Advertising posts January 25, 2003 3:55 PM   Subscribe

Let's recommit ourselves to keeping advertising
separate from content.
posted by cadastral to Etiquette/Policy at 3:55 PM (66 comments total)

Not bitching... not pointing fingers... not naming names... but this should probably not happen ever.
posted by cadastral at 3:57 PM on January 25, 2003


It is a perennial (perineal?) issue. Expect more of this in the next two days. Go Bucs!
posted by piskycritter at 4:11 PM on January 25, 2003


"If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well it were done quickly." -Macbeth
posted by hama7 at 4:12 PM on January 25, 2003


Agreed in principle, but how is this different than the Michael Jordan Gatorade post?

(Links to all the Superbowl commercials will be available on usatoday.com on Monday, btw)
posted by PrinceValium at 4:13 PM on January 25, 2003


I thought it was an interesting idea; bending the 'rules' of advertising by blurring reality, (I couldn't tell if it was a hoax or not the first time I saw it) having the main character a reprobate, and it was funny. I missed it on TV, but I'm a bit outside broadcasting range.

If it must go, then go it shall, with my apologies.
posted by hama7 at 4:29 PM on January 25, 2003



posted by four panels at 4:37 PM on January 25, 2003


Agreed in principle, but how is this different than the Michael Jordan Gatorade post?

My guess would be that the link to the "making of" article made it seem less like a blatant advertisement. And that the article put the ad in the context of Jordan's career further distracted the ad message. Good question though.
posted by bobo123 at 4:38 PM on January 25, 2003


I thought it was an interesting idea; bending the 'rules' of advertising by blurring reality, (I couldn't tell if it was a hoax or not the first time I saw it) having the main character a reprobate, and it was funny.

Well, it is, after all, an ad for Nike. How real could it be?

I think if you had maybe expounded on your post a bit more, people wouldn't have reacted the way they did.

As it is, since you provided zero commentary, its more of an ad than an interesting link.
posted by bshort at 4:42 PM on January 25, 2003


of course, tomorrow there will be a flurry of superb owl ads posted, but hey, it's superb owl...

superb owl® is a registered trademark of the pretty generic corporation.
posted by quonsar at 4:55 PM on January 25, 2003


Well, it is, after all, an ad for Nike. How real could it be?

I think the ramifications for an ad of this type are enormous. If Nike can do it, who can't?

In other words; how accurate is the information that we receive, by supposedly 'authentic' sources, which is also transmitted via highly malleable and alterable mediums?

I guess, unfortunately, lots of people would rather make funny faces at Nike.
posted by hama7 at 5:03 PM on January 25, 2003


on second thought, that should go in the thread
posted by hama7 at 5:08 PM on January 25, 2003


hoot! seen the news lately?
posted by quonsar at 5:08 PM on January 25, 2003


we can't discuss interesting ads? i'm glad this came up because i wouldn't have thought twice about linking to an ad i thought to be especially worthy of notice and discussion.
posted by nthdegx at 5:10 PM on January 25, 2003


hoot! seen the news lately?

No. I give up.
posted by hama7 at 5:10 PM on January 25, 2003


we can't discuss interesting ads? i'm glad this came up because i wouldn't have thought twice about linking to an ad i thought to be especially worthy of notice and discussion.

I wouldn't think that the discussion of ads is being questioned.

We can opine and praise and complain to our hearts' content, but it really should be put into a larger context.... "This is so cool!" posts don't do much for generating productive dialogue. ("This is so wrong!" is only marginally better).
posted by cadastral at 5:22 PM on January 25, 2003


At least it isn't another Apple switch ad post.
posted by iconomy at 5:34 PM on January 25, 2003


People need to chill out. Yeah, it's a popular ad, but it does push the boundaries with humor a bit, no? Something worth discussing no?

Also, I am amazed how fast Nike's servers are. I've never had a movie download instantly, then faster than it plays. Maybe it's on a local server and I don't know it.

I deleted all the whining in the thread, because I think a few people overreacted a bit.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 5:44 PM on January 25, 2003


Wouldn't it be nice if companies didn't have to stoop to all this chicanery and humor?

