What should I title this rant?

[Weird Harold]

I've struggled with trying to put a name to what has been bothering about a variety of advertisements the past couple of days. I've considered "Do they think we're all stupid?" "Do these people ver actually listemn to what they're saying?" and "are consumers really dumb enough to believe this shit?"

None of those titles really fits what's bothering me, because there are so many different ads with so many different idiocies involved.

Some samples of the kinds of things that are bothering me:

"They didn't have power tools, cranes or computers..." -- from a promo for "Egypt: Building an Empire" on the History Channel.

"Learn to how to live out of your business wallet instead of your personal one." -- last line from a radio ad for a legal firm specializing in incorporations, which begins by touting the benefits of separating business credit ratings from personal credit ratings.

"The average person has five to twenty pounds of crap in their intestines..." -- from an ad for "Gentle Cleansing," a weight-loss center/program.

"Make your equity work for you..." "You have money tied up in the equity on your mortgage that could be working for you..." -- and uncountable other phrases to the effect that builiding equity in your home is a bad thing in just about any mortgage broker or lender's ads.

---

I guess what really is bothering me is not the really specific ads, but the assumption on the part of advertisers that the average person won't see anything wrong with their ads and the realization that they're probably correct in beieving that. What also bothers me is that it often isn't an assumption that the public won't notice, but that the copywriter, editor and on-air presenter of these ads all see nothing wrong with them for the public to notice.

I'll defer explaining what bothers me about those examples as a sort of experiment to see if I'm just crazy or if I'm seeing a symptom of whats wrong with out modern society.

Tell me what you think is bothersome in those examples.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Weird Harold I've struggled with trying to put a name to what has been bothering about a variety of advertisements the past couple of days. I've considered "Do they think we're all stupid?" "Do these people ver actually listemn to what they're saying?" and "are consumers really dumb enough to believe this shit?"


"Make your equity work for you..." "You have money tied up in the equity on your mortgage that could be working for you..." -- and uncountable other phrases to the effect that builiding equity in your home is a bad thing in just about any mortgage broker or lender's ads.

I get really bugged over this kind of SPAM. Any kind is bad enough but I get those telling me how I can get out of debt by borrowing money from them. This really bugs me, because all I would be doing would be shifting debt around, and actually increasing it by they got done taking all their fees, etc. What's even worse is how they tell me I am approved for 2% or some other riduculous figure. Surely, nobody actually believes an ordinary person can borrow money at that rate.

 

[elsol]

The only one I 'see' a problem with is the last one...

But it's a personal thing that I've never understood... "I owe money so you want me to borrow more money?"

Again, it's personal... I don't like 'my shit' to be 'partially your shit'.

Especially after I took on a little bit too big a car payments as my first car, once I paid off the car the amount of money I could save was astounding.

Now, I'm actually allergic to high car payments... so basically I'll never own the car of my dreams cause the down payment to get my car payments to reasonable basically equals a reasonable down payment on a house... house or penis mobile... not a hard one there.

 

[elsol]

Oh yeah... and as to the weight loss one.

"Taking a dump... isn't actually losing weight... no matter how BIG a dump you take."

 

[elsol]

Sigh... the business wallet or personal wallet.

"Your business wallet is still your personal wallet... if you own the business wallet."

 

[Weird Harold]

I get really bugged over this kind of SPAM. Any kind is bad enough but I get those telling me how I can get out of debt by borrowing money from them.

The only one I 'see' a problem with is the last one...

But it's a personal thing that I've never understood... "I owe money so you want me to borrow more money?"

Again, it's personal... I don't like 'my shit' to be 'partially your shit'.

Especially after I took on a little bit too big a car payments as my first car, once I paid off the car the amount of money I could save was astounding.

Box, it's not SPAM, it's "legitimate" radio and television advertisements -- I don't even bother to open SPAM and hang up on telemarketers who start talking about mortgage rates before I finish identifying myself.

Elsol, What bothers me about the mortgage company ads isn't that they're trying to get me to borrow money at asupposedly better rate or to consolodate loans. It's the blatant implication that equity -- actually owning the portion of something that you've paid for -- is a "Bad Thing." It's related to the idea that leasing a car is better than buying a car.

What bothers me is that the whole idea of individuals actually owning something like a car or a house hs gone out of fashion, let alone the idea that the goal is to own them "free and clear."

Oh yeah... and as to the weight loss one.

"Taking a dump... isn't actually losing weight... no matter how BIG a dump you take."

The name of the company -- "Gentle Cleansing" -- should give you a hint to what bothers me about that one. I should probably add that they talk a lot about the Natural, Herbal recipe involved.

I don't particularly have a problem with a company that wants to sell me on the health benefits of a High Colonic Herbal Enema but I don't think their ad sends the message, "You're not fat, you're just full of shit."

Sigh... the business wallet or personal wallet.

"Your business wallet is still your personal wallet... if you own the business wallet."

That one is a bit more subtle -- the legal purpose of incorporation is to separate legal and financial liabilities from personal legal and financial liablities and their ad right up to that last line is a perfectly reasonable argument for incorporating.

The problem is that in Nevada, where this company is based and does business, using corporate funds for personal expenses is against the law. I think it against the law in every state and against federal law if the corporation does business across state lines.

Even if you own -- or in the case of "personal incorporation," ARE the business -- you have to keep corporate and personal finaces separate -- i.e. you can't legally "live out of your business wallet"

"They didn't have power tools, cranes or computers..." -- from a promo for "Egypt: Building an Empire" on the History Channel.

