BoatBanter.com - View Single Post

F.O.A.D.

On 8/2/13 7:17 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 02 Aug 2013 17:20:34 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

On 8/2/13 5:08 PM, wrote:

I dunno. I remember when cigarettes were being aggressively marketed on
TV. I wasn't convinced I needed to smoke them. Same with booze. Or meals
from McDonalds. Or sugary soda pop.

Maybe being in the business jaded you to the ads but if they didn't
work, ad agencies would not be able to sell them and it would not be
12-14 minutes of every hour on TV.

It is also why ads cost a couple billion dollars an election cycle
these days. Somebody must believe ads work.

In Detroit, I wrote ads and news release stuff for a reference book
publisher, Motown Records, financial PR, and then in DC, I wrote ads for
Porsche of America, Florists Marketing Council, a couple of unions,
trade associations and ads and PR for Ringling Brothers. No cigs, booze,
crappyburgers or sodapop. Even handled a couple of local car dealers and
a department store. Most of the ads were aimed at building traffic,
e.g., getting customers to the dealer's showroom. After that, it was up
to the salesman or saleswoman. Had a lot of fun doing Mercedes and Fiat
radio commercials for a local dealer. Back then the car dealers were
individually or family owned, much better than dealing with "the suits."

Did you believe your ads were going to coax someone into buying your
product who might not have if they didn't see the ad?
That was the point.

That was your point. Mine was that we didn't sell harmful crap such as
cigs, boozes, unhealthy food.