I mean, "Just Do It" is all I ever needed to know. I think Nike should Just Stick to what they do best. The Nike I knew and loved, Just Did It When They Had To. These are athletic devices, not some to be taken lightly malt beverage for Christ's sake.
posted by crasspastor at 6:03 PM on January 25, 2003


Fuck Nike.

That said, I wasn't really interested in watching one of their ads, so I just skipped the thread.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:27 PM on January 25, 2003


Let's recommit ourselves

?
posted by eddydamascene at 6:42 PM on January 25, 2003


Good thing nobody noticed that my recent post was a lot of googling just to cover up the fact that I just wanted to post a commercial.

Maybe it was the babes.

That's it, here are the three ways you can post a commercial to Metafilter:

1) It's Apple Related
2) Use Google's "I'm Feeling Lucky" to add useless garbage to your post
3) Lesbians.



All is right in the world.
posted by Stan Chin at 6:46 PM on January 25, 2003


Or is it all right in the world? That makes two. I'm willing to concede that hama7's link is a pretty funny commercial, (the problem is that I've seen it more times than I can count in the last fiew days.) But what's the use of posting that freaking VW convertible ad that's been on the tv at every fucking commercial break?
posted by eyeballkid at 6:56 PM on January 25, 2003


cad: I suppose then that discussing potato chips "should probably not happen ever" as well.
posted by mischief at 7:04 PM on January 25, 2003


(Warning : Deliberately provocative foldie-esque comment ahead.)

Advertising and marketing are taking the place of public discourse all over the world these days, after all. Joe Consumer increasingly defines his personality and social cohort by the products and companies to which he is loyal. Why not on MeFi too?

--
[This post brought to you by Seagram's Distilleries. Seagram's : it makes you smarter and better looking!]
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:11 PM on January 25, 2003


*nodding agreement, jotting furiously into her Moleskine notebook*
posted by iconomy at 7:14 PM on January 25, 2003


Ha!
posted by timeistight at 7:28 PM on January 25, 2003


MetaFilter: Less Filling. Tastes Great.
posted by quonsar at 7:31 PM on January 25, 2003


I'm going to reveal this right now so I can link back to it in a "Gotcha" Metatalk post months (or maybe even years) from now.

I will complete the trifecta of a Pro-Nike, Pro-Microsoft, and Pro-SUV post to Metafilter, and each will receive positive praise. It will raise positive awareness of the product, without anyone even noticing.

This will be my ultimate goal as a Metafilter poster, and will test my daft marketing and advertising skills. If you're smart, you'll keep this comment in the back of your mind, and maybe you'll catch me. In which case, I will buy you a pony.
posted by Stan Chin at 7:41 PM on January 25, 2003


I knew Stan was evil.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:47 PM on January 25, 2003


"daft marketing and advertising skills"

parapraxis? Or sly admission?
posted by vraxoin at 9:24 PM on January 25, 2003


I will complete the trifecta of a Pro-Nike, Pro-Microsoft, and Pro-SUV post to Metafilter, and each will receive positive praise. It will raise positive awareness of the product, without anyone even noticing.

You're mad, Chin, mad! It'll never work; someone will stop you. Maybe not me, but... but... somebody.
posted by Hildago at 10:03 PM on January 25, 2003


At least no one has crossed the line yet.

Television advertising is in a pretty serious state of flux right now, new strategies are being developed to stay ahead of consumer technology like TiVo, and the internet is starting to pick up some of the massive corporate US marketing budgets... and it's seeping on to metafilter. We're about a year away from 75% of spam including streaming audio or video.
posted by jdaura at 10:29 PM on January 25, 2003


Joe Consumer increasingly defines his personality and social cohort by the products and companies to which he is loyal. Why not on MeFi too?

My fellow wonderchicken, the ad(s) in question have no more robotically induced me to buy Nike, VW, or various snack products, any more than a Tiffany's ad would brainwash me into buying a kerjillion-dollar watch. Have they you?

They're ads, not digital brain-altering microchip darts.

