Why Aren't They Doing That? Long Essay 1

So I haven’t yet accomplished this long essay because no matter how hard I thought, there just didn’t seem to be anything that I could think of that really made me want to ask, “ why aren’t they doing that?” However, after all of the time that I have spent watching a little too much television, the thing that came to me was the differences in the styles of commercials that they show. I noticed that there tended to be three different types of commercials, and only one of those types seemed at all useful to me. Therefore, I’m not really coming up with a new idea so much as wondering why the companies that use the other two types of commercials don’t switch the to the third type.

The first type that seemed really stupid and useless to me was the type where they basically just repeat the company’s name and phone number thirty gazillion times in a really loud creepy old guy voice. It didn’t matter if it was a soap or a car advertisement, the voice was super annoying and in my personal opinion, there didn’t seem to be any way that that sort of talk could convince anyone. I could just imagine multiple people being so upset that they turned off their tv’s or muted them for the few seconds that the commercials dragged on.

The other type of commercial annoyed me because it seemed to be trying too hard to be hip and cool. These commercials are the ones that just say a bunch of adjectives like, “ Sleek. Refined. Intense,” and then end with some picture but no real idea of what their product is. Some of them give you a website to visit, while others have a day that the “mystery” will be unveiled. Whatever ploy they use, I don’ t think it’s working. Nobody that I know sees a commercial like this and automatically thinks “wow, I’m so intrigued that I’m going to get off my couch, walk over to my computer, and spend time searching that website to figure out what that amazing product is.” To most, I think these are more a point of ridicule, and I really don’t think that these commercials help the company as much as they are paying to air them.

So, the only type of commercial that is left is actually a pretty broad genre. Some of these commercials are earnest, while others are centered on comedy. But the thing that all of these commercials have is emotional and personal appeal. Sometimes, watching these makes me want to go out and buy a cool perfume so that the paparazzi will love me. Others make me want to buy the amazing dinner that brings families together. Regardless of what they are about, these are the commercials that create our culture. Some commercials that are ten years old or more are still remembered today because of how they tugged at people’s heart strings. Why the companies with the first two types of commercials don’t use this one is of interest to me. I think it’s a mixture of what kind of advertising they can afford, coupled with the business savvy that the owners have. I mean, I can understand not being able to afford a Budweiser style commercial, but these commercials don’t seem to be helping much. Of course, many subscribe to the idea that there’s no such thing as bad advertisement, so I guess I can’t blame them for taking what they can get.