Resolution for 2008! Not Taking Advertising/Marketing Too Seriously!
With all the year end lists and predictions, I thought this spoof question from the New York Times Q&A with Stuart Elliott was worth sharing (If I could find a URL that links directly to this q&a online, I would). As we head into 2008, let’s be careful not to take advertising/marketing too seriously (after all, there’s always another campaign to critique around the corner…)
Q: [Reader]
I recently saw a commercial where someone does something that I
felt compelled to over-analyze in detail. While I admit to not being
the product’s target audience, I was shocked that the ad agency didn’t
bother to solicit my personal opinion before embarking on the campaign.
Didn’t anybody realize that the commercial would fail to pander
to my subculture? As a consumer, I feel entitled to brand messages
emphasizing corporations’ supposed solidarity with my specific values.
Whatever absurd amount of market research they’re conducting on their
spots, it must not be nearly enough.
If I can’t see my own face reflected in their commercials, they
should get back to work. Because otherwise, the only thing I get out of
their campaign is a smug sense of superiority.
Oh, and may I ask: Did I detect the voice talents of the late Marcel Marceau in that narration-free spot?
A: [Stuart Elliott]
Thanks, dear reader, for the delightful spoof of some of the
questions that reach my in-box. It is a good note on which to end the Q
& A’s for the year.
