Posting OOSHIES

[bubblebooks2020]

Ooshies, those horrid plastic Woolworths things. My mum had a heap of them so I was looking at what they are selling for. People are selling the individual Ooshies for $4 or $5, up to $10 each with free postage. The only way they could make a profit on that is to send them as a large letter. I measured my Ooshies and the smallest is 25mm wide, up to 35mm, too big to send as a large letter. So 1 Ooshie would be a parcel. I imagine these sellers are sending their Ooshies in an envelope with 2 stamps. I bet Australia Post hate that, as things bigger than 2cm can get caught in their sorting machines. How do people get away with this? As a rule I don't send anything thicker than 18mm as a large letter. Anyone else selling Ooshies???

[brerrabbit585]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

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@countessalmirena wrote:

There are people who are more susceptible to advertising, and as a corollary, people less susceptible...

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I know, but by the same token someone who is impervious to overt advertising isn't necessarily impervious to subversive advertising, and that is something impossible for an individual to determine about themselves. 

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I think some of us do know our own minds, but I'll admit that applies to very few people.  Most people want to conform and they're extremely susceptible to advertising and are blissfully unaware of it, but some of us are quite happy in our skin and prefer to do our own thinking and be in control of our own lives rather than hand over control to others.  Some of us aren't swayed by fashion or trends.  I know I never have been - I've always tended to run from anything that's 'in fashion' or that's popular at the moment.  I'm still the same as I was when I was at school - if something is popular I'm just not interested in it, whether it be books, films, clothes, hairstyles, etc.

When I go shopping I buy what "I" need/want/like, not what someone else thinks I should buy.  I know there are a lot of small tricks that most people are unaware of, like sticking the most expensive items at eye level and the more mundane items higher and lower, but that's only a tiny part of it.  A lot of ads on tv are a real turn off, especially the ones that say "you're worth it" or "you deserve it".  That's only for gullible women who are insecure enough that they need someone to tell them it's okay to waste money.  Those two expressions have been around since the 90s and you'd think people would have woken up to them by now but they can't have or those companies wouldn't still use them.  

I'm with dave on the food labelling.  I know what's good for me but I also buy very little processed food so I wouldn't even see most of those con labels.  The only labels I'm interested in are the ingredients labels that spell out the facts (hopefully!).  I'm occasionally tempted to buy chocolate (only when it's on special) but I only need to read the ingredients and I put it back down again.  Unlike dave, I don't read any advertising brochures because I stopped all my junk mail a few years ago and haven't regretted it.  There was rarely anything in the leaflets that interested me anyway and when there was it wasn't convenient for me to go shopping so they were just a waste of trees (and my time spent reading them).

I'm not interested in someone else's idea of what car I should drive, what style clothes I should wear, how I should do my hair, what furnishings I should have in my house, what I should eat, etc etc etc.  I rarely throw anything out because I get sick of it.  If I liked it when I bought it I'll always like it so I don't feel the need to 'update' things regularly.

When this thread first started I read a newspaper article (online) that talked about the marketing ideas behind the ooshies and coles little shop items.  They said a LOT of people spend quite a bit more just to get up to $30 (or the next $30) and get another freebie.  I can't remember all the details but I'm pretty sure they said the marketing was aimed at the parents as much as the kids.  I just can't see how adults could be so gullible as to buy things they don't need just so they can get a blob of plastic junk.  I noticed on the ooshies it says they're valued at $3, yet people will spend another $10 or $20 to qualify for one.  If they buy extras they don't need, that makes the ooshies awfully expensive.  However, I've seen in the forums how gullible people can be so I shouldn't really be surprised.  

[brerrabbit585]

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@davewil1964 wrote:

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@countessalmirena wrote:

I consider myself, generally speaking, unaffected by advertising, but of course in actuality that can't be true. I suppose in my case it's more that I have strong passions and wants that are not mainstream, which means that mainstream advertising may not work on me... but that the minute there's a Heston Blumenthal commercial advertising some bit of kitchen tech, or Sandrine Piau advertising a breathing regime, or Pierre Deligne advertising a series of retreats designed to maximise your brain potential, or David Mitchell advertising a course on How To Release Your Inner Savage Wit, or Jonas Kaufmann advertising Lieder recitals... I will no doubt cave in.

Well, I HAVE caved in. Blumenthal's endorsement of the Breville stick blender was a factor in that particular purchase.

davewil, do you think you may possibly still be suggestible to some forms of advertising, perhaps some that's more specfiically targeted? (Obviously no children in the ads...)

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I doubt it, countess. The only time advertising would work on me would be if I was after a specific item. The advertising would then prompt me to do real research, so in that instance I could be seen as susceptible.

Celebrity endorsements generally turn me off the advertised item - the celebrities are getting well paid to endorse the product. It doesn't mean the product is as advertised or fit for purpose. it just means the company can afford to pay somebody a lot of money in the expectation of realising a profit on said outlay.

Instance George Clooney. He's a fairly good actor, but that to me doesn't mean he knows anything about American strength coffee.

And I doubt Roger Federer eats a lot of chocolate.

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Celebrity endorsements are a turn off for me too but they don't use them because they think people will buy the product just because that person recommends them, though that obviously works for the most gullible people.  Their whole aim is for the ad to be distinctive enough that you'll remember it, which means you're more likely to remember the product and you may give it more attention than you otherwise would have when you go shopping.  Some people stick to the same brand all the time but others will often try something new and they're just as likely to see the one that was advertised and decide to give it a try.  It doesn't work for all of us but it works with enough people that it's worth their while.

There's more to it than that as well.  George Clooney's coffee ad as an example - for those who already buy the product, when they see the ad a lot of people will decide they really need a coffee right now, whereas they didn't want it until they saw the ad, so they're consuming more of it than if they hadn't seen the ad.  The company that sells that particular product possibly sells lots of other brands of coffee too so if you have an extra cup when you see that ad there's a chance you're putting money into their coffers. 

There's a place in Ballarat that makes blinds and their tv ad is one of the biggest turn offs I've ever seen, simply because it's so unprofessional.  It was bad enough when they ran their ad with the word GENIUNE in huge letters on the screen for probably more than a year, but when they finally fixed that they came out with another ad with "You'r blinds" in it.  Just because they can't spell doesn't mean they can't make blinds but everything you do reflects on your business.  Yes, I remember them because of their ads, but for all the wrong reasons.

I remember an ad for BP oil from at least 45 years ago where poor Stanley (in the ad) had all the insignia ripped from his clothing and was sacked because he was using inferior oils in people's cars where he worked.  It was meant to be humorous but they had so many complaints from people that they were forced to bring out another ad where they reinstated him because he changed the way he did things.  I thought the original ad was quite good but obviously some people couldn't tell the difference between make-believe and the real world and got upset by it.  BP didn't want to lose customers so they had to appease them.

@ countess, I may be wrong but I would think that digi didn't mean subversive so much as more subtle types of advertising.

[digital*ghost]

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@countessalmirena wrote:

Subversive ads play on the feeling of being in on a joke, or part of an elite group that is metaphorically sticking it to the big brands...

I suppose that would be especially appealing to people who are prone to believing in conspiracy theories, but also to those who pride themselves on not being part of the crowd.

The trouble with subversive ads is that they can definitely appeal to one's sense of humour, and the minute one's got that sense-of-humour-hook in one'se mouth, the advertisers are halfway there.

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I guess I didn't convey what I meant very well. When I said subversive advertising, I didn't mean blatant advertising that subverts the normal style of advertising, I meant ads that subvert the way they are communicated to people in such a way as they don't even know they are being advertised to.

If anyone watched the vid I linked to earlier, it talks about how brands are now leveraging "outrage" marketing - the point of that isn't the commercials themselves, it's the fact that thousands to millions of people are not only talking about it in areas that the large majority of targeted people can't escape from, but people are often expected to have a take on the situation and the brand. In other words, the general public do the advertising simply by reacting to the brand en masse. 

Geurilla marketing is also quite common - everything from people being paid to read certain books visibly in public, to (allegedly, or perhaps just conspiratorially), scary clowns standing around at night (in the lead up to the It remake being released). 

Marketing on packaging is something we intentionally pay attention to - we might discount some of it as fluff, but graphic designers and slogan makers don't get paid for nothing. They get paid to intentionally manipulate while being aesthetically pleasing. 

Some news articles are obvious ads, some are not. 

When people don't even recognise something as advertising. it's already more effective than traditional advertising. 

[twyngwyn]

bring back Gruen (ABC) 🙂

[brerrabbit585]

Rather than subversive you're saying they're being extremely subtle and working on our sub-conscious minds so that we're not even consciously aware of it.  That's what I was getting at with the mention of George Clooney and any other celebrity - the celebrity is ONLY there to make you remember the ad and to talk about it.  It's not what's IN the ad that counts, it's whether or not you remember it that counts. 

