Re: Isn’t pandering the whole point of advertising?

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It's a marketing technique.

Nov 22, 2021, 8:42 AM [ in reply to Re: Ohhh, this won't end well for you, but I'll toss this out ]

I wouldn't doubt there is a social justice element to it, but still, at the end of the day, it's a marketing technique to create broader appeal for their product and not alienate a potential customer base that has been undeniably underrepresented in advertising. Using mixed-race families is the easiest, safest way to do this because only a handful of overly touchy snowflakes get that bent out of shape about seeing it. This is also why you typically see the white male/minority female dynamic -- again, it's safer to use because it doesn't press as many latent racism buttons as the inverse.

Is a good marketing technique? Depends on what they're seeing come back. But, inclusion in advertising is a positive social good, and so long as the technique is not hurting sales, I'm happy to see it.

I think a far more onerous trend in advertising is not inclusiveness (again, this is a good thing), but the actual "pandering" with overt agenda-driven messaging that a) has little relevance to the product/service, and b) is not at all subtle and becomes the point of the ad itself, rather than the product. Nike is one of the worst offenders.

You may enjoy this piece: https://houseofstrauss.substack.com/p/nikes-end-of-men

Nike's End of Men

“Hey! Check out this Nike ad!” This was my entry point into a new world. I transferred dorms because a clerical quirk sent me to the “Substance Free” building...

There is a creative drought in advertising b/c everybody is trying to differentiate themselves w/ the same "woke" message. The result is very sleek pablum inspiring nobody. One of my favorite mantras in advertising is from Bill Bernbach, who said "The magic is in the product." Yet, what is coming from agencies today is practically devoid of any hint of "product." It is, as Strauss asserts in the article, little more than regurgitated cultural liturgy. Brands have assumed the role as "moral leaders," and it is reflected in virtually indistinguishable brand ads as everybody attempts to prove how woke they are. But they assumed this role at nobody's request, since nobody looks to their favorite brands as moral compasses.

George Lois, responsible for a bevy of iconic Esquire covers, described advertising as "poison gas."

"It should grip you by the throat, it should bowl you over, it should knock you on your ###."

Brands like Nike probably see their ads as poison gas, but in reality it's more of a slow, rank fart. It's not even, as Strauss suggests with Nike, b/c of the jettison of the "old ways" (re: problematic) but that they have made the "new way" (re: woke) so boring and commonplace. t doesn't have to be this way. The underlying emotion (what Leo Burnett might call the "inherent drama") of the Woke movement is an underdog finally finding her voice. It is a cultural underdog story. How W+K and Nike have not managed to capture this universal sentiment in their new era of ads, even using the same cast of characters they use to force-feed Woke liturgy to bored and bewildered customers, is precisely what makes these ads as lazy as they are bad.

Above all, however, what Nike suffers from with their agency (and I do have much love for W+K and their work), is the same, long-running trend across advertising as a whole; advertisements written for advertisers, not customers. Spots like those highlighted by Strauss are surely considered "industry favorites" because that's the audience for whom they're written. I'm reminded of that grotesquely esoteric "Eat Like Andy" Burger King spot from the Super Bowl. Never mind that nobody wants to watch another person meticulously eat a cold, lifeless burger, or that Warhol actually preferred McDonald's, or that most people had no idea it was Warhol; the ad was acclaimed by the industry. How creative! How bold! What a risk!

Oh, did you forget about this commercial, after never going to a Burger King for the last two and a half years? Exactly. What BK's agency did was spend a heap of client cash on a spot created as a monument to their own hubris. (For the record, David would have hated this spot.)

Nike's struggle is symptomatic of the industry as a whole. "Going woke" simply provides additional excuses to ignore the problem because at least the efforts were "noble," right? Eh. Not if you appreciate what makes an ad truly good -- making cash registers ring.

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Let's play a game

Males are stoopid.***

Definitely.

I remember the foist time I saw that commercial and was like

I'm thinking about the day of the shoot for that ad,

"Let's emphasize the Looeyville slugger in his trousers"***

Ah, but it is relatable. You think of how 1993-94 Frank

Ohhh, this won't end well for you, but I'll toss this out

Re: Ohhh, this won't end well for you, but I'll toss this out

Isn’t pandering the whole point of advertising?

Advertising is about pushing an agenda now

That’s not an ad, you’ve already bought their product

Gotta finish all 20 something seasons of South Park first***

Well clearly if you have a dark-skinned buddy

It's a marketing technique.

Re: Ohhh, this won't end well for you, but I'll toss this out

Based on sports ads I’d say

Here's one that checks a lot of boxes ...

Based on monitored alarm company ads

Always have their ball cap on backwards.***

and wearing a big football jersey with a large

NOW…if the tribesmen are watching HGTV

Here's a safe space for all triggered by who's on your TV

Triggered?

You forgot one.***

Re: Here's a safe space for all triggered by who's on your TV

Commercials, lol.

I was thinking the same thing.

Commercials are when I mash the "skip 30 seconds" button 5x

Only during football season***

Re: Let's play a game

"But why is she playing drums without any clothes?"

If they're watching the ACC network then men need to

Did we ever determine if Big Hearted Bob's wife killed him?***

Shiiiiiit....you taking me back now. I forgot all about

No, but did you know that Big Rob is dead?

I'm trying to understand why anyone pays attention

I've seldom been on the same page with you as much as now.***

"But... but... there aren't enough white people in em!"

people got lots of maladies and illnesses

Corporate pandering is nothing new... but the most

I love those cheese wheels***

No way, I woke up feeling the cheesiest, coach!!!***

This is one of the oddest, lowkey "I'm triggered"...

Re: This is one of the oddest, lowkey "I'm triggered"...

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