Rants: Dicembre 2002 Archives

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10.12.02

TV Rant - why I hate TV

Because it's such a waste of time. In the time people spend watching TV you could learn an instrument, a foreign language, etc...Just think about it - with 2 hrs a day, you could be pretty good in a foreign language or an instrument in 2 yrs.
Because it's supposed to be relaxing but it makes you tense. It's like putting perfume in the toilet - it doesn't get rid of the smell - just covers it up temporarily with another smell which usually isn't very nice either. People are always saying things like: "I just want to have some time to relax in front of the TV, it's so nice to just switch off". If filling your head with (usually) mindless rubbish is relaxing and consitutes switching off, then what is it that needs to be switched off - what's going on in their head that they want to block it out so much?
Because it manipulates your mind. It's full of adverts which people get paid a lot of money for just to make you do things you don't really want to do. See here
Because it kills childrens' brains and sensitivity. See here for some excellent stuff on the case against TV.
Because it's addictive.
Because most of it is bollocks particularly in Italy. See here
Because most people have it on just to fill a void in their lives
Because people put it on without considering whether their neighbours want to hear it too. I have developed a special machine (an mp3 on my laptop), which I call "the Rossanitizer" after my neighbour (who BTW is really nice), which plays white noise quite loudly so I don't have to listen to that crap every evening. It's a bit like passive smoking I suppose.
Because it gives you false expectations of life. For example most people never see inside the lives of other couples because it's kind of private so they form a picture based on movies etc... of what life in a couple should be like. Then they get disappointed when it's not like that and bust up. Sounds a bit cranky but I know so many couples who bust up because they have overly-idealistic expectaions of what it should be like. It might be like that for a bit but every real couple I know goes through tough times and the intense love part inevetably wears off after a year or so.

As for interactive TV, the situation is far worse. Have a read of this and this:

Advertising Rant

Before I start, I want to be clear that I'm not saying all advertising is bad. Touting your trade has been a necessary part of human life since language began and probably before. People handing out leaflets with simple information about gigs or products are not doing any harm in my view. I don't see much wrong with Google ad-sense or whatever it's called, because it's discrete, purely informative and doesn't try to trick you. It's when they start trying to trick you that I'm not so happy. Even this could be seen as fair play in a market economy. But this is just about how to avoid the vicissitudes of psychological slavery.

People think that adverts don't affect them. Everyone I speak to says "Oh I don't think I would buy something because of an advert.". But that's exactly what you're meant to think, stupid. They work subliminally and you really don't know they're getting to you.Read on to see some of the nasty tricks they play on you.

Like this one:

Nasty trick No. 1. Subconscious symbollism. Have you ever noticed that many adverts contain phallic symbols.Long thin things with some sort of fluid coming out of the top, long thin things going through holes. This page shows some really obvious examples. In the Nokia ad, there are 3 phallic symbols, the most obvious being the sprinkler, ejaculating white liquid into the spreadeagled woman's legs - but there is also the pyramid and the tower in the background. Perhaps the grass is a symbol of youth and growth? In the bag advert, there are the two round bags and then the book with the nobby thing on top and then the pot with brushy things coming out of it. I might give them the benefit of the doubt with the chess peices but you never know...

If I think about what's behind that it's really sick - it's deliberate psychological manipulation! People say - well that's not what I think of when I look at it - but that's the whole point of it - they wouldn't show pornographic pictures - they show seemingly innocent pictures which access your subconscious. This is not just random - it's manipulation. Freud, Joseph Campbell and our dreams show us of the importance of symbolism in the human subconscious. Advertisers know all about it. It's not just phallic imagery that gets used either. Images of freedom are also used to ensare you like birds, sailing boats, skiing etc... These guys are very clever.

For some more examples of adverts which manipulate you through your subconscious, check out Here |Here |Here
|Here |Here|Here|Here

Here's another one (below) which I have added to this page recently. There are 2 really obvious ones in this one from a popular British magazine - it's kind of funny once you spot what they're up to- the hair and the 2 round oranges next to the big green column shaped shampoo bottle with the ejaculating liquid right next to it. Then of course, there are the obvious chocolate bar and lipstick felatio ads.

Please send me more if you find them...

One of the things people think they do is to say "Buy this and you can sleep with this sexy woman". But who really believes that. The real trick here is that they make you want something a lot and then show their product, so that you transpose your desire onto that product. It's the same old trick over and over again. Something really desireable which makes you yearn for it, but which you know you can't have like a sexy woman or man (not many people have a supermodel girlfriend), or a young couple in love, humour, laughter, cosiness food, love, cute well behaved children - whatever the people they're targeting most want.

Here are some particularly amusing examples of this particular one (they are Italian sock packets).

Then along with that, the product which you can have (for a fee). OK it's second best but maybe it'll make you feel better?

Playing on your base fears or desires - fear and insecurity - insurance salesmen describing worst case scenarios - what if something goes wrong on holiday - what if your children die etc...
e.g. Adverts for houses play on the desire for a secure, stable environment (and a 200k mortgage??)

