(no subject)

[deckardcanine]

I've seen a rise in ads on subways and bus stations that say very little -- just enough to pique your curiosity -- and then give a URL. I find it vaguely annoying, but it probably works in terms of gaining attention and therefore won't let up any time soon.

The first example I noticed was T.G.I. Friday's proclaiming that they've changed...somehow. I felt inclined to let it slide, because there could be far too many changes for a poster to list. Alas, the website doesn't make it clear what's new besides the decor, assuming that's not all. Only people who've been to Friday's fairly recently would know, and they're not the ones requiring outreach. (I wouldn't go anyway because it's too distant.)

A worse offender is the ad I saw today for Discover Card, with the slogan "It is human." Even the site doesn't explain it. This obliges me to crack wise: "So your card makes a lot of mistakes?"

Comments

[nefaria.livejournal.com]

Those type of ads annoy me because I don't have a smart phone and accompanying $40+ per month data plan. All I get from the ads is the vague feeling that I'm missing out on something.

[deckardcanine.livejournal.com]

I rarely use my smartphone for the Net anyway; I just try to remember the URL if I care.

[thefoxaroo.livejournal.com]

So advertisers are trying that trick now?

I'd noticed a few years back that movie posters these days give you little or no clue as to what to expect in a movie. Like you said "just enough to pique your curiosity." On me it has the opposite effect; I'm not going to watch a film unless I have a good impression of what I'm going to see. I learned that from my father who probably over the course of his lifetime blew over a thousand dollars by seeing well over half the movies as they came out, and then he'd complain about how much he hated a particular film because he didn't try to find out anything about it. Granted there was no internet back then but apparently he never tried asking anyone who had seen the films first.

When it comes to product advertisments I'm more skeptical still. If an advertisement doesn't describe the product adequately then there's a good chance I'm not going to be interested.

[stevenroy.livejournal.com]

"Discover" is still around, even?

Oh man. If I -ever- see that slogan anywhere, I'm sticking a piece of tape over it with "To err" written on it. Their choice of slogan has already proven the point!