From: Spike Jones (spike66@attglobal.net)
Date: Sun Jan 28 2001 - 12:52:54 MST
"Michael B. Hubbard" wrote:
> Take a look at www.ideas.com. They actually have an idea marketplace...
Extropians are interested in peering into the future. I have long been
interested in marketing, so this may explain why I watch TV ads
with interest. I am recording the superbowl with the intent to
forward thru the boring sports to view the 1E5 $/sec ads.
For those who notice such things, perhaps you have observed
in the past 5 yrs or so, TV ads have gotten much more effective:
faster, funnier, definitely edgier. They have broken thru any
number of invisible barriers regarding sensitivity and taste. Such
as: many commercials now trivialize death. Im not making any
judgements here, merely observations. Trivializing death may
be a bad thing, but it leads to effective commercials, which
earn money, which is a good thing.
For instance, consider one of my faves: Adipose T. Lardbottom
reaches into his fridge to get a double bacon cheese burger. Suddenly
there appears the Grim Reaper.
Lardbottom: Awwww, you gotta be ki...
Reaper: SILENCE! Wait a minute, you have all Energy Star
Appliances. You must care about the environment and saving
energy! Tell ya what, Ill probably get fired for this. But Im
gonna let ya slide.
Next scene, Adipose and Grim are sitting on couch like two
old buddies watching the game. Lardbottom starts having a
coronary. Reaper, in disgust: Awwww MAN!
Harrrrrrr! Great spot! Short, funny, you remember what
they were selling, perfect ad!
Now, let me look into my crystal ball and guess what TV
ads will be like in 5 yrs. This making fun of death thing will
play out soon. There only so much you can do with it, but
consider nudity. It gets your attention quickly and holds it,
its cheap in that a low priced model nude is better than a high
priced one clothed. Its funny if done right. Nudity doesnt
really get old or boring: no matter how much of it you see,
you always want more.
My guess is that even in uptight prudish America, some nudity
will be seen in TV ads in the near future, especially if in a non-
sexual context, where the nude person is mortified, etc. They
actually came pretty close to this already with the mock-ER
ads for some stock investing firm where a man is wheeled
into the emergency room and the surgeon reaches under the
sheet and pulls out a 20 dollar bill, sternly declaring:
"This man has money coming out the wazoo. Get him to a
private room." Great ad, but I dont know what company
they were selling: minus 10 points.
My idea for an ad has a short piece of non-sexual nudity:
buns running out the door. Watch this channel. spike
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