[Kricket]

Today I check the email and there's this piece of spam with a subject line like "Support the tr0op$". Last night on the radio I hear this nice jingle about how it doesn't matter what religion you are; it makes some funny rhymes and some ok jokes, and I'm thinking, well isn't that nice, and then it spits out something about Cingular or Verizon or something. Is nothing sacred anymore? People will use anything they can to milk you for a buck. Every time I hear a business name stuck on to something it turns the whole experience from something potentially enjoyable to something cheap and meaningless - even repulsive.

Ok, rant's over.

 

[the_journeyman]

Yep, they're a bunch of profiteering peckerwoods ~

JM

 

[MrBungle]

Well put JM.

Also, think about all of the corporate sponsors for sports (even college). Why the hell does the replay need to be brought to me by Home Depot...just show the stupid replay and get on with it. Every little bit of any sport is now brought to us by some big corporation that could really care less about anything but money. Oh well, I guess that is the direction we are headed.

 

[F4iHigh]

[ QUOTE ]
MrBungle said:
Well put JM.

Also, think about all of the corporate sponsors for sports (even college). Why the hell does the replay need to be brought to me by Home Depot...just show the stupid replay and get on with it. Every little bit of any sport is now brought to us by some big corporation that could really care less about anything but money. Oh well, I guess that is the direction we are headed.

[/ QUOTE ]


haha, because that "brought to you by" pays for the whole event. So if you like sports, you should really like sponsors & advertisers. Sports and television period only exist to make money. If they took the money out of it you'd have nothing.

 

[MrBungle]

Ah, this is very true indeed, but it wasn't always like it is now (not as bad anyway). Now, every little detail has a sponsor. It doesn't seem that you can get away from it either. Every bit of a game (pro, college, whatever) is presented by some corporation, the stadiums are named after corporations, the players endorse the corporations, and then to top it all off we still have to watch commercials. :808993-banghead: :lol: Sports are more of a hassle to watch then it is worth (so is T.V. for that matter). At any rate, I do understand the whole institution (if you can call it that) thrives and exists solely because of money (what doesn't anymore). I just find it a little sad that the fun of watching the game is slowly going down hill due to all of the BS commercial crap.

Ah, and now to be a hypocrite...Motorcycle Road Racing is one of my favorite things and it is all about sponsorship. So, what can you do? Pick and choose what you want to watch on T.V. and try not to complain too much when you are bombarded with ads. Other than that, screw it, right? :grin:

 

[alanheng]

We should all write letters to our favorite atheletes and ask them to make less money by taking less money from corporate sponsors, so that we may be 'harassed' less by advertisers.

While I'm at it I think I'll write a letter to all the companies in which I own stocks in and ask them to reduce their profits so that I don't have to suffer as many commercials, too.

:lol:

 

[MrBungle]

:lol2: :lol2: Oh man, touche! :bow:

 

[mofferman]

[ QUOTE ]
alanheng said:
We should all write letters to our favorite atheletes and ask them to make less money by taking less money from corporate sponsors, so that we may be 'harassed' less by advertisers.

While I'm at it I think I'll write a letter to all the companies in which I own stocks in and ask them to reduce their profits so that I don't have to suffer as many commercials, too.

:lol:

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, I'd be quite happy if many of the companies I have stock in would stop throwing away money on sponsorship. Really, how many people are going to switch from brand "a" to brand "b" because they see it on the side of Nascar car? Does anyone really believe that owning a sporting venue makes enough money to justify the costs? And, are you really going to start using 3COM products because they bought the rights to a stadium name?

Basically, I don't believe the return on investment is there. And should the US Army actually being using tax-payer money to sponsor a race car? Does anyone switch from their brand laundry soap to Tide because they saw it on Nascrap? Would Tide be better off if they eliminated that bogus advertising and invested it in better products or mayber reduce the product price?

And yes, there are some athletes I'd be more than happy to see get a cut in pay..... With the companies staying focused I'd bet you'd see greater profits resulting in greater stock returns.

 

[Kricket]

It's happening because marketing has discovered something: it's not important if people like you. The most important thing (well, ok, I'm no expert, but from what I'm aware) is to get your name out. It's the "Home Depot replay" because the more they can repeat the words "Home Depot" and get that ugly orange symbol to be seen, the more likely you are to one day say, "I need a 2x4" and Home Depot pops into your head as a place that's got 'em.

I once talked to a guy who gives seminars on how businesses should do this. For example, think "I want to save money on car insurance." We all have that slogan burned into our minds, not because we love Geico, but because they repeat it a zillion times. He was saying that you can put a dollar value on what it takes to burn your name into the brains of people. The whole goal is to reach people who don't have a particular brand loyalty; they just want to wash their clothes and Tide pops into their head. I'd even go so far as to say that, having seen the name before gives it a certain familiarity, and since people naturally fear what they don't know, if you were shopping for laundry detergent and had never heard of any of the other brands, you'd be more likely to pick Tide.

It just gets really really annoying. It's like TV, radio, hell, driving down the street, has become the equivalent of clearing the spam out of your mailbox.

