What would advertising have you believe?
 

This is different from the "Are you influenced by..." thread.

Of course we're influenced. That's the world we live in. But what I'm more interested in talking about is what advertising would have you believe, regardless of whether or not you think it's an influence.

For example, according to TV commercials, the average American male is overweight, dumb, and lazy. Also, most young kids 17-24 are out all the time doing really edgy things like filling empty pools with couch cushions and diving into them while drunk on vodka. There are still stay-at-home moms who do all the cleaning, cooking, and grocery shopping; men never grocery shop unless they're forced to or are buying beer, and if they're buying beer they're likely picking it up at the convenience store and not a grocery store or beer/wine specialty shop.

Talk about the dumb things advertisers want you to believe.

Nobody likes my thread.

That Axe products actually smell like something other than piss and fried food.

Ha ha. Those womens must love the bad smell.

Something else: According to TV advertisers, we Americans all live in huge-ass houses. Even the apartments on TV are huge.

We are indeed a culture of excess. We are also a fast-paced, "want-it-NOW" society.
Since we are also into thin and outwardly beautiful, I would say:
All advertisements that promote instant weight loss: Take just 2 pills a day and drop 20 pounds within 2 weeks. FUCK OFF! I really hate those most of all.

What I'm interested in is not so much emotional reactions (I'm disgusted by advertising too!) but rather kind of a "looking through" them to see what they're assumptions are about us, the stereotypes they try to sell, etc.

In every restaurant commerical, everybody is always laughing and smiling hugely. How can they laugh so hard all the time and not choke on their food? This doesn't fit my reality. Whenever I eat out, I see mostly people who look very deadpan and even almost joyless. According to these commercials, if we're not having an over the top hilarious time while we eat, we can't be enjoying our meals.

...see above response. Disregard everything after "FUCK OFF"...
So...thin and beautiful. I consider this a stereotype because if you're thin and beautiful then you of course must be happpppy.

This is true. Other observations: It's obviously OK for men to be slightly chubby but not their women. Notice how even grossly overweight men in commercials have very thin wives or girlfriends.

Also, men don't have to dress well. They can be slobs in ratty jeans and football jerseys, but women dress to the 9s all the time.

And according to TV commercials, most young men have at least some facial hair. However, middle-aged men are clean-shaven.

99% of the population is white, well-off, and has perfectly shiny huge teeth

there are no gay people in this planet-- except on tv comedies

nobody reads books

shitty cereal is great for you

more is always better

if your house is not absolutely spotless you will become a social outcast

calling 1-1800-praise-god and giving money will get you into "heaven"

everybody can be a millionaire if they just want to be, even if there's nobody left to do the cleaning, cooking and maintenance after everyone becomes a millionaire.

nobody smokes

the army is really great! be all you can be!

soda, in spite of all the corn syrup in it, can actually (how?) quench your thirst

it's ok if you can't afford it, you can buy it now and pay later!

approved, approved, approved, approved!

most people are deaf, which is why commercials need to be so loud

the new palm pre allows white people to control their private armies of chinese slaves

etc, etc

Yeah, spotless houses. Never a spill.

Technology is everything, and if you don't have the latest, you're a loser. This makes up a huge part of TV commercial advertising.

Husbands are befuddled, clumsy, and dimwitted; wives are sharp as tacks. (Though sometimes I'm prone to think this is pretty realistic.)

I noticed on one of those insurance commercials where they do testimonials from agents about all the work they do for their clients, this one "agent" says, "We try to save you money, we really do," and shakes her head no while she says it. Oops, Freudian slip?

Everybody's a couple, too. No single people exist, or when they do, they're always in the process of meeting up with the opposite sex.

one thing they don't tell you is that some day, very soon, the masses will rise and WHITIE WILL PAY FOR THIS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NypVD24_Qdg

oh yeah blondie. the Red Army is coming for you!

oh yeah! the fucking antibacterials! we must disinfect EVERYTHING!!!

I hate advertisements that promote medicine. They have you believe you need the drug, you have to have it and the symptoms are really just shit that everyone goes through during life. I stand firm by the fact that probable 75% of the money Americans spend on health care, doctors,hospital visits and medicine could be replaced by changes to your diet and more excercise.

You're a size 2. Jesus. We gotta get some food in you, girl!

