Blog #4

In the excerpt "Hype" by Kalle Lasn from Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture the author describes how advertising is one thing you just can’t get away from. It describes the "mental pollution" we encounter on a daily basis. In the beginning, the excerpt brings up that everyday there are more than 200,000 TV commercials being “dumped” into North America’s brains. The excerpt mentions that there are ads everywhere we turn from buses to gas nozzles. We are being brain washed on a daily basis and most of us are not even aware of it. Our minds are like sponges and we absorb everything like BOUNTY (the quilted quicker picker upper). We can’t get away from ads no matter how hard we try. Anything with a catchy jingle or name and nicely advertised we are stuck to believe is the best. There is no way to avoid these advertisements. The author finishes the piece by saying “There is nowhere to run. No one is exempt and no one will be spared”.
In the article Lasn describes advertising as something we just can’t get away from. We are being over exposeded to adveritising. As I sit in front of the computer right now trying to decide what to type I take a look around. I see the DELL logo, Windows VISTA, and Intel ads right in front of me. As I read the excerpt all I could think about was "Frank's RED HOT, I put that sh** on everything". People are being brainwashed by ads in a way that is so amazing! Even people who do not watch TV or listen to radio are still exposed to advertisements.
From a marketing point of view, I can understand that companies are just trying to expose the consumer to their product. The bigger the better! The best way they can do this now is to have a interactive video screen put on shopping carts so that you can see ads even while you shop. It is getting harder and harder to get money from the consumer and companies are growing desperate. The are willing to do whatever it takes for you to choose their products. But enough is enough!
I definitely agree with the author that there are ads everywhere. On a regular day North American’s are exposed to an estimated 3 million display ads. I think that is about 2,999,999 ads too many for the day. Our minds have grown to associate products with their ads. We see the golden arches and we know a McDonald's is close. We are no longer buying for the products for which is best, but for which is better known. Hopefully, one day soon there will be a way to filter and limit how much advertising we actually encounter on a regular basis. Until then, ads ads ads!