AIBU to wonder if adverts actually work on anyone?!

[Thamestime]

Hi,

Recently, I feel like all adverts are a bunch of capitalistic drivel. Adverts with singing that are cheesy and cringe, adverts with terrible acting, etc.

Off the top of my head:

• Tampax advert, with singing;
• Aussie advert, with singing;
• Flash Direct To Floor advert with terrible acting (also, what was wrong with just dumping my regular kitchen anti bac on the floor and using my regular mop or kitchen roll?!)

Am I being reasonable to refuse to believe these adverts make anyone go out and buy the product? Or am I being unreasonable? What about the middle ground where I remember these products, but will buy them over my dead body because the adverts anger me and now I will make extra effort to NOT buy those products?

(Extra AIBU: Am I being unreasonable to think about the psychology of these adverts on such a deep level, and should perhaps go and wash my dishes?)

If you remember the advert, even if it irritated the fuck out of you (side eyeing the Pepto Bismol ad here), then it has done its job.

TheFishFish was being sarcastic.

I do actively avoid watching ads.
Never saw any for years as I only watched Sky on the planner. Recently I've been watching a few things on streaming and the ads drive me nuts. I mute the sound but you can't skip them.

🎵Nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, and diarrhoeaaaaaa !🎵

I've been thinking the same and no, adverts are just utter uninvited drivel which I don't pay any attention to, especially the fast small print read aloud a million miles an hour!

If I'm interested in something I will research it. I guess however if I've heard a certain name in annoying advert I will be more inclined to assume they're reputable.

To be fair, advertising and marketing don't all work on people the same way.

Some people like detailed factual information upfront for a purchase. Some people like how the sales process is experientially/like to shop in store and choose their own veg etc. Some are influenced by recommendations. Some people just want an item that fits a few major criteria, without spiel or getting bogged down etc.

But advertising is part of the ecosystem where someone recommends Ecover or whatever based on having used it because they liked the clear eco branding in the shop.

Ads have always had the adverse effect on me because I'm a massive bargain hunter and avoid named brands, even if they are on offer 😳 .

Saying that, I adore a funny ad or a fun jingle, but often times I have no idea what they are actually selling.
That one where they are singing about having the shits is fantastic, but I don't know the name of the product 🤣.

She’s being sarcastic

I've been thinking the same and no, adverts are just utter uninvited drivel which I don't pay any attention to, especially the fast small print read aloud a million miles an hour!

Agree. I HATE it when you get the terms and conditions read out at super fast speed (you get this on radio ads too.) I just zone out, and don't listen, so I'm not taking it in.

Also, ad breaks now are too long and too frequent, and I'm so glad I can record stuff now and cut out the ad breaks, so I don't have to watch the ads.

.

Ah, thanks 🤦🏼‍♀️
ASD brain at it again

Cleaning product ads definitely make me stop in the supermarket, other than that not really- I look at eg hair ads and know none of them have the same starting point as me hair wise, and that eg L’Oréal irritates my scalp!!

They work on enough people to justify their production! On me, they lead me to make tea, hang up the washing, put the dishwasher on, pick up the phone.

Well, those adverts where we all watched the man trying to retrieve a kite, getting blown up and blasted off the electricity pylon dead certainly made me very cautious.

And the little girl screaming when she picked up a hot sparkler made me scared of picking up sparklers

And Jimmy getting electrocuted getting his frisbee.

Terrifying, but they worked!

I always think the same. I actively avoid products where the advert pisses me off. Savage by that wife beater, for example. I don't want to pay extra for the product because they pay some knob-jockey to come up with some stupid faux situation that the product would be used in. We know what washing powder does. We know men don't really clean up so women eye rolling at them isn't novel or quirky any more.

I think we are in a post realist age and adverts make me mute them and do a chore instead these days. They've become synonymous with being made to watch them to get to read the news or play scrabble on an app, so they are burdensome.

Fairly sure those were Public Health campaigns, not selling kites!

A prime example of why I always mute the fuckers!