Nobody sees what is bothersome about that teaser for a docmentary about ancient Egytian technology? A hit, it's not a problem with the documentary but with an assuption it implies about the audience.

 

[rgraham666]

Harold, from what I've seen, and understand, many people live out of their 'business wallet'. It's pretty much a fact of life.

My favourite writer calls this 'apparent money'. And it helps keep the economy afloat. Can you imagine what would happen to the airlines if the people traveling on the company dime had to pay for it themselves? Health clubs are kept alive with company memberships. A lot of restaurants depend on companies and company employees eating there. Car rental companies depend on 'apparent money'.

I don't like it much, but it's a fact of life.

OK, back on topic.

One of the main reasons I stopped watching television was the unrelenting idiocy of the ads. I got so I wanted to put a fist through the screen.

The other reason was the unrelenting idiocy of the shows themselves.

 

[shereads]

"The average person has five to twenty pounds of crap in their intestines..." -- from an ad for "Gentle Cleansing," a weight-loss center/program.

I'd name the rant "Twenty Pounds of Crap" in honor of that infomercial.

I think that's the same one that mentioned the hundreds of parasite larvae in every bite of red meat. I happened to turn the TV on as I headed for the kitchen to make a roast beef sandwich. Changed my mind, asap.

Those colon cleansing bastards are lucky I didn't make a Spinich and E-Coli Salad instead. I'd have hired a lawyer to show them what a motivated parasite can do.

 

[Alessia Brio]

Nobody sees what is bothersome about that teaser for a docmentary about ancient Egytian technology? A hit, it's not a problem with the documentary but with an assuption it implies about the audience.

Well, it bothers ME because it implies that WE are less able than our ancestors -- that we MUST rely on modern technology in order to accomplish anything of note.

 

[Weird Harold]

Harold, from what I've seen, and understand, many people live out of their 'business wallet'. It's pretty much a fact of life.

Tha'ts true, to a certain extent at least. Still, the fact that a majority pf people cheat on their expense accounts just means that a majority of people are breaking the law. It's the fact that a company that specializes in incorporations would blatantly advertise that they'll teach you to subvert all the good, legal, reasons they just gave you for incorporating that bothers me.

As for not watching TV, three of the four examples are Radio commercials -- although the financial one can be found just about everywhere.

I'd name the rant "Twenty Pounds of Crap" in honor of that infomercial.

I think that's the same one that mentioned the hundreds of parasite larvae in every bite of red meat.

I think you're correct about that although I haven't seen the infomercial, just heard the radio ad. I did consider titling this "You're not fat, you're just full of shit" but I don't have your flair for non-sequitar titles and didn't want to concentrate on just that somewhat disgusting comercial.

It is a bit humorous how they have to dance around and hint at the nature of their service -- I wonder how many people they get who back out of the deal when they get them where they can explain just what a "gentle cleansing" involves. It reminds me of the movie about Dr Kellog and his oatmeal enemas.

 

[Weird Harold]

Well, it bothers ME because it implies that WE are less able than our ancestors -- that we MUST rely on modern technology in order to accomplish anything of note.

That's pretty close to what bothers me about that comment. For me, it's more the implication that the Egyptians somehow "lucked into" such monumental engineering achievements because they couldn't really know what they were doing without computers and their methods were somehow less worthy because they were accomplished without power tools and cranes.

If the series on Rome's engineering accomplishments is any example, I expect the series itself to give exactly the opposite impression -- emphasizing that we can't duplicate what they built even today with all our technological advantages.

 

[R. Richard]

That's pretty close to what bothers me about that comment. For me, it's more the implication that the Egyptians somehow "lucked into" such monumental engineering achievements because they couldn't really know what they were doing without computers and their methods were somehow less worthy because they were accomplished without power tools and cranes.

If the series on Rome's engineering accomplishments is any example, I expect the series itself to give exactly the opposite impression -- emphasizing that we can't duplicate what they built even today with all our technological advantages.

Let me first back off and state what I think the underlying problems is. In the schools, people are educated to accept what they read and then to discuss it. When the same people get on their own, the accept what they read and then there is no discussion. The state of affairs leads to commercials of the type you cite.

As to ancient things that we can't duplicate, I am afraid that is a bit of misconception.

There were ancient buildings built of stone. The stone work was something that we can only recently duplicate with our advanced technology. However, they turned loose PhDs to try and figure out how the ancient stones were dressed with smooth, flat surfaces. The technique is actually pretty simple and involves a "hammer stone" that is used to beat the imperfections down to a flat surface. Any number of people can now do the trick.

A man who owns a quarry in Vermont or New Hampshire [I forget which] was given the task of moving a large block of stone from the bottom of his quarry to the top, without the use of the modern machinery that he uses today. Log rollers did not work. He finally put curved wood pieces on each of four surfaces around the stone and then used wood levers and wedges to slowly lever the large stone up the access road to the quarry.

A lot if "lost ancient techniques" can be recovered if you have someone who is smart but doesn't have and advanced college degree and thus can be hired to rediscover said lost ancient technique at a reasonable cost.

 

[ChilledVodkaIV]

It speaks of...

Modernity and convenience summed up as "why cook food when MacDonalds is just down the block?"

The extrapolation being: Sit on your backside and don't, under any circumstances, think.