Strange Strategies

I have a genuine question for everyone. Have you noticed that recent commercials are just plain strange the majority of the time? Brands like Red Bull, Native, and Doritos are just the first ones to come to mind that I have seen in the past few days.

The whole goal of these adds is to get the consumer to buy their products, I am aware of that. However, I have been watching tv with my parents and one of those strange commercials comes on, and we are just left confused and speechless sometimes. If we want to argue that they have gone the route of strange because they are trying to get their product to be remembered, then I would say that they have achieved that goal. But at what cost?

If I am completely honest, I am less likely to try a new brand of something just because they had a very strange add. I find it off putting, and it gives me a negative impression of the brand as a whole for going with the add to begin with. This reaction may not be considered fair, but it is how I have found myself feeling.

Last night a commercial for a toilet paper brand played while my parents and I were watching a show. I can’t recall the specific name of the brand, but I know it was meant to show their “new” rolls that feature 1000 sheets, or at least something to that effect. The add featured a man who was unrolling one of these new rolls on to the floor and it proceeded to roll away onto the street. While this was happening, that man held the oo vowel sound of the word long the entire time it was rolling. So due to the idea that these are extra long rolls, it was a significant time for this sound to be playing. All this managed to do is straight up annoy me, and consider muting the tv the next time it played. I highly doubt a very effective marketing strategy is to annoy the consumer. It gave me a pretty negative reaction to the product and the brand.

Overall, I am just plain confused as to the new-ish trend of commercials that just don’t make real sense. It doesn’t feel like these companies are trying to put their best foot forward with their products. Not everything in life has to be played up for this grand spectacle that the entertainment world has become these days. I am starting to sound like a cranky old man, telling little kids about how things were back in my day, but that doesn’t make the point any less important.

I appreciate the companies that try to do right by their consumers and their employees. We need a little more of that in the world these days.