Play on a deep fear of missing out or being left out. Limited offer, only for the next week.
Bombardment. A mere awareness of a name is enough to make you choose a product. You might not know anything particular about Ford but because you've heard of it, you'd rather buy one than a Vectron.

Take over a respected source which appears to be unbiased - e.g. pay a tv program or a newspaper to review their product.
Creating spurious associations in your mind - e.g. between cigarettes and sportiness by sponsoring sport.
Ever noticed that the most interesting article in a magazine advertised on the front page is really hard to find inside. So you have to leaf through the whole thing and look at all the ads. Check the index first then leaf through to the page number.
Blatant absurd lies - if you look at it for more than 2 seconds.
Here's an example. "Currys - always cutting prices" (this is a real slogan). Think about that for 4 seconds and you'll realise that if that was true, then pretty soon they'd be giving things away free. Then after that, they'd be paying you to take things away. What goes down must come up....

Also - things like "we only care about YOU" are blatant lies - they care about their profits - OR - more likely - the ad is written by someone who has been paid to write it and has not the slightest idea what the employees of the company care about but they know people are individualists so they write that.
Capitalising on curiosity. Presenting you with something that you have to think about a lot to understand. That way you spend 1 minute thinking about something associated with a product and it sticks in your mind. Can't think of an example but you probably know what I mean.
Perhaps the most ironic technique of them all. The "As individual as YOU are" technique. This is somewhat related to the "stand out from the crowd" technique (see below) as it plays on people's desire to feel special. The basic technique is to emphasise the ego of the person being targeted - to play to people's sense of self-importance. There are so many ads with YOU in capital letters, or emphasised in the voiceover "Made for YOU", "Designed around YOU", "As soft as YOUR skin" etc.... etc... (If I am the target customer, then who else would it be designed around???? If it means me individually then how the hell do they know how individual I am. If I fall for this ad, then I'm certainly not). If you think for a second, these are particularly absurd. How do you know how **** individual I am mate. And if you I fall for your bull, as you're hoping I will, then as you well know, I most certainly am not an individual.

Advertising is often targetted at specific groups - here are some of the techniques I have noticed:

Comes from:

1. Teenagers/young people - "stand out from the crowd" - buy the same product as everyone else we're hoping to persuade with this ad. Be an individual, flout convention, assert your freedom, be a rebel - ( and do what we want you to do along with as many other people as possible) . So many ads (I must find some examples) use this one. Product x means you are an individual - not just a faceless advertising statistic (which of course we're secretly hoping you are). Risquee' jokes.

Other teenager tricks are - no fear - buy a snowboard and you won't be afraid any more. Be accepted by a group of good-looking peers.

2. Smug married family types - security - happy children, familiar not too close to the bone jokes etc...

3. Young children - the worst as they are psychologically defenceless and yet very good at controlling parent purse-strings. I'm not sure what techniques they use - perhaps someone can help me here but I think they use friendly cartoon types like Ronald McDonald and of course they put the sweets at the counter in the supermarket.

I have also noticed a lot of adverts talking about things which seem to be woefully lacking in most people I meet. "Live life to the full" "The excitement of the open road" - buy a 4WD and cruise around London at 4mph. "Pure emotion" - I heard this morning on the radio - I can't remember but it was probably advertising a car or a shampoo or something. It seems that if you appeal to a person's deepest feelings of inadequacy (I think many people feel they live dry, unexciting lives) they won't notice that what you are saying is utterly absurd.

I need to collect some examples of these - any you can send me are welcome.

How to beat it? - be aware of these tricks. There are also some practical measures - don't watch TV or read too many newspapers and check out these links.

Block unwanted banner ads and pop ups using this

Teach your children to deconstruct adverts.
Scupper programs that collect email addresses off the web (asp script)
Adbusters

Essay on Advertising techniques

Supermarket enslavement

Advertising is bad because its whole aim is to make you feel like you're not good enough as you are: that you have to get product x in order to be happy.
Advertising is bad because if people spent less money on advertising and more on making good products or services, everyone would be better off. A simple web site would probably suffice to let people know about services.
Advertising is bad because it is full of lies like 'buy product x and you'll be able to sleep with this sexy woman'
Advertising is bad because it plays on and encourages all our basest instincts.
Advertising is bad because it encourages materialism, consumerism and selfishness.
Advertising is bad because it controlls your mind.
Advertising is bad because it invades your privacy via spam, junk mail, bill boards
Advertising is bad because it clouds your mind. Do you really want to be bombarded with useless information from morning to night.
Advertising is bad because it gives you a false idea of reality. Smiling happy couples everywhere - so why is the divorce rate over 50%??
Advertising is bad because it encourages impatience. Buy now.
Advertising offers you freedom, untamed spirit, wildness - and it gives you conformity and stress.

Here are some more pictures in my collection:

Posted by Giles at 10:03 | Comments (8)