 

[PorradaVFR]

I love that ad for Virgin with the happy Chrismahanukkahkwanzaa whatever. :lol:

 

[the_journeyman]

[ QUOTE ]
PorradaVFR said:
I love that ad for Virgin with the happy Chrismahanukkahkwanzaa whatever. :lol:

[/ QUOTE ]

That is a rather creative & humerous ad. Wonder how long they argued about the spelling or that! :lol:

JM

 

[MrBungle]

[ QUOTE ]
It just gets really really annoying. It's like TV, radio, hell, driving down the street, has become the equivalent of clearing the spam out of your mailbox.


[/ QUOTE ]

+1 on that. :waytogo:

 

[StuDaddy]

[ QUOTE ]
mofferman said:
[ QUOTE ]
alanheng said:
We should all write letters to our favorite atheletes and ask them to make less money by taking less money from corporate sponsors, so that we may be 'harassed' less by advertisers.

While I'm at it I think I'll write a letter to all the companies in which I own stocks in and ask them to reduce their profits so that I don't have to suffer as many commercials, too.

:lol:

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, I'd be quite happy if many of the companies I have stock in would stop throwing away money on sponsorship. Really, how many people are going to switch from brand "a" to brand "b" because they see it on the side of Nascar car?

[/ QUOTE ]

Moff, I think you're giving too much credit to your average, everyday ******* NASCAR fan. Do you think that Dale Jr fans WOULDN'T switch beers if #8 switched it's paint job? :wink: :lol:

And Kricket... you're right about the repetition thing. Take one guess what number I'll call if I need next day carpet or siding? (you should know this... you live in the area)

 

[F4iHigh]

[ QUOTE ]
mofferman said:
[ QUOTE ]
alanheng said:
We should all write letters to our favorite atheletes and ask them to make less money by taking less money from corporate sponsors, so that we may be 'harassed' less by advertisers.

While I'm at it I think I'll write a letter to all the companies in which I own stocks in and ask them to reduce their profits so that I don't have to suffer as many commercials, too.

:lol:

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, I'd be quite happy if many of the companies I have stock in would stop throwing away money on sponsorship. Really, how many people are going to switch from brand "a" to brand "b" because they see it on the side of Nascar car? Does anyone really believe that owning a sporting venue makes enough money to justify the costs? And, are you really going to start using 3COM products because they bought the rights to a stadium name?

Basically, I don't believe the return on investment is there. And should the US Army actually being using tax-payer money to sponsor a race car? Does anyone switch from their brand laundry soap to Tide because they saw it on Nascrap? Would Tide be better off if they eliminated that bogus advertising and invested it in better products or mayber reduce the product price?

And yes, there are some athletes I'd be more than happy to see get a cut in pay..... With the companies staying focused I'd bet you'd see greater profits resulting in greater stock returns.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have seen reports detailing teh spikes in sales for a certain "fast food" chain that sponsors lots of Nascar, and before Nascar they were selling at a certain level, as soon as they started sponsoring a Nascar team and races the sales went up by unbelievable margins. The power of tv advertising cannot be overstated, it is still above all the most effective way to reach people. And nowadays, when people can flip away from commercials, things like sponsoring the replay and the features are where its at. Many people believe that "oh its a waste, no one watches the commercials." but its still untrue. To see the difference in sales from weeks when some advertisers are actually airing commercials to weeks when they are not is astonishing. NASCAR viewers especially are unbelievably loyal to team & driver sponsors. Take it from someone in the business, its sickening but its legitimate.

On a personal level, I don't even watch TV except some history channel and Formula 1, AMA & WSBK racing on speed. I watch motoGP via the internet(no commercial interruption :tongue.

 

[TravellinJones]

What do people talk about the day after the Superbowl? The game? No, the commercials. Because esporters all have extremely high IQ's we aren't taken in by the hype, but it's not aimed at us. It's directed at the millions upon millions of cretins who get a headache trying to decide between Coke and Pepsi.

Branding. Name recognition. It drives everything anymore, including politics. That's why George Bush is president. It's why Arnold Shwartzenegger is governor of California. It's why Hillary Clinton is a member of the United States Senate, and discussed seriously as a potential presidential candidate.

 

[Kricket]

[ QUOTE ]
StuDaddy said:
And Kricket... you're right about the repetition thing. Take one guess what number I'll call if I need next day carpet or siding? (you should know this... you live in the area)

[/ QUOTE ]

[musically]One Eight Hund-red Five Eight Eight....Two Three Hundred....Em-pire![/musically] Call Empire today!

I always figured Ahnold got gub'na because people saw him in movies and associated the role he played with his real personality.

Coke or Pepsi? I worked for Pepsi for 4 years and still drank milk all the time...:lol:

 

[MrBungle]

[ QUOTE ]
Kricket said:

Coke or Pepsi? I worked for Pepsi for 4 years and still drank milk all the time...:lol:

[/ QUOTE ]

Well then, obviously you've "Got Milk" :lol:

 

[F4iHigh]

Its the sad reality. Its why the presidential election is a marketing campaign, not a political one. Its the unfortunate spin off of technology and the open market. Advertising is advertising, and there's nothing really wrong with trying to get a message to consumers. But I think alot of people forget to be tasteful in their approach. I guess its a fine line between letting people know what you have & whoring.