+ Reply to thread
Results 1 to 8 of 8

Thread: Ads that will make the future cringe

  1. #1
    Content Generator AllWalker's avatar
    Registered
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Antipodea
    Posts
    1,479

    Default Ads that will make the future cringe

    We've all seen those ads from way back when that make you want to laugh and hurt someone at the same time. The ads that imply women are helpless, fragile creatures, the ads that say you should give your baby soft drink instead of breast milk, the ads that say smoking cures throat conditions.

    But do you ever stop to think about what ads we are showing now that, 50 years from now, will be horrifying? I don't mean the occasional one-off ad (there are a lot of really sexist deoderant ads, at least here) but a whole recurring theme in advertising.

    One possibility that comes to mind are junk food ads. They are often pitched at the idea that buying deep fried synthetic proteins will bring your family together. With obesity being health problem number 1, I bet future generations will be asking themselves "what the hell were they thinking?"

    Some car ads, perhaps? A lot of car ads are emphasising either environmental friendliness or safety, but compared to the tech they will hopefully have, even the best of our cars will be stinking toxic death traps.

    Oil companies being responsible... well, that is already looking ridiculous.

    Any others?
    Something tells me we haven't seen the last of foreshadowing.

  2. #2
    Oliphaunt
    Registered
    Feb 2009
    Location
    978 land
    Posts
    1,009

    Default

    Maybe the ads that portray adult men as helpless simpletons when it comes to things like child care, shopping, cooking or cleaning?

  3. #3
    Elephant artifex's avatar
    Registered
    Apr 2009
    Posts
    566

    Default

    I agree about the ads that portray men as domestic morons. I think it's ridiculously sexist.

    Also the ads promising that high fructose corn syrup is perfectly harmless, which I see as the modern equivalent of those old tobacco ads.

  4. #4
    Oliphaunt
    Registered
    Feb 2009
    Location
    978 land
    Posts
    1,009

    Default

    Quote Originally posted by artifex View post
    ...

    Also the ads promising that high fructose corn syrup is perfectly harmless, which I see as the modern equivalent of those old tobacco ads.

    Oh, yeah! I couldn't believe that when I saw it...I thought it had to be a spoof.

    I just realized the other day that there is a breakfast cereal called Reese's Puffs advertised heavily on Nickolodeon. I remember when I was a kid people freaked out because Cookie Crisps were a cereal based on baked treats. Now we have a cereal based on a candy.

  5. #5
    Oliphaunt Rube E. Tewesday's avatar
    Registered
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    7,743

    Default

    Given how cringe-worthy they already are, I don't think the commercials that promise middle-aged men hot young tail if they use hair-colouring products will age well.

  6. #6
    Oliphaunt Taumpy's avatar
    Registered
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Boston, MA
    Posts
    1,356

    Default

    I don't know if ads like this are still airing, but I remember during the 90's there were a lot of them aimed at kids where the message was essentially "Bored? Eat this snack!" Like "Snap into a SlimJim!"

    Those should be cringe-worthy now, actually, but I've never heard any outrage directed toward them.
    Taumpy: Oh noes, you aren't a super powerful wave of destruction.
    Panther Squad: It's true! My scythe does not shorn the biomonsters in great swaths like it ought!

  7. #7
    I've had better days, but I don't care! hatesfreedom's avatar
    Registered
    Mar 2009
    Posts
    1,127

    Default

    Marketing is the hostile use of Psychology for a monetary purpose. Who are you to stop such a noble campaign?

  8. #8
    Content Generator AllWalker's avatar
    Registered
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Antipodea
    Posts
    1,479

    Default

    Quote Originally posted by Laughing Lagomorph View post
    Maybe the ads that portray adult men as helpless simpletons when it comes to things like child care, shopping, cooking or cleaning?
    Quote Originally posted by artifex View post
    I agree about the ads that portray men as domestic morons. I think it's ridiculously sexist.
    This is one of those things that confuses me. Ads down under seem to err on the other side - aside from cleaning products, most products featuring a child with a parent will feature the father. Fathers changing nappies, fathers playing with kids, etc etc.

    As much as I'd like to pretend that Australia is so much more progressive than the US, we are not. We are similar cultures, though we are far less politically correct, which should count against us in this case.

    There's one thing I've learned about marketing, and that a lot of research goes into a lot of ads. If there is a general trend of some kind, there has to be marketing research to back it up. I would love to get my hands on the studies which show that Australian men can be protrayed as good fathers, but American men can't be. Or shouldn't be, which is pretty much the same thing.
    Last edited by AllWalker; 01 Jul 2010 at 01:24 AM.
    Something tells me we haven't seen the last of foreshadowing.

+ Reply to thread

Posting rules

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts