Advertising and the economy

I don't watch television. I know, it seems very strange and almost un-American, but it's a fact. I do turn the TV on long enough to catch a little bit of my local news, and to catch the weather forecast for the day, but after about an hour (or less), I can't take it anymore, so I shut it off. We don't have cable television, or satellite. We use the old fashioned antenna to receive our local television stations--and not all of them come in. When the news came out that all televisions were going digital in February, I sent away for the TV coverter box coupon and went into Radio Shack to redeem it. The $40 coupon only covers part of the cost of the box. I was so miffed that someone is making big money on this conversion I decided against it entirely and let my coupon expire. I admit I'm a little shaky when I consider not having a television at all, but I step back in those moments and wonder why I'm feeling this way. I don't watch the thing, so why should it bother me to let it go? I suppose it is because we are all so conditioned by the glowing box. Our entire society is shaped by it. The "in" products are a result of the advertisements and constant mental barrage from the television that these products are necessary.

Have you noticed how ads in January really focus on how you look? You're fat, you have too much facial hair, you don't have enough hair on your head, you're out of shape---you must be beautiful, so buy this product to make it all better! I find myself resenting those commercials most of all. But people buy into them! One commercial that seemed to make a huge impact was an infomercial for the Snuggy. Around Christmastime my local news station was talking a lot about these sleeved blankets, and at first I had no clue what they were talking about, but then I caught one of the advertisements. I found myself fascinated by their approach--the commercial, which I'm sure you've seen, claims that with the Snuggy you can turn down your heat and save money. Now, this may not mean much to some, but what caught my attention was that this company was playing on the bad economy and the difficulties people are having just making enough money to keep their house warm. Save money by buying this product! What's wrong with the afghan you have tossed in the closet? Or the blanket off your bed?

The other day I heard a piece on NPR about how infomercials are thriving in this bad economy. It seems that as prime time advertisements--such as those for automobiles--are declining, more advertisement spots are available during the waking hours than before. Infomercial advertisers tell television execs to just put their commercials wherever there is an open spot. By doing so they can get air time for a lower rate. As a result, products like the Snuggy are receiving more viewers than ever before because they are no longer contained to late-night viewers. I remember several years ago, a time when I did watch a lot more television and had cable, I was up very late and I found myself watching QVC or another similar channel. I wasn't paying attention to the product being sold, but I was noticing how they used frenzy to sell. "Oh, there's only one hundred of these left! CALL NOW!" I think so many people are sucked in by that mentality that they think there will never be another moment to get an item like this in their life.

Interestingly, a separate, but related NPR news piece was on the radio yesterday about how the economy is affecting (traditional) advertising companies in general. What I think is happening is that as people are learning how to hunker down and live with less, advertising, in its current and past form, is not working. That, and the fact that so many companies are going under. I think that as we move forward and experience more hardships we will begin to see a radical shift in the way we do everything, and the way we experience everything.