4 ms·

If you're ever in DC, you should check out the ads in the metro stops near the Pentagon. Seeing those kinds of ads in real life is even more shocking.

Retric 1y ago
Walked into a weapons show a few decades ago that had a full scale Abrams tank + demo camera providing good 360 degree visibility. It was odd because I was like yea this is obviously a good idea, but also I’m not the person you need to convince here so WTF.
- kiba 1y ago
  It's designed to convince their customers which are other countries.
- varenc 1y ago
  How'd you find a weapons show? Which one? are these semi-open to the public? Sounds fascinating
  - Retric 1y ago
    I was walking around Arlington VA area and saw some signs of fighter jets and such that looked interesting, no idea of the show beyond that really. I did have a pentagon badge at the time which let me in, not sure if it was necessary though.
- Cthulhu_ 1y ago
  You're not but there may be people that are. Besides, tanks are cool and I'd go to shows like that for entertainment purposes. I went to the Dutch military museum the other day, it has a Leopard tank outside (and of course a collection of tanks and the like indoors, including a German V2 rocket suspended from the ceiling).
extraduder_ire 1y ago
I saw some photos of those ads on twitter a few years back about a certain manufacturer's engine being the correct choice for a specific in-development military plane. It's weird seeing physical advertising be so targeted. Like, multiple physical ads to target less than a dozen people total.
- jfengel 1y ago
  It's a little broader than that, because these are general defense contractors who have their fingers in every pie. So it's seen by contracting officers, partners, potential employees, etc. It's a bit like a Coke ad -- you do not need to be informed about Coke, but it creates an atmosphere of nebulous positive feelings. Still, kinda weird.
- sjf 1y ago
  [The I-80 east has entered the chat]
  - datadrivenangel 1y ago
    The tech billboards in SF are also wild.
  - Agentlien 1y ago
    I'm someone living far off in remote Sweden, could you explain with some examples?
- imglorp 1y ago
  If you think advertising to a dozen people is wild, wait till you hear about bribery of six! It's more efficient!
- Cthulhu_ 1y ago
  It makes sense though, given that those dozen people have decisive power to bring billions of dollars in revenue and decades of work to the companies advertising. Like, the Dutch airplane manufacturer Fokker went bankrupt and stopped manufacturing planes in 1996, but the brand and company are still very much alive, manufacturing parts and providing maintenance services to all their planes still in operation worldwide.
jMyles 1y ago
[flagged]
- ecshafer 1y ago
  If you desire peace, prepare for war.
  - quesera 1y ago
    If your preparations for war are influenced by advertising in the DC Metro, you are not a serious professional who the public can trust to desire peace.
- philipallstar 1y ago
  This is the sort of response I'd hope an AskJeeves AI would generate.
bigfatkitten 1y ago
The billboards at Canberra airport almost exclusively advertise defence contractors. Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman and Qinetiq know how to reach their audience.
asdff 1y ago
There is something deeply sinister about seeing a defense contractor building in and around DC. Very nondescript 80s-90s dark plexiglass office box with a parking lot. Only with metal fencing, coated in cameras, anti ram bollards, and an armed guard at the gate, plus no doubt other security measures we can't see. The most secretive cutting edge science on death and killing being performed in the most otherwise happy go lucky seeming 90s model suburbia where there seemingly aren't any poor people around at all. Something deeply dystopian about this model utopia optimized for an ever present and unstoppable war machine.

Retric 1y ago

Walked into a weapons show a few decades ago that had a full scale Abrams tank + demo camera providing good 360 degree visibility. It was odd because I was like yea this is obviously a good idea, but also I’m not the person you need to convince here so WTF.

kiba 1y ago
It's designed to convince their customers which are other countries.
varenc 1y ago
How'd you find a weapons show? Which one? are these semi-open to the public? Sounds fascinating
- Retric 1y ago
  I was walking around Arlington VA area and saw some signs of fighter jets and such that looked interesting, no idea of the show beyond that really. I did have a pentagon badge at the time which let me in, not sure if it was necessary though.
Cthulhu_ 1y ago
You're not but there may be people that are. Besides, tanks are cool and I'd go to shows like that for entertainment purposes. I went to the Dutch military museum the other day, it has a Leopard tank outside (and of course a collection of tanks and the like indoors, including a German V2 rocket suspended from the ceiling).

extraduder_ire 1y ago

I saw some photos of those ads on twitter a few years back about a certain manufacturer's engine being the correct choice for a specific in-development military plane. It's weird seeing physical advertising be so targeted. Like, multiple physical ads to target less than a dozen people total.

jfengel 1y ago
It's a little broader than that, because these are general defense contractors who have their fingers in every pie. So it's seen by contracting officers, partners, potential employees, etc. It's a bit like a Coke ad -- you do not need to be informed about Coke, but it creates an atmosphere of nebulous positive feelings. Still, kinda weird.
sjf 1y ago
[The I-80 east has entered the chat]
- datadrivenangel 1y ago
  The tech billboards in SF are also wild.
- Agentlien 1y ago
  I'm someone living far off in remote Sweden, could you explain with some examples?
imglorp 1y ago
If you think advertising to a dozen people is wild, wait till you hear about bribery of six! It's more efficient!
Cthulhu_ 1y ago
It makes sense though, given that those dozen people have decisive power to bring billions of dollars in revenue and decades of work to the companies advertising. Like, the Dutch airplane manufacturer Fokker went bankrupt and stopped manufacturing planes in 1996, but the brand and company are still very much alive, manufacturing parts and providing maintenance services to all their planes still in operation worldwide.

jMyles 1y ago

[flagged]

ecshafer 1y ago
If you desire peace, prepare for war.
- quesera 1y ago
  If your preparations for war are influenced by advertising in the DC Metro, you are not a serious professional who the public can trust to desire peace.
philipallstar 1y ago
This is the sort of response I'd hope an AskJeeves AI would generate.

bigfatkitten 1y ago

The billboards at Canberra airport almost exclusively advertise defence contractors. Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman and Qinetiq know how to reach their audience.

asdff 1y ago

There is something deeply sinister about seeing a defense contractor building in and around DC. Very nondescript 80s-90s dark plexiglass office box with a parking lot. Only with metal fencing, coated in cameras, anti ram bollards, and an armed guard at the gate, plus no doubt other security measures we can't see. The most secretive cutting edge science on death and killing being performed in the most otherwise happy go lucky seeming 90s model suburbia where there seemingly aren't any poor people around at all. Something deeply dystopian about this model utopia optimized for an ever present and unstoppable war machine.