Yeah, the home improvement advertising is HUGE! It's on all the time. It's not so much about "fixing" anymore, it's all about "renovating," "making over," making prettier, bigger, fancier.

Yard work--another big one. Everyone needs a huge ass riding lawnmower even if your yard is the size of a postage stamp. And don't forget the fertilizer!

Ever notice how restaurant food portions in commercials look so much bigger and better than in real life? Those Red Lobster shrimp are huge on TV, for example.

It's interesting how every company has jumped on the "green" bandwagon.

YES!
I can't stand lawn mower ads. When I was a kid my mom and step-dad made me mow the lawn with a fucking blade mower, no motor just a blade that rotated and cut the grass. I'd have to sweep up all the clippings and make a compost pile, then I"D HAVE TO WALK UPHILL BOTH WAYS TO SCHOOL IN SIX INCHES OF SNOW WITH NOTHING BUT JEANS AND A PAIR OF CONVERSE ON!

No, but seriously, shit is silly, don't buy some big ass mower that costs more than some peoples cars, save your money and splurge on cologne or a fashionable monocle.

Boys and their toys. Big lawnmower's just another toy for overgrown boys. Notice how in those commercials it's only men riding those things, and only men shopping for them.

Similarly, only men use gas grills. Women apparently haven't been trained to cook on a grill. Besides they're too busy inside keeping the kitchen spotless.

What the commercials tell us is that American men spend their weekends riding their lawnmowers and fertilizing their yards and cooking outdoors on big gas grills, when they're not munching chips and drinking cheap beer in front of big-screen TVs watching The Big Game with their buddies.

OK, I'm not interested in emotional reactions though. I just want observances. What can we learn about the America that advertisers are trying to sell us?

I do agree "green" is overused and inaccurate, however.

I get a little carried away

It's OK.

hell yes. i tried the fucking wendy's "boneless chicken wings" and they are the size of little dog turds-- not sure about the texture (never tried divine's experiment), but it was awful too. not worth the 5 bucks or what have you.

on the other hand the 1/3 lb angus burger at macshits is quite acceptable. been doing a lot of road trips recently which has gotten me reacquainted with fast food.

the arby's pecan chicken salad sammich btw is fucking good fast food if you avoid the shitty "combo".

I have to agree re the angus burger. I tried it a couple weeks back and was pretty impressed. Got the mushroom swiss one.

So what's with the droney Hardees boy voice? Is that supposed to be like young-kid stoner-cool or edgy or something? It drives me nuts.

Somebody run over your big toe? CALL SAM ! You will end up so rich you'll forget all about that big toe.

This medicine will make you all better, but the following side affects may occur.............

On that not,e there was this commercial I saw awhile ago that really infuriated me. It was about this guy who had a dandelion problem in his yard and he got rid of it with an overpriced, toxic substance that will wash into the groundwater and kill countless people, and at the end he said "Now I'm not THAT neighbor anymore".

Basically it implies that if your lawn isn't perfect and spotless, you're a bad neighbor and we all know people like this exist and they are SICK. They have no fucking concept of anything more important than their stupid little green lawn. They're the people who feel the need to wrap themselves in hours of yardwork consantly and make comments about the quality of your lawn compared to theirs. And this commercial validates that psychotic personality type.

EDIT: Non-emotional reaction, this commercial would have you believe that it's OK to be obsessive compulsive about your lawn and that anyone that isn't is sick and wrong. That you should pour toxic chemicals on your grass to get rid of a few harmless weeds.

I had a neighbor who mowed his lawn every other day, April through October, regardless of whether it needed it or not. He also had ChemLawn come weekly. I used to let mine grow a foot high just to piss him off.

But I also suspect he was just out there a lot to get away from his wife, who loved to nag him about all kinds of work she wanted done around the house.

So he did work around the house to get away from his wife nagging him about work around the house :D. This is why I don't want to ever get married. But I probably will anyway because I'm stupid.

Yes. Not all marriages are like this though. But probably most in the suburbs are.

And that's why I never wanna live in the Suburbs!

But not all marriages in the suburbs are like that. Quit trying to stereotype.

Hey, stereotyping is what I do. How dare you try to change me? You're just like the rest of them!!

(I was joking, obviously)

That Target is some sort of pop art, op art wonder world, not a store.

it would also have you believe that 16 is the only age to be. as if!

and it makes 16 year olds believe they will never age. ha! ha ha ha!!

get ready...