But one thing that the faithful P1 hears on The Ticket is lots of ads. I've heard a couple recently that reminded me of something I've wondered about for awhile. I think we have some Confessors in the ad biz, so perhaps they can weigh in.
My question is: Why would I ever want to buy a product that is promoted by a repulsive character?
It's been a long time since The Ticket ran this series of Mitsubishi ads, but I'll bet a lot of you remember them. They featured a guy whose voice sounded like he had been gargling asbestos who would call up citizens and berate them for not taking advantage of Mitsubishi's latest deal, or for not owning a Mitsubishi. He treated the people he called like idiots. He was mad at them for their choice of other cars. Offensive by any standard. And this wasn't just a single series of ads -- a new batch would show up every once in awhile. Not blaming The Ticket -- you heard the ads all over.
Mitsubishi may make a fine vehicle. My not buying one is unlikely to influence its choice of advertising themes and pitchmen. But I wonder how many other people reach the same conclusion. I Googled "gravel voice mitsubishi guy" and the first hit I got was a site called "commercialsIhate.com" where one observer wrote, amusingly, "I boycott even thinking of purchasing one of their vehicles. I don't know why they continue to do the same thing every couple of years, but this is one voice over I'd like to punch out if I saw his face. Most annoying radio commercial." (This site does not condone violence even against fictional assholes.)
I thought of this recently in listening to the Kingsford Charcoal commercials. A Kingsford Charcoal fan calls up his buddy in Minnesota and mocks him for his unfortunate choice of places to live. He describes the pleasures of grilling with Kingsford while chortling over his friend's miserable circumstances up north, interspersed with the poor Minnesota schnook moaning about his unpleasant surroundings.
I suppose there is a school of commercial thought that says -- if you remember the name, the ad has done its job. I remember them, you betcha.
The final exhibit doesn't fall into quite this category -- it's the Bud Light "Here we go!" ads. The TV ads feature what looks like a black coach who ends the ads by saying "here we go!" I thought they were really weak -- I haven't seen one in awhile -- but didn't think much more about them. Now we have the radio version with people about to engage in some fun, fun activity, and, on the verge of its commencement, they holler "here we go!" These people don't sound dreadful -- they sound stupid, and very unconvinced that the impending event merits the hearty "here we go's" they bleat out. Didn't beer commercials used to be clever?
End of rant. Back to Ticket-friendly topics next time.
