What You Need.

Liberty Mutual is an insurance company. It ranks 7th among all television advertisers. Impressive. Various critics give the company high marks for creative expression. But spending leaders who choose saturation advertising have only one real goal — name recognition. You see it enough, think it’s clever or cute, and subliminally you conclude “it must be good.” But if you bother to analyze the pitch, you might think twice. Liberty tells you that “you only pay for what you need.” My, my, how utterly magnanimous. What that message really means is that you’re stupid. You’re stupid for paying your current insurance company for what you don’t need, which obviously implies that your insurance company is ripping you a good one. Liberty tells you that it will “customize” your auto policy. What that really means is that other insurance companies don’t, but only offer you cookie-cutter Plans A, B, or C — you have to pick your poison. Naturally, with Liberty, since you have a “custom” policy, you will pay less because you’re “only paying for what you need,” whatever that is. Good luck with that. Of course, you can test the Liberty program. Since you only pay for what you need, tell Liberty Samaritans what you need and ask them to give you their price list for what you need. Then compare Liberty’s price with, say, Nationwide and State Farm. Easy enough. What is that you say? Oh, you depend on the insurance company to advise you and tell you what you need? Seems fair. You’re no expert, Matilda. As your trusted consultant and advisor, therefore, Liberty studies your circumstances and tells you what you need. You say OK and then Liberty asks you to pay for it — that is, for only what you need. Take heart, Liberty isn’t the only advertiser on TV that dishes out bullshit. At the very least, 80 percent exaggerate, or inflate, or fudge a little or even misrepresent. Some of the 80 percent, like fragrance advertisers, have no differentiated message; so they offer beautiful bodies, special effects and mysterious landscapes. Pharma ads follow a boring template, hyping a wonder drug with happy people before mentioning the 20 side effects, one of which is death. The fast food industry shows you close-up views of carefully merchandised items that have zero resemblance to the actual flattened thing you eat. With exceptions here and there, the auto industry is asleep behind the wheel.. Beverage ads have nothing to sell but images of people enjoying a carbonated life. But the worst are hackneyed, stereotypical ads by attorney talking heads who encourage you to “get what you deserve” by saying “We don’t get paid unless we win.” By contrast to the 80 percenters, the 20 percent crowd is rare indeed. They entertain you and present a product or service for what it really is — no claims, no chest pounding. Johnsonville Sausage is an example. Forest creatures tell you the sausage patty is bigger and they have a good laugh about it. Geico tells you that “fifteen minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance.” It could. Meaning it may not. But while you consider it, have a little Geico fun. “As Seen Products” on TV are pure feature/benefit ads that show and tell what some gizmo does. Most often, the products deliver, backed by a return policy. You can debate the 80-20 advertising rule till doomsday. Few things are more subjective than TV ballyhoo. But there can be no debate — none — about the 100% advertising rule. That rule requires that all television advertisers must dive neck deep into the social engineering pool. Every swimmer in the pool must must be dedicated to affirmative action. The AA rules are pretty simple. At least 50% of advertising actors must be some shade of black. At least every other couple, married or not, must be mixed race. When desirable, be sure to include same-sex couples who are White or Black or Asian, who are female, or male, or mixed race, and those who have a son or daughter, or gender to be decided. The idea of over-representing the minority category is an affirmative action influence, consistent with the Neo Marxist WOKE religion that despises Christianity and the sacred precepts of Western Civilization. Sorry to be grim. Unfortunately, politics was bound to rear its ugly head in any discussion of television advertising. But without politics, advertising would lose its most persuasive and powerful voice; and without that voice, you would be forced to read and think critically, all by your lonesome. And, incidentally, if you happen to be one of the few who chooses books over TV, be sure you only pay for what you read.

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One thought on “What You Need.”

  1. And we just continue to allow all of this (BS) to keep happening!!! When are we going to STAND UP AND STOP IT ~ WE CAN YOU KNOW!!! But it takes courage!!!

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