Do any of you ever avoid a thing because of the ads for it?

[Ignatz_Zwakh]

Well, I work at a videostore where we are expected to blare advertisements upon all our TV's nonstop from the moment we open to the moment we close. Sometimes I just can't bring myself to watch some of the films advertised, even when I know they're gonna be good. I need a cooldown period before-hand, after being forcefully immersed in the film's ad campaign. >_<

 

[McMullen]

More of a response than I thought there would be.

I wish marketers would catch on to the fact that they can do damage to their sales or ratings by producing terrible ads. I wish the Escapist would figure out how to not fail all over itself with this Space Janitors thing.

Thing is, I know that it's not necessary because when you actually make something really good, all the publicity you need is generated by the people who like it. Look at Minecraft and Dwarf Fortress. Much of the software I use is stuff I heard about from people who's judgement I trust, or from doing my own research.

You don't need ads. All you need is to have just a little talent at what you do. If you don't have that, then stop trying to impersonate a creator and go flip burgers or something, because the best thing you can do for humanity is to not taint it with your products.

The Escapist could also learn from this. I'm never going to join the publisher's club because the Escapist does not show signs of being run by people who know what they're doing, especially with regards to money. That's the clearest message that comes through in the ads on this site and the way that they deal with them, and also from the things that came to light when Extra Credits left. I have never bought a single product advertised on this site and I'm not going to, and any willingness I'd have to look past the silly name of Space Janitors and give it a try has been eroded by the ads. Try to be good at what you do, Escapist, it'll work better for you than what you're doing now.

 

[Necroid_Neko]

I hardly ever see commercials any more due to the wonders of internet tv
However, I did catch and advert for Geordie Shore which was so hilarious I did get an urge to watch it...but I fear it will take itself much more seriously than its commercial did.

Internet ads still annoy me though, especially the ones that advertise 'hot women in your area'. No matter how attractive a woman may be, I have no desire to have her 'in my area'

 

[ElPatron]

Need I say more?

I don't understand how can someone actually think this is cool. I think the whole point of this ad is "how not to be cool".

 

[MarkDavis94]

OnLive. There was a period where every advert I saw on Youtube started with 'Onlive is cloud gaming' *Cue patronising voice* 'BUT, what is CLOUD GAMING?'

AHHHH SHUT THE FUCK UP! I'm watchiing Music videos, just please leave me alone

 

[CardinalPiggles]

Yes, absolutely. Same thing with emails and post. You send me a takeaway menu through my letterbox, and I'll tear it up, stick it in the recycling bin, and never buy anything from there ever again.

However, if you manage to make an ad that is either funny or clever (or both), I will consider buying your product when I would of normally.

Spoiler: Like these

I quit watching TV due to advertisements.

Me too, although I do watch more than 1 or 2 programmes a week, just sporadically.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

Need I say more?

I don't understand how can someone actually think this is cool. I think the whole point of this ad is "how not to be cool".

I thought it was actually kind of funny, not cool, just funny. Didn't make me go out and buy MW3 though.

 

[Diminished Capacity]

Absolutely. I remember mainly with those "I'm a mac, and I'm a PC" ads that had that young comedian/actor guy, and the guy in the suit who looked like a young Bill Gates.

I'm not actively anti mac, but the smug attitude from that ad campaign really soured me on the brand. It's probably because I identified with the guy in the suit, who was portrayed as an uptight loser.

Also, your product needs to be able to promote itself on its' own merit. Merely bashing the competitor to look superior is bad form.

 

[ElPatron]

I thought it was actually kind of funny, not cool, just funny. Didn't make me go out and buy MW3 though.

It "could" have been funny. It looked like someone tried to make a parody of people "trying to look cool". All it accomplished was make fun of itself.

Kinda trashes the connotation we have put on the world "soldier" and "vet". When I think of the phrase "there is a soldier in all of us" I think about everyone accepting sacrifice as a mean to protect one of his kind. Reminds me of people who put themselves trough hell so you didn't have to, and don't ask anything in return.

Now, throw into the mix what you have seen about the military in the past 2 decades. Throw into the mix the word "soldier" being a synonym to "welfare-queen".

Now add a commercial to a franchise whose past installments claimed to be a realistic approach to war. Make them joke about what the military does, comparing it to a multiplayer game full of twats "trying to look cool".

Come on, one of the dudes isn't even fit enough to be in a combat role. There is a soldier in all of us, but that doesn't mean you are able to fight.

And plus, it's false advertisement. Nobody on Call of Duty will walk you trough the game.

Compare to this:

No CGI. Music is very subtle. Guns are loud, and they actually echo.

You can see casings that actually come out of the gun, instead of CGI casings flying out of a cheap airsoft replica.

No bullshit explosions fueled by gasoline and flammable gas.

Actual tactics used, everyone works as a team and makes use of suppressive fire.

How does a bank robbery feel more military themed than an ad for a war game?

 

[jdogtwodolla]

I never watch a Blip video on google chrome because I can't get the adblock to work. I hate that stupid car commercial it does right now where they send it out of a plane with parachuters along to some obnoxiously bright music.

The escapist is the only site I actually tolerate ads on.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

I thought it was actually kind of funny, not cool, just funny. Didn't make me go out and buy MW3 though.

It "could" have been funny. It looked like someone tried to make a parody of people "trying to look cool". All it accomplished was make fun of itself.

Kinda trashes the connotation we have put on the world "soldier" and "vet". When I think of the phrase "there is a soldier in all of us" I think about everyone accepting sacrifice as a mean to protect one of his kind. Reminds me of people who put themselves trough hell so you didn't have to, and don't ask anything in return.

