[budster101]

Ok, this thread spawned from the Adobe buys Macromedia thread, but it was going off on a tangent of how Marketing drives profits not the best product, etc., etc., etc., and I was going to post how much I hate commercials because they make stupid people just go out and buy a product based on marketing and not how good a product it actually is. This in effect, offers a reward, not to the best product in the industry per se, but the best product marketing.

Look at Microsoft. Marketing. Marketing. Marketing. (As proposed by another NN member, to give credit where it's due.)

I was then thinking, what other industry really capitalized on marketing alone to drive their profits while their product remains unchanged as provided by my own sampels below.

Pharmaceuticals:

They are guilty in a big way. They milk a product cycle, and then just before the patent runs out and it has to go generic, they make a few changes and then repatent the products... makes me ill. <pun intended>

Automobile Manufacturers:

Oh my, do we ever fall for this one. They play on our idea of what sexy is, and our emotions at the moment. Too many sneaky tricks of what they do, and many I'm sure I don't know. This goes as well for their Dealerships. <cough>"cash back"</cough> riiight.

Software Manufactureres:

As was mentioned in the other forum. They don't fix bugs, they just add new features...

Soda Manufacturers:

It's sugar, coloring, some artificial flavors and some bubbles people... Vanilla, Cherry, etc.
How much can they change this basic anti-heath food group, and market it as if it was "All new and improved".

Airlines:

Uhm, forget the cheap tickets, give me some friggin leg room, breathable air, and a wait that doesn't take 2 hours. Don't forget to "NOT" lose my luggage...
Don't you love those artistic, hand-drawn commercials by United?, how romantic. The guy flies his entire life, missing most of his kids and wife's, and they can romaticize about him going off into the sunset, looking up and missing that life....

Orange Juice Manufacturers:

Come on, it's orange juice. How many things can you do to it?
Those commercials where they hand the freshly squeezed OJ throught the grove into the refrigeration section.. right. Again. It's fresh. We get it.

The power company:

We need you. No need wasting money on ADs... just lower your incredibly high rates for christ's sake.

The telephone companies (Wireless:

One of the worst offenders of them all. They are all crooks. It's as if they took their lessons from BLOCKBUSTER video or vice versa... who knows?

Which brings me to the last.

Blockbuster / Best Buy:

I lumped them together because they both suck equally.
They both hire morons for managers and employees who don't know sh from shinola.

Crooks. The lot.

[JHromadka]

[jyunderwood]

this is stuff for a blog but I'll chime in as far as tv commercial pet peeves. there is a commercial in here I hate it's the bigger in texas, better in a dodge commercial.... hate it.

and I also think pharmaceutical companies shouldn't do TV commercials. when I saw bill marr in austin he did a bit about "you know those pharmaceutical commercials that say 'ask your doctor about...' when you ask your doctor about a drug, doesn't that make him a dealer instead of a doctor?" I think that rings true.

[Captain Obvious]

This is a stupid thread with a pointless argument. There is such a thing as consumer choice and if the marketing bothers you so much on your part you can ignore it. The fact that it is effective is a rather moronic thing to complain about.

It exists, it works, and if you don’t like it you can change the channel or if you are really desperate you can turn your head away. Most of the gripes here are unrelated to marketing and have more to do with other issues anyway.
Seriously, shut up.

[xi_hyperon]

Originally Posted by budster101

Airlines:

Uhm, forget the cheap tickets, give me some friggin leg room, breathable air, and a wait that doesn't take 2 hours.

2 hours... heh. That's if everything is going fine when changing planes. Try a 4-6 hour delay. Thank God for airport bars and wi-fi!

[iMOTOR]

Originally Posted by budster101

Blockbuster / Best Buy:

yes indeed, they suck, but every time I go to bb there's always a bazillion people there. I can't dig that.

[cjrivera]

Originally Posted by jyunderwood

and I also think pharmaceutical companies shouldn't do TV commercials. when I saw bill marr in austin he did a bit about "you know those pharmaceutical commercials that say 'ask your doctor about...' when you ask your doctor about a drug, doesn't that make him a dealer instead of a doctor?" I think that rings true.

I hate pharmaceutical commercials for the public. I understand the need for marketing many different items directly to consumers, but it really is a waste of money to market to patients who don't make the final decision on prescriptions. That $ could go to reducing the cost of meds to the patients.

[jyunderwood]

Originally Posted by cjrivera

I hate pharmaceutical commercials for the public. I understand the need for marketing many different items directly to consumers, but it really is a waste of money to market to patients who don't make the final decision on prescriptions. That $ could go to reducing the cost of meds to the patients.

Yeah. A spot on Frontline from 2003 said those companies spend 13% on R&D and 16% on Marketing (though 80% of the marketing is geared towards doctors and includes samples)

Total crazy.

[Patty]

Originally Posted by Mr. Budster

They are guilty in a big way. They milk a product cycle, and then just before the patent runs out and it has to go generic, they make a few changes and then repatent the products... makes me ill.

I agree with you on this point! That is a very dodgy way to conduct business.

~Patty

[demograph68]

[Realplayer preview]

http://www.sutjhally.com/onlinepubs/apocalypse.html

"With advertising messages on everything from fruit on supermarket shelves, to urinals, and to literally the space beneath our feet (Bamboo lingerie conducted a spray-paint pavement campaign in Manhattan telling consumers that "from here it looks likes you could use some new underwear"), it should not be surprising that many commentators now identify the realm of culture as simply an adjunct to the system of production and consumption.

Indeed so overwhelming has the commercial colonization of our culture become that it has created its own problems for marketers who now worry about how to ensure that their individual message stands out from the "clutter" and the "noise" of this busy environment. In that sense the main competition for marketers is not simply other brands in their product type, but all the other advertisers who are competing for the attention of an increasingly cynical audience which is doing all it can to avoid ads. In a strange paradox, as advertising takes over more and more space in the culture the job of the individual advertisers becomes much more difficult. Therefore even greater care and resources are poured into the creation of commercial messages --- much greater care than the surrounding editorial matter designed to capture the attention of the audience. Indeed if we wanted to compare national television commercials to something equivalent, it would the biggest budget movie blockbusters. Second by second, it costs more to produce the average network ad than a movie like Jurassic Park."

[Eriamjh]

Phone companies: Someone should be suing them for false advertizing. They say their plan is $19.95. But then you get the bill and even though you made ZERO toll calls, it's $35. State and federal taxes are always there, but there are so many fees that they say they can't control. One of them is a fee for the administration costs involved in charging you the fees! They should be forced to disclose the fees (not just say that the price doesn't include them) and be forced to show the real cost of phone service.

They might as weel have ads that say "Free phone service (does not include cost of plan, taxes, or fees)". What's the difference between that and what they are doing now?

[budster101]

One more thing for ALL television and radio commercials:

The VOLUME goes way UP for them... I've been told this is because they broadcast in mono, but that is rediculous... turn your speakers from stereo to mono and the volume goes down not up.

I hate that.

[Randman]

I hate feminine hygenie product commericals. Somehow I can't get into seeign a commercial with a couple of broads talking to one another (does that even happen?) about "their light days" and spillage.

[budster101]

Oh yeah and those "Period" commercials with the 'red dot' ... ack.