The Escapist Ad Challenge...

[bossdirge]

Anyone who is interested try this: Do not purchase anything for one month that you have seen advertised in any medium. Nothing from the internet television radio or print.

I have actually been doing this for years. I have never bought something I can remember the advertisement for. We will never get rid of the ads, but we all find them annoying. What would be better than making all that money spent on ad space a complete waste?

 

[katsumoto03]

So... You're asking us to boycott everything?

 

[Professor Cubbage]

But what if I see an advert for a real lightsaber that's £10 for a limited time only?

 

[Frozen Donkey Wheel2]

Um....Why? That makes no sense. Something doesn't magically become a waste of money just because it's been advertised. If I'm going to NOT buy something, it'll be because I don't WANT it. Not because...I saw an ad for it. That makes absolutely no sense.

 

[bossdirge]

Advertisements do not promote products, they promote ideas. As in, "sex sells". An advertisement should tell you what a product is and does, it should not overtly lie to you and make false claims. You cannot purchase a way of life, so why is it being claimed that you can?

Saying, if I don't WANT it doesn't cut it, because ads a specifically designed to convince you that you DO WANT IT, you want it very badly because it will get you laid, get you a nicer house, piss of your parents etc... What if you just went one month only buying things that you sat down and thought... hmmm you know what, I actually NEED that.

I can tell what video games I WANT to play without seeing the ads. That's what box art and synopsis are for.

 

[Tharwen]

...what's the point?

You're just trying to damage companies for marketing their product, and what's wrong with that?

 

[Bobic]

Advertisements do not promote products, they promote ideas. As in, "sex sells". An advertisement should tell you what a product is and does, it should not overtly lie to you and make false claims. You cannot purchase a way of life, so why is it being claimed that you can?

Saying, if I don't WANT it doesn't cut it, because ads a specifically designed to convince you that you DO WANT IT, you want it very badly because it will get you laid, get you a nicer house, piss of your parents etc... What if you just went one month only buying things that you sat down and thought... hmmm you know what, I actually NEED that.

I can tell what video games I WANT to play without seeing the ads. That's what box art and synopsis are for.

Isn't the box art just another form of advertisement?

 

[Kpt._Rob]

Advertisements do not promote products, they promote ideas. As in, "sex sells". An advertisement should tell you what a product is and does, it should not overtly lie to you and make false claims. You cannot purchase a way of life, so why is it being claimed that you can?

Saying, if I don't WANT it doesn't cut it, because ads a specifically designed to convince you that you DO WANT IT, you want it very badly because it will get you laid, get you a nicer house, piss of your parents etc... What if you just went one month only buying things that you sat down and thought... hmmm you know what, I actually NEED that.

I can tell what video games I WANT to play without seeing the ads. That's what box art and synopsis are for.

Look man, I agree with the sentiment, I hate advertisements, and you're entirely right that they work very hard to manipulate customers into buying their products... that said, this is a really really misguided attempt to do something about it. If you buy a product that comes in a box, guess what, you just bought a product that has been advertised. Hell, even if you buy something on a shelf in a store or listed on a webpage, the layout of the store, the design of the webpage, ALL of these things are designed to manipulate you into buying something.

If you really think, as you said in your opening post, that you've "never bought something that you can remember an advertisement for" then you're delusional. The only way you could possibly accomplish such a feat would be to move to some remote village far away from civilization and live with the native peoples, and since you're using the internet to make this post, I'm guessing that's not the case.

Perhaps a better strategy would just be to be aware of the methods that advertisers use, so that you can get the product you want/need, regardless of what manipulations the company attempts to use on you.

EDIT: You know, reading some of the OP's later posts on this page, I'm starting to think he may just be an incredibly sneaky troll. I mean come on, this guy is making some absolutely ridiculous claims about his personal life, and how often do you see an OP who isn't a troll this involved in trying to stir argument?

 

[Radeonx]

I have actually been doing this for years. I have never bought something I can remember the advertisement for. We will never get rid of the ads, but we all find them annoying. What would be better than making all that money spent on ad space a complete waste?

So haven't bought a game in years? Or internet? Because last time I checked internet services are advertised all the time.

 

[bossdirge]

So no one here thinks there is a deeper psychology at work in modern advertising? Everyone just thinks that the billions of dollars spent every year on advertising is to make the funniest commercial for the super bowl and not to mind fuck you into buying shit you don't actually want?

