Triv's Journal: I saw the weirdest thing yesterday

I saw the strangest advertising blitz I've ever experienced on 42nd street (NYC) yesterday. I was standing outside the main library's side door at lunchtime (I work there) when twenty-five people wearing purple bodysuits (velvet bodysuits) and little four-colored wings on rollerblades shot past me. They were carrying signs that said things like "I (heart) NY! I (heart) MSN8!" and trying to interest passersby. I didn't know Microsoft did that kind of marketing. I don't know what to think of it, honestly. Regardless of what I thought about it, as an advertising strategy it certainly worked - I remembered it, and I'm writing it here. Not that I'd ever use it, but still.

Weird. :)

Triv

money to burn

[memfree]

Saddly, offense advertising works, and obviously, the dot com crash didn't deplete their resources nearly enough.

Re:money to burn

[Triv]

Well...I didn't think it was offensive really. I can respect good advertising even if it comes from a company I detest, and those furry little jumpsuits were cute. I was more surprised than anything else.

Traditionally, the first thing to get cut in a recession is advertising, which is counter-intuitive really - if there's one thing you wouldn't want to stop doing it's building brand recognition. And yet, even after hundreds of years of experience, advertisers and manufacturers still have absolutely no idea what effect advertising has on sales. It's a bit of an enigma, and since its results are not immediately demonstratable an ad budget gets axed.

Don't get me wrong, I think some ads are in bad taste. No, strike that. I think some ad placements are in bad taste (like, I dunno, billboards that cover entire sides of buildings or buses papered in one huge plastic-wrapped ad. And pop-ups. shudder.) moreso than the content itself, but I LIKE ads that make me laugh, and I believe I'm smart enough not to pay all that much attention to them. Then again...I don't have the greatest memory, so I'm most likely to go "Heh. Cute." and completely forget 30 seconds later.

now. Um. What was I talking about? ;)
(bedtime)

Triv