sales, marketing and bad advertisements

I watch TV a lot, so I have seen a great many ads come and go, I have marvelled at some, changed channels at some and written hate mail about yet others. One thing I have noticed is that unlike everything else in the world, adverts do not get better with time. One would think that with improvements in level of technology at their disposal, companies would at least create decent ads, so that they too evolve alongside everything else. But no. Those Harpic™ people just had to go and make that thingie about some housewives being interviewed and their toilets getting transformed, and then the ads always end with some cheesy punchline like "Oh my God I cant believe it looks so clean." Puh'leeeese!! I have never understood why that ad was run to begin with, but even pros make mistakes so maybe we can let that pass, but by Jove! It's been running for two years! And to make matters worse, it's an ad for toilet stuff that runs round about supper time [OK, that one I blame the networks for]

Another one is that one for Ushindi™ where the kids go bathe with their clothes on, then the father comes home from work and does the same. Intended message: Ushindi™ washes clothes as well as bodies. But honestly, all at the same time?!?! It does look a lil bit out of this world, then of course there is the pertinent issue of how the clothes are expected to dry on peoples' bodies... [maybe Ushindi™ is absorbent too? :)]

Talk about metaphors being stretched too far, and immediately to mind comes Omo™. A mother and daughter are cooking then the girl puts too much rice bla bla ti bla bla ta... Intended lesson [they even state it]: A little goes a long way. But people who dint do Literature gitch that Omo™ is such a good additive to cook your rice with that it will multiply and overflow. And can we blame them really? There's a kitchen, there's rice overflowing after being cooked and it's an Omo™ ad so go figure

Then there's the Standard group. These people have a product they almost dont need to advertise[News and events], yet somehow they do. Now my only problem with their ads is the length[considering they own the network, maybe a three minute ad is short for them, even tho the rest are like 30seconds each] and the soundtrack. Wherever they get their tracks from, they need to fire those people, or at least reduce loudness to mask how blaring they usually are. Or they could talk to the EABL people.

Now, Im not in marketing, and some have said about me that I wouldnt be able to sell an umbrella to a person for half the price if it was raining, but I believe it doesnt take a rocket scientist to realize when an ad is whack, and most of our ads, truth be told they're just whack. They're supposed to arouse a passion in someone, to make someone wanna see more, to actually create sales where none existed [hence or otherwise increase market share and revenue- the raison d'etre for most marketing departments]. But frankly all they cause one to do is hate on the respective mother company. And then again, maybe it's just me.
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