In other news: I, for one, am looking forward to the Stan-liminal ad-vasion!
posted by hama7 at 2:22 AM on January 26, 2003


what iconomy implied
posted by andrew cooke at 4:02 AM on January 26, 2003




They're ads, not digital brain-altering microchip darts.

We are the only ones talking about it (as far as I'm concerned) with a political thrust. Everyone else is enveloped in that warm Portlandic Glow they import from Bangladesh after they run it past Nike's "Chill For Me" dept.

Next month, after shooting a vast and cgied brain-swoosh, they gotz people everywhere huddled round their Seattle's Best and Mount Hood's Crystal Clear No Mumbo Jumbo Spring Water talking about just how fucking hilarious a plantation owner Nike simply is.

sssssvheeeeew. In the neck.

:::::A Brain Altering Microchip Dart has just been added to your inventory ___DaRk_MARAUDER___:::::
posted by crasspastor at 4:59 AM on January 26, 2003


Yeah an ad is a thing isn't it? Which can be pointed to and discussed. We're all adults here (I think). An advert is a valid cultural text. Right on. Just like anything, like some dumbass flash designer making meaningless patterns that follow your mouse pointer. Why are people bothered huh?
posted by mokey at 5:02 AM on January 26, 2003


So the post didn't have insightful commentary in it to kickstart my weedy brain into pondering deep issues, do I really need this kind of helpful nudge every time? Seems to me that the thread could have developed into something quite interesting if people weren't so dead-set on cluttering it up by repeatedly pointing out that "THIS IS AN ADVERT, PEOPLE. IT WILL DESTROY YOU AND ALL THAT YOU HOLD DEAR."
posted by MUD at 5:56 AM on January 26, 2003


hello. my name is andrew. i saw a "because it's not the loneliness that hurts: asics" ad in a magazine about 20 years ago. i am a culturally-aware/self-aware post-modern, well-educated member of the intelligensia with a fully functioning sense of irony that still runs in asics. i am ill and in need help.
posted by andrew cooke at 7:19 AM on January 26, 2003


well, hama7 didn't post it to engender discussion. it was a "wowie, cool ad" post of a wowie cool ad most of us have been subjected to numerous times via the idiot box, which is where such things belong. he invented the lame cultural implications justification after he saw the criticism, else he'd have touched on them in the original post. and bossman, wanting to post in the thread himself and only recently become tired of the incessantly nattering meficops he himself spawned and encouraged these last years, scoured all the early criticism from the thread manually. in response, a certain wag soon posted the vw beetle ad. all in all, a very entertaining series of events. you just can't get this kinda slippery slope fun at slashdot!
posted by quonsar at 7:34 AM on January 26, 2003


slippery slope? haven't we already hit bottom?
posted by crunchland at 7:55 AM on January 26, 2003


note re: post-posting review of above - surround the whole post in <good natured ribbing> tags. i really like hama and bossman and mefi, cops and all.
posted by quonsar at 7:55 AM on January 26, 2003


crunch - that WOULD explain the loud thudding sound.
posted by quonsar at 7:56 AM on January 26, 2003


note re: post-posting review of above - surround the whole post in tags. i really like hama and bossman and mefi, cops and all.

[chants]: QUONSAR'S GETTIN' SOFT! QUONSAR'S GETTIN' SOFT! [/chants]
posted by dash_slot- at 9:18 AM on January 26, 2003

haven't we already hit bottom?
Only if you wanna get slapped, sweetie! ;-P
posted by mischief at 9:25 AM on January 26, 2003


But what's the use of posting that freaking VW convertible ad that's been on the tv at every fucking commercial break?

It gets better.

("have to admit it's getting better, getting better all the time..." </philips>)
posted by mattpfeff at 9:44 AM on January 26, 2003


[This post brought to you by Seagram's Distilleries. Seagram's : it makes you smarter and better looking!]

No, it makes you smarter and the broads at the other end of the bar better-looking...
posted by jonmc at 11:00 AM on January 26, 2003


won't somebody please think of the children?

Joe Consumer increasingly defines his personality and social cohort by the products and companies to which he is loyal.