Now, throw into the mix what you have seen about the military in the past 2 decades. Throw into the mix the word "soldier" being a synonym to "welfare-queen".

Now add a commercial to a franchise whose past installments claimed to be a realistic approach to war. Make them joke about what the military does, comparing it to a multiplayer game full of twats "trying to look cool".

Come on, one of the dudes isn't even fit enough to be in a combat role. There is a soldier in all of us, but that doesn't mean you are able to fight.

And plus, it's false advertisement. Nobody on Call of Duty will walk you trough the game.

Compare to this:

No CGI. Music is very subtle. Guns are loud, and they actually echo.

You can see casings that actually come out of the gun, instead of CGI casings flying out of a cheap airsoft replica.

No bullshit explosions fueled by gasoline and flammable gas.

Actual tactics used, everyone works as a team and makes use of suppressive fire.

How does a bank robbery feel more military themed than an ad for a war game?

Woah, calm down dude, I said the advert for a GAME was funny, not everything you believe in is a crock of shit.

Clearly you have personal issues with this sort of thing, but there's no need to be so arrogant when it comes to silly little discussions.

 

[Johnny Impact]

Quizno's had a series of ads featuring some kind of singing rat-zombie-alien creatures. I will never patronize an eatery that has used rats (especially obnoxious zombie alien rats) to pimp its products.

There is a store near me called Chapter 11 Mattresses. Their commercials are on the radio, every commercial break, every station, every day. Since the radio is kept on all day at my work -- I have no say in the matter -- I have heard "Chapter 11 is great! Chapter 11 is awesome! Chapter 11's mattresses are incredible!" over 50 times a day for the past few years. Rough arithmetic indicates their company name has been pounded into my skull in that I'm-trying-to-sound-REALLY-important advertising voice somewhere around 187,500 times. It goes without saying that there exists no force in this or any other universe which could ever compel me to buy from that place, but let me try to find words to truly express how I feel: I hope the owner of Chapter 11 catches an agonizing, protracted, debilitating, incurable disease that puts him on an unstoppable downward spiral, through months and months of unimaginable, whimpering wretchedness, to end with a slow, gurgling, ignominious death in a puddle of his own shit. If he has children, I hope they catch it first. That doesn't quite do the job, but I think you get the idea.

Most car ads. If I had a nickel for every time I've seen a car commercial use words like "all-new, all-daring, brilliantly redesigned" to describe Generic Sedan #2384759240234235, I could take a couple weeks off. If I were looking for a new vehicle to purchase, the quality of its commercial could never be a factor in my decision.

 

[ElPatron]

I said the advert for a GAME was funny, not everything you believe in is a crock of shit.

Did I say it was?

Basically they did nothing new, nothing "intelligent" or at least remarkable. It was simply a desperate attempt at being funny. Wow, a guy shooting a gun. Wow, a rocket blowing a whole storey off a building. Wow, now the noob is throwing knives.

It makes The Expendables look like comedy gold.

If anything, they only managed to insult everyone who is in the military, or everyone who isn't. I can't decide. But apparently, it's common practice to insult your target audience these days.

 

[Spitfire]

I do this all the time with movies. If I see a trailer that I don't like, I avoid that movie like the plague, regardless of its popularity or critical acclaim. Of course, sooner or later, I always end up watching said movie for whatever reason, and I often find that it's not half bad, or sometimes even great. There's a lesson in there, I'm sure.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

I said the advert for a GAME was funny, not everything you believe in is a crock of shit.

Did I say it was?

Basically they did nothing new, nothing "intelligent" or at least remarkable. It was simply a desperate attempt at being funny. Wow, a guy shooting a gun. Wow, a rocket blowing a whole storey off a building. Wow, now the noob is throwing knives.

It makes The Expendables look like comedy gold.

If anything, they only managed to insult everyone who is in the military, or everyone who isn't. I can't decide. But apparently, it's common practice to insult your target audience these days.

I could go ahead and use your own logic against you, but instead of stooping to your level, I'm going to go and get on my life, have a nice day.

 

[ElPatron]

I could go ahead and use your own logic against you, but instead of stooping to your level, I'm going to go and get on my life, have a nice day.

Really? A "holier than thou" post just because I justified that a heist movie is a lot more military themed than a military themed advertisement for a Mature rated game that is obviously targeted for children?

 

[Draconalis]

I also plan on raising my future daughter without TV save for games or occasional movie via dvd. The TV wouldn't pick up reception for standard channels. I did read a lot when I was little, but the tv was always on in my house and I regret hours wasted watching shows I didn't even like. My parents preferred TV over paying for piano lessons or something great like that.

Same here! I've already told my wife I want to out right ban TV in my house so my little girl doesn't get sucked into the endless cycle of watching stupid shit for lack of anything better to do.

But I'm also going to make sure she starts some sort of martial arts at an early age so she'll be more active than I was too...

My ultimate goal is to hone and sculpt her into my little nerd buddy I wanna play an MMO with her or maybe some pokemon if in 10+ years, they make a game worth looking into.

 

[Orange12345]

Yes dead space and dante's inferno, hipster choices I know but still

 

[Foxpack1]

As I think everyone living in the UK will agree, I will never use Go compare.

DirectLine is worse. The unfunny comedian and everyone down to the kids should be publicly beaten for the annoyance(clear joke before someone thinks this is serious).

In regards to the GC advert there is a version where Jimmy Carr just punches him in the balls at the end.