Thought you folks would be a little more on the ball than that.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Considering my bedroom wall is basically covered in adverts for various bands and things, you're asking me not to buy the new Dropkick Murphys album.

No. Just no.

So no one here thinks there is a deeper psychology at work in modern advertising? Everyone just thinks that the billions of dollars spent every year on advertising is to make the funniest commercial for the super bowl and not to mind fuck you into buying shit you don't actually want?

Thought you folks would be a little more on the ball than that.

Most mature people know what they want or need, adverts don't tend to affect adult minds very much.

 

[The Unworthy Gentleman]

What would be better than making all that money spent on ad space a complete waste?

Buying the product so that the company doesn't go under.

You want to try to ruin a business because you find that the ads that allow you to be watching TV, have websites like The Escapist to look at and to know what products are in the market annoying then you go ahead, but don't try and get everyone else to ruin the economy with you.

 

[Johnnyallstar]

Sure. I'll stop buying gasoline, which means I will be fired from my job, and get kicked out of school for attendance...


Wait, why is this a good idea again?

 

[bossdirge]

quote="Radeonx" post="18.265844.10120764"]

I have actually been doing this for years. I have never bought something I can remember the advertisement for. We will never get rid of the ads, but we all find them annoying. What would be better than making all that money spent on ad space a complete waste?

So haven't bought a game in years? Or internet? Because last time I checked internet services are advertised all the time.[/quote]

What I am saying is that A: ads can be ignored, B: since I started doing this 12 years ago i haven't eaten fast food, drank cola or wasted my money on shit I don't want (so my health is quite good as a result) and none of these companies have gone out of business. I don't think the economy would be ruined if we all stopped paying attention to ads.

You all realise that some small companies cannot afford advertising right? And their products are just as good as the companies that can?

 

[Twilight_guy]

You do realize your clever plan will eventually lead to ads become useless thus the removal of ads and death of numerous websites that relies on ads to make money (like this one to an extent). Your attack on consumerism is just going to bite you in the ass it it really worked.

 

[bassdrum]

So no one here thinks there is a deeper psychology at work in modern advertising? Everyone just thinks that the billions of dollars spent every year on advertising is to make the funniest commercial for the super bowl and not to mind fuck you into buying shit you don't actually want?

Thought you folks would be a little more on the ball than that.

Well, we know that there's psychology at work, and the moment you know that someone's fucking with your head, the harder it is for them to do it. Believe me, I've spent a lot of time thinking about all the ways that ads try to get into my head and into my wallet--but that doesn't mean that I only like the product because of the advertising campaigns.

Besides, ads are a vital part of providing free media to the public. You know how most channels on TV aren't pay-per-view? You know how very few internet sites (with obvious exceptions) require a subscription to access them? In fact, have you ever thought about what gives you free wi-fi before? Have you ever thought about what keeps down the cost of magazines and other publications? Advertisements. Sure, that 30 second advertisement can be annoying at times, and sure, it's trying to convince you to buy something, but at worst it just wastes a few seconds of your time, and at best it puts a product in front of you which you might not have otherwise known about (I'm not saying the ad will convince you to buy it, it'll just pique your interest enough to look into it).

Therefore, it is my respectful opinion that boycotting all advertising campaigns would be infeasible, self destructive, and probably inconsequential (do you really think that a fraction of the community of the Escapist not buying something will actually make a difference)?

So... yeah. Ads suck, but they're also pretty damn useful, so I'd recommend just settling in and getting used to them.

 

[bossdirge]

You do realize your clever plan will eventually lead to ads become useless thus the removal of ads and death of numerous websites that relies on ads to make money (like this one to an extent). Your attack on consumerism is just going to bite you in the ass it it really worked.

First off, I never said it was clever, and secondly even if it did work, I am sure the internet would find another way to survive without male enhancement pills.

I am amazed that not even one person is on board with this. And why does everyone think that this means you have to automatically stop buying EVERYTHING? Why does everyone love to be told what to do so much?

 

[TimeLord]

But what if I see an advert for a real lightsaber that's £10 for a limited time only?

Then we must buy said lightsabers and kill anyone who sees us do it so we can claim ignorance!
Using said lightsabers for the irony!

 

[Professor Cubbage]

But what if I see an advert for a real lightsaber that's £10 for a limited time only?

Then we must buy said lightsabers and kill anyone who sees us do it so we can claim ignorance!
Using said lightsabers for the irony!

Hell Yeah!! I heard they sell silver ones on Amazon.