4/12/2006

Buy From Us, We Think You're Stupid

Lately it seems like there has been a trend toward advertisements that demean and insult the very customers the ad is supposedly aimed at attracting.

1) Dodge is running a commercial with two ultra rednecks longing for the new Hemi engine. One throws the cover from a truck onto the hood of his buddy's car right before he runs off the road. Yep, Dodge wants all the stupid rednecks to buy their new trucks.

2) Burger King has the strangest corporate spokesperson (king?) in history. The latest ad shows him pretending to push a construction worker off a high-rise being built. Yep, that sure makes me want to eat there.

3) Sonic has a couple in the front seat of a car with an idiot husband insulting his wife over and over...while she grins and eats the food. Another ad features the same idiot husband with a buddy suggesting insane food combinations they wish Sonic would offer. Why?

I could go on (and feel free to add your own pet peeve commercial in the comments) but what is the point? Who is sitting around tables at ad agencies saying, "Yeah that's it--let's insult our customers and tell them we think they're stupid. That should drive sales right through the roof!"

Hey, wait. I can do that. I know lots of good insults...is anybody out there hiring?

4 Comments:

At 7:08 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Were truer words ever spoken than "I know lots of good insults!"? Precious memories....how they linger! ha!

Rebecca

 
At 12:15 PM, Blogger Dan Burrell said...

OOOOoooo, I want to play. What about the Hardees commercial that shows the pretty blonde TRUCK DRIVER sitting in the cab of her truck eating a taco salad like she was a guy? First...has ANYONE ever seen a truck driver that good looking? Second, I don't find some truck driver (pretty blonde or not) sucking taco sauce from between her fingers with her feet on the dashboard reason enough to buy food.

But, the WORST ads are the Burger King ones where you have the freakish king with the scary plastic grin showing up in people's beds with breakfast. What genuis thought those up?

 
At 3:43 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Or, how about the Holiday Inn Express ads -- the really smart people i.e. doctors, lawyers, etc. don't stay here, just dumb people who want to pretend to be smart.

 
At 10:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Don't forget all the political ads that say "Vote for me!" They're counting on people being stupid too.

 

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