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Advertising: the Internet's Original Sin

posted by LaminatorX on Monday August 18 2014, @11:22PM   
from the TV-ate-the-apple dept.

germanbird writes:

The Atlantic has posted an interesting article on internet advertising calling it The Internet's Original Sin. Written by Ethan Zuckerman, who worked at Tripod during the birth of online ads, the article does a good job identifying the issues with relying on ads as the primary source of funding behind the internet. Ethan also speculates on some possible solutions to the problem—which mostly lean toward subscriptions as funding.

• Greed + Pride = Capitalism :P (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 19 2014, @07:15AM

  by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 19 2014, @07:15AM (#82950)

  Gordon Gekko's 'Greed is good' and other memorable quotes from WALL STREET (1987)

  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094291/quotes [imdb.com]

  Advertising itself as a whole feeds on peoples greed and pride when the items advertised are 'big ticket' ones like luxury cars like the notorious Lexus ads....

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16hPBsw2Uy4 [youtube.com]

  The sad thing about this ad is that it's basically a ripoff of the famous MAXELL breaking glass ad Ella Fitzgerald did back in the day.

  Alas, I can't seem to find it on YouTube so here is the next best thing with the MythBusters

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9CeUoEgOYM [youtube.com]

  The ONLY difference between a luxury car and a used $300 'beater' from 15-20 years ago is basically the pricetag--both are vehicles that will get you from point A to point B without walking, riding a bycicle, riding on/in someone else's vehicle, or taking some sort of public transportation. If you want to get to point B in speed snf/or in style you WILL pay for it...or steal it to go joyriding or as a professional car thief.

  Another factor is commercial broadcast televison where the advertisers are the customers and the audience is the product sold to them by the TV networks. This was POWERFULLY AND VIVIDLY summed up by Arthur Jensen (Ned Beatty) in NETWORK (1976)

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKkRDMil0bw [youtube.com]

  Yet another factor is product placement. Advertisers know people ignore 'real' ads that are shown in 'commercial breaks' so they 'slip' them into the entertainment programs they watch. For observant people, product placement is PAINFULLY obvious unless it is SUBTLY done or is the point of the program!

  I only know of three examples:

  1) The 'breakfast scene' from SUPERMAN (1978).

  This product placement for Cheerios is the GOLD STANDARD of the technique and is the ONLY one of its type. All the rest I've seen stick out like sore thumbs with varying degrees of obviousness. For example, I've seen a number of Jackie Chan's contemporary action films. They were underwritten in part by Mitsubishi Motors through the use of Mitsubishi cars in his films. The way the camera is set up to frame and linger on the Mitsubishi logo on the car's hood is quite 'convenient' and obvious. If you can ignore/overlook that you can enjoy Chan's contemporary actioners like POLICE STORY (1985) and NEW POLICE STORY (2004) which I deem to be Chan's two masterpieces--one directed by him! :D

  ...Action set-pieces are fast and stylized, and there's a memorable climactic showdown on top of the Hong Kong Convention Center, spoiled only by blatant - and intrusive - product placement. Otherwise, this is top-notch entertainment all the way, conceived and executed with genuine cinematic flair.

  --iMDB user Libretio [emphasis mine]
  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386005/reviews-19 [imdb.com]

  See, even someone else noticed product placement in a movie and it took them 'out of the moment'! :(

  The other two movies that 'ran' on product placement were

  2) THE TRUMAN SHOW (1998)

  This movie revolves around a reality show that revolves around the title character Truman Burbank portrayed by Jim Carrey. Instead of commercial breaks, the producers use product placement in order to underwrite it with bizzare and disturbing results!

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Inscky6EyQ8 [youtube.com]

  At the time of this post, it seem the uploader mixed in additonal audio to try to avoid YouTube's 'copyright bot'. It didn't work as the content was identified but the copyright owners of either the song or the movie have not acted and had the clip taken down due to copyright infringement.

  3) THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD (2011)

  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1743720/ [imdb.com]

  A documentary about branding, advertising and product placement that is financed and made possible by brands, advertising and product placement.

  Taglines:
    He's not selling out, he's buying in.

  This film is 'exactly what it says on the tin'. I didn't waste my time watching this film as you get a peek at what goes on behind the scenes to put product placement in the movies and TV shows you watch.

  Here is a whole discussion about good/bad product placement moments:

  What do you think is the best/most obnoxious Product Placement?
  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1743720/board/nest/180492187 [imdb.com]

  In order to keep the gears of capitalism going around and around stuff must be purchased by consumers constantly. Essential consumable commodities are understandable like food but the captains of industry aren't satisfied with that so they came up with the concept of
  'planned obsolscence'. This topic is explored in the brilliant, chilling documentary PYRAMIDS OF WASTE (2010) aka THE LIGHTBULB CONSPIRACY.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViI6uAxqEOY [youtube.com]

  Writer Vance Packard wrote about this topic the book THE WASTE MAKERS which was originally published in 1960.

  In one celebrated case, the mayor of Sao Paulo Brazil, South America had a law passed and had ALL outdoor commercial signage REMOVED!

  Here is an example image--literaly 'before' and 'after'!

  http://www.worldchanging.com/postimages/article/6926_largearticlephoto.jpg [worldchanging.com]

  Disturbing at first but welcome relief to the citizenry constantly bombarded by sales pitches from all the outdoor advertising that was in place before the ban.

  A full 'after' slide show: Sao Paulo: No Logo

  http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonydemarco/sets/72157600075508212/show/ [flickr.com]

  It is strange to see all the emptiness left by the removed signs but it allows one a respite from the 'hard sell' sensory input--giving them a chance to meditate and reflect on the situation at hand and how it affects them and continue to do so in the future.

  Webpage article linked to the above slideshow

  http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/006973.html [worldchanging.com]

  As long as money makes the world go around, there will always be capitalism.

  At least in one case mentioned above, something was done to keep it in check with EFFECTIVE results! :D

  Parent