutes quite often, because Uber spends that money on ads and UI rewrites instead of improving the core experience.
cbsmith 6y ago
It's also an important signal to consumers.
- Ma8ee 6y ago
  That the products are overpriced?
  - Phenomenit 6y ago
    That you're paying for these ads.
    - Ma8ee 6y ago
      Yes, that’s the point.
  - cortesoft 6y ago
    No, that the product is good enough that it makes enough money to afford expensive advertising. There is a really good essay about this that I re-read quite often: https://zgp.org/targeted-advertising-considered-harmful/ https://zgp.org/targeted-advertising-considered-harmful/
    - neaanopri 6y ago
      I can't believe I had to scroll down this far for someone to point this out.
    - Ma8ee 6y ago
      It only says that the margin on the sold products are high enough so they can afford expensive marketing. Does anyone seriously believe that the massive marketing for a product like Coca Cola is a sign that it is a high quality product?
- cortesoft 6y ago
  Yeah, that was who I meant by 'business partners'

jackson1442 6y ago

I'm not entirely sure about that, at least not in all cases. I was recently in the market for a new mattress, so went to a mattress store and tried some out. Even though Tempur Pedic is all the rage with their insane ad spending, I was not all that impressed, and found a considerably cheaper mattress that felt much higher quality. Now, this may all be sales mumbo-jumbo, but the sales rep noted that a lot of people come there only interested in Tempur Pedic mattresses, which he regards as "literally a piece of foam, total crap mattresses." They sell at such a high price point because they advertise so much, while the mattress I found came from a no-name brand that doesn't advertise at all, and was therefore cheaper. So I guess in some markets, advertising does work. I've never heard of someone telling me how much they loved a mattress unless it's a Sleep Number or a Tempur Pedic, and those advertise by far the most.

datagram 6y ago
I guess that's the thing; for a lot of industries, people aren't generally going to make a purchase without doing some amount of research. Maybe Tempur-Pedic was on their mind when they entered the store, but once they're in the store they're generally going to end up trying out several mattresses. I /love/ my mattress (and have said as much to friends), but I honestly couldn't tell you the brand off the top of my head; I just went to a store and picked whatever felt the best. One could argue that Tempur-Pedic has to sell at a higher price point to make up for the money they spend on advertising.

unethical_ban 6y ago

I'm genuinely shocked at how many people think advertising doesn't work. Just because it doesn't make a person consciously stand up and say, "I want a Snickers" does not mean the ad didn't work. Like, honestly, are there people here suggesting viral ads don't work? Or don't understand the point of Coke or Mercedes Benz ads are for? Coke establishes themselves as the defacto soda. There is no other soda, or if they are, wish they were coke. MB ads among other things reinforce to MB owners the wisdom and luxury of their brand. To own an MB is to be part of a club, one that is advertised across the media spectrum. If MB didn't advertise at all, they would either become another commodity brand, or have to be so luxury that only word of mouth is necessary (Bently, etc). Now, maybe that's what cortesoft is saying "get you to waste money" but if it got you to waste money on their product, it worked.

cortesoft 6y ago
Sorry, I think you misunderstood my point a bit... I think I am agreeing with you. My point was that advertising's purpose (from a consumer point of view) is for the ADVERTISER to waste money, to signal that they have confidence that their product is good enough to recover the cost of wasting money on advertising.
- zymhan 6y ago
  They weren't disagreeing with you in their reply, just emphasizing the same point.
pmontra 6y ago
I understand the point but the MB example could be off the mark. According to their site [1] they sold more than 2 M cars in 2019. Luxury yes, at least a bit, but a pretty large club. Maybe Ferrari and similar brands? But they do a different kind of advertising. [1] https://www.daimler.com/investors/key-figures/markets/ https://www.daimler.com/investors/key-figures/markets/
- curryst 6y ago
  I don't think they meant that it's a private club. Personally, I think it's less about luxury and more about value signalling. Having a Mercedes says that you're comfortable financially, and they're "dignified". I'm not saying it's true, but it's what their marketing generally implies. Luxury is generally just a dog whistle for value signalling merchandise. Ferrari does different value signalling. They imply wealth because of the cars performance, and they're generally a much more obvious signal. They're usually a bold color like red in the ads, and the body styles are distinctive. You could miss a Mercedes in a group of sedans; you're not going to miss the Ferrari. The private club brand, to me, is Rolls Royce. I would guess because I never see ads (and rarely see them in person), so my only references are pop culture where they're associated with the ultra wealthy.

xiphias2 6y ago

This was true in the past, but nowdays it’s much easier to try out a product and see reviews. With Uber it would be so easy to penalize drivers who cancel because they don’t like where I’m going, but I’m still wasting 30 minutes quite often, because Uber spends that money on ads and UI rewrites instead of improving the core experience.

cbsmith 6y ago

It's also an important signal to consumers.

Ma8ee 6y ago
That the products are overpriced?
- Phenomenit 6y ago
  That you're paying for these ads.
  - Ma8ee 6y ago
    Yes, that’s the point.
- cortesoft 6y ago
  No, that the product is good enough that it makes enough money to afford expensive advertising. There is a really good essay about this that I re-read quite often: https://zgp.org/targeted-advertising-considered-harmful/ https://zgp.org/targeted-advertising-considered-harmful/
  - neaanopri 6y ago
    I can't believe I had to scroll down this far for someone to point this out.
  - Ma8ee 6y ago
    It only says that the margin on the sold products are high enough so they can afford expensive marketing. Does anyone seriously believe that the massive marketing for a product like Coca Cola is a sign that it is a high quality product?
cortesoft 6y ago
Yeah, that was who I meant by 'business partners'