this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2023
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.

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A few genuine signals quickly become noise as everyone tries to be heard, demanding more and louder signals to stand out.

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[–] [email protected] 70 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

Preach. They are doing shit like pasting ads on top of the pitcher's mound during baseball games and playing commercials on gasoline pump screens. It's pathological.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I don’t like sports that much but I bet I could sit through a game if there weren’t fucking ads for shit I don’t want everywhere.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Have you tried letting them track everything you do for ~~targeted~~ personalized ads that will absolutely nail what you want? /s

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That’s the neat part: They just assume if you’re watching sports you like beer, trucks, and dick pills

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Are you really going to sit there and try to tell me that Patrick Mahomes eating wings doesn't make you want to immediately drop what you're doing and go to wing stop!?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

They should personalize ads to my bank account balance

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

I enjoy watching sports but the ads and greed greatly diminish the experience. NFL is probably the worst of the worst.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Most gas pumps have a button you can press to mute the obnoxious ads. Usually second down on the right.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It varies. At one place I used to go to, you could mute them. But they disabled the mute button, so I stopped going there.

At a different place, I accidentally went into an admin menu (by pressing several buttons at once) and that made me nervous, so I stopped screwing with the buttons. While it's very tempting to try and hack them, everything is on CCTV now. It's probably a crime here in the United States of Corporatism.

Fortunately there are still gas stations close to my job where I can fuel the vehicle in relative peace. I'd rather give those places my business.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I need to sort which ones by me don't have ads. It's the jarring audio at 5:30 am when I haven't had coffee yet that just sours my mood.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

They have AUDIO?

jesus fuck

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Please don't make this a thing in Canada please don't make this a thing in Canada please don't make this a thing in Canada please don't

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Yeah, I was visiting Seattle at a tram stop, I could hear an ad from a gas pump going off from halfway across the street... obnoxious af.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

I'm sorry, you have ads where now?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I’ve been trying every button on the pumps I’ve been to and none of them work. I think advertisers are onto us.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

yet another reason to ditch the car, my bike doesn't fucking shout advertisements at me.

[–] [email protected] 46 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I think you mean advertising; and mostly brand advertising.

"Marketing" also includes things like market research, which don't necessarily involve advertising at all.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago

Fair, albeit I think many outside of the field are inclined to bundle the two together given how closely they coordinate. Plus it's a shower thought post, so not meant to appear too well thought out.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Marketers ruin everything. — a fellow marketer

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The only reason we all don't target marketers as public enemy number 1 is because all our public enemies are giving to us by marketeers

[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 year ago

It's like feudalism. The feudal lord is important because they protect you... from other feudal lords.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Race to the buttom

Race to the bottom

Race to the bottom

Again

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Most obvious confirmation is products claiming all the things that aren’t in them, like chocolate treats with “NO asbestos”

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

iirc some countries already prohibit advertising the lack of something that would not normally be in similar products.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Good advertising aren’t loud. They entertain and are memorable and in turn effective and you don’t mind it’s effective because it didn’t yell at you or treat you like a child. It’s too bad 99% of advertising made even by brilliant thinkers are pure shit.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You mean Thai ads? They're good! The only ads I intentionally look for.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They are definitely up there! I think there’s more of a culture of not taking things too seriously hence clients are more willing to let loose and try new and funny ideas. Japan, New Zealand, Brazil have good examples too. Australia use to put out really fun advertising that doesn’t take itself too seriously. We got way more conservative over the last 20 years and now it sucks ass.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I agree. The humour bar is narrower now, I recently came across even the top professional comedians in Korea pointing out this trend. Everyone's afraid of saying or doing the wrong things, so people follow the safe template. Meanwhile Thailand is in a league of their own, where they compete who has the most creative plot twist!

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

I remember reading a thing years ago that basically said that once a business of any kind reaches a certain point, it becomes more of a marketing firm than what it originally set out to do.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

And if you don't market at all, you are screwed.

Except for some very special cases, it is a necessary evil.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Really? I disagree. I have this crazy belief that high value, high quality goods do not need advertising. Instead they create their own reputation and word spreads organically.

Then as profits begin to increase they will cheap out on materials and labour to eek out a few dollars more and destroy themselves because this is the game.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

See bullshit jobs, goon

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Mandatory Bill Hicks standup piece on Marketing.

https://youtu.be/tHEOGrkhDp0