Do you really believe this?
posted by eddydamascene at 12:13 PM on January 26, 2003


his tv told him so.
posted by quonsar at 1:37 PM on January 26, 2003


Yeah, this is one of the things that keeps me from visiting Metafilter on a regular basis anymore. I'm not surprised that you get pissed all over in this thread for speaking the truth.

Politically incorrect material: quickly deleted by censors.

Viral marketing: not deleted by censors and often praised even though it's just more crap trying to get you to buy stuff you don't need (nice post, four panels, BTW).

That fucking sucks. I'm totally against censorship, but this has become a weird dichotomy on Metafilter.
posted by mark13 at 2:32 PM on January 26, 2003


Viral marketing is not magic... an advertiser
quonsar: .
posted by eddydamascene at 2:52 PM on January 26, 2003


whoops.
Viral marketing is not magic... an advertiser makes something that people find interesting, and those people show it to other people. No mind control, just ordinary people complicit in the spread of advertising messages because they find something of value in the ad itself.
posted by eddydamascene at 3:12 PM on January 26, 2003


mark13: your argument about Matt's censorship is not convincing. He removed the meta comments from the thread and now they are here. Even your swipe at the corporate mind-controllers (Matt apparently in your view their hapless hand puppet) will survive completely uncensored.
posted by found missing at 3:13 PM on January 26, 2003


will survive completely uncensored.
albeit, buried on page 23, next to the farm report.
posted by quonsar at 3:32 PM on January 26, 2003


#mefi superbowl meetup!
posted by sgt.serenity at 3:43 PM on January 26, 2003


he invented the lame cultural implications justification after he saw the criticism, else he'd have touched on them in the original post.

I think that's fabulously unfair among other things, and I think you've said this in about three different threads. Why not just cut-and-paste it? It would prevent a lot of carpal-tunnel stress, and deja-vu and mind-numbing boredom.
posted by hama7 at 4:04 PM on January 26, 2003


i ♥ hama7
posted by quonsar at 5:03 PM on January 26, 2003


stop being nasty to hama7 you brute!
posted by sgt.serenity at 5:41 PM on January 26, 2003


So who is going to slam the door and leave MeFi forever about this?
posted by qbert72 at 9:06 PM on January 26, 2003


So who is going to slam the door and leave MeFi forever about this?

This is pretty much a string of one-liners and snippy bitchouts masquerading as an actual discussion. No one, I suspect, which is as it should be.

~chuckle~
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:24 PM on January 26, 2003


'cause ya served it up, and I gotta take a swing at it:

MetaFilter: a string of one-liners and snippy bitchouts masquerading as an actual discussion.
posted by Vidiot at 10:41 PM on January 26, 2003


Sorry for interrupting the one-liners and snippy bitchouts, but could someone tell me what was particularly interesting about the Nike ad - or the VW ad - again?

Does this mean I can start posting links to every cool song I hear on the radio? I know advertising's [cough] the West's most fascinating art form and all, but do the rest of us get equal time?
posted by mediareport at 11:32 PM on January 26, 2003


I just want to point out that I hadn't seen the ad, and I probably won't see most of the "cool" ads during the Super Bowl.

Canadian stations often "simulcast" the show and insert their own commercials into the time slots. Even if my tv is turned to an American station, the Canadian station "overrides" the signal and you end up having the Canadian commercials on BOTH channels.

So what was interesting about the ads?
I'd never seen them before. That's what was interesting to me. Does that mean I'm a sad little consumer if I want to see witty/original commercials? Probably, but I don't care what you think of me anyways.
posted by grum@work at 8:23 AM on January 27, 2003


consume
posted by crunchland at 10:16 AM on January 27, 2003


[Thom lifts hand]
*gulp*
[Thom sets drink down, slams quarter on desk]
*splash*
[Thom looks to right]
Consume. The teachings of college.
posted by thomcatspike at 3:09 PM on January 27, 2003


Gulp.

Gulp.

Gulp.

Gulp.

Mmmm. Aaaah.

...

Damn. That hole in my soul is still there.

Gulp.

Gulp.

Gulp.
posted by mediareport at 5:24 PM on January 27, 2003


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