Advertising - Associating Your Product with a Brand

Back in high school, we were told that the person who says it doesn't pay to advertise is not seeing the whole picture.

A person will complain loudly that they are not having any sales. Someone will suggest to them that they advertise. They argue that advertising is pointless.

Then, they hit us with the facts. The man is sitting at a desk, wearing name brand clothes. The labels are on the back of the pants, the shirt has a small recognizable logo, the shoes have a design that's specific to the manufacturer. He drives a fancy car. You can tell from the shape and the label on the side of the car who made the car, where it was sold. He drinks pop that has a label on it. Another words, you can tell from across the room, which flavor it is.

It's all advertising.

If you go online, there is a whole list of the commercials presented to people in the 1990s. There were a lot of them. I suppose it's because there were a lot of people with the new, fancy large screen televisions and the advertisements were life-size and advertising flourished.

Unsuspecting people would watch these advertisements and they'd discuss amongst themselves afterwards - What were they selling? I don't know. All I saw was two squirrels giggling. I really don't know what the significance of it was. Was it cell phones? What is a cellphone? Oh, they were chattering to each other. Ohhhhh! - While you're up, can you grab me a beer from the refrigerator.

-- Yeah, most people used the commercial time to go to the bathroom or get some food. That's probably why these commercials are on multiple times.

Yes. That's right. If you don't see a commercial the first time, don't fret. You will see it the second time. And the third time. And the fourth time.

Finally, you'll be able to quote the entire commercial, word for word. Amaze your friends. Astound people.

Isn't that what advertising is all about? Getting the word out?

How many tennis shoes can you identify by the mark on them?

That's right. Many.

That is advertising. You are a walking billboard.

Does your car have it's model on it? Your car is a moving billboard. That's advertising!

When you buy a can of pop from a machine, does the can have the company name on it and the type of pop, the address of the company on it? Virtual business card. All advertising.

When you see a truck driving straight up a cliff, you tend to know that you won't be able to do this, but it's still false advertising.

-- look for the small print - These are trained professionals doing a stunt. You should not try this in your own environment --