Along with what you said in this last post, they know that for some things ANY publicity is good for them because the ones who wouldn't have bought it anyway don't matter, but more of the other people get to hear about it.  Some people might not like George Clooney so they refuse to buy that product, but for most people the seed has been planted even if they see the ad and scoff and say, "They must be dumb if they think I believe GC drinks it, or that I'll drink it just because he does."  I wouldn't have a clue what brand he drinks but that's probably because I don't drink tea or coffee and it's pretty much water coffee off a duck's back where I'm concerned.

Packaging doesn't make much difference to some of us but how many of us only buy the plain brand stuff?  To some people the packet is more important than the contents!

I didn't watch your video link because it'd use way too much of my downloads.  If I get a chance to I'll watch it though.

A friend told me two or three years ago that a lot of writers are now paid to advertise particular products in their novels, eg. "I had a headache so I took a Disprin" (or whatever particular brand name is being pushed - and they specify the brand).  I haven't seen that because I don't read many novels but she said she's seen in it a lot of books in recent years.

The big question is, what can I do to market my ebay items more successfully?  One brother in law used to be Marketing Manager at Rowntrees but I rarely see him and he's never been interested in helping me anyway.  I do know that the people with the highest prices are often the most successful - the more you push yourself forward the more sales you seem to get.  Maybe I need to put my prices up again!

I didn't watch Gruen but I saw one bit that I found interesting (and definitely true) but I can't remember what it was now.

[countessalmirena]

Ah - I was thinking along the lines of this sort of advertising...

[digital*ghost]

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@brerrabbit585 wrote:

Rather than subversive you're saying they're being extremely subtle and working on our sub-conscious minds so that we're not even consciously aware of it. 

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That's part of it, for sure, but I was also trying to say that the methods and mediums are subversive. The methods themselves aren't always subtle, just the marketing aspect of it is, because we're not aware of them.

Another example is that a lot of the videos you might see on places like Facebook or YouTube that go viral, ones that look like just some random footage someone took on their phone showing a small feat of human accomplishment, or frustration, are actually ads. (Captain Disillusion - another Youtuber - is a great source for breaking down special effects in viral videos and finding the original source, a lot of which are marketing firms). There's one that didn't have any special effects visually, it looks like security cam footage of a woman being boxed in by a parked car by someone in "stuff you moment", but then manouvering her way out in her own car. The video plays like "look at this jerk create a problem, and how this chick handles it like a boss". The video was actually put out by the advertising agency for the car the woman was driving, though there is zero focus or attention on her car in the footage. There are tons of similar examples, some using the "found footage" method, others just being memes and the like. 

I also would have considered myself unaffected by advertising at one point - but the more I learnt about marketing, the more I realised how much advertising I actually consumed without ever knowing it. To put that in context, I don't watch commercial television, all my news sources are independent, I don't see (traditional) ads online all that much thanks to adblockers, and I would have considered myself hyper-aware of external input since I am an extremely introverted and introspective person, therefore I am far more comfortable watching and analyising what goes on around me than particpating in it. But in retrospect I think it's a pretty bold claim to make when a lot of it works on a subconscious level (even the blatant / obvious ads), and the whole concept of subconscious influence is that we're completely unaware of it happening and affecting us. 

So to me, saying that one is completely unaffected by these things is saying that one is fully aware of their subconscious mind - a contradiction in terms. Unless the claim is that there is no such thing as a subconscious mind, or that things don't / can't work on a subconscious level. 

[brerrabbit585]

The book I mentioned recently (Renew Your Mind) talks a lot about the subconscious mind and figuring it out. I'm not saying one can completely control it but you can become a lot more aware of what's happening at a subconscious level.

I only watch very specific youtube videos, like certain techniques in cross stitch (definitely nothing there for the subconscious mind) and other specific subjects, but I'd be lucky to watch ten youtube videos a year, and a lot less than that most years. I don't see any of the stuff on fb that goes viral, and don't even see the ads for that sort of stuff. I think facebook advertising would be a lot more effective than tv advertising, especially the subtle stuff. For some people their whole life is on fb but I only use it to sell and to look at people's finished craft work.

[digital*ghost]

I was just using viral videos example to show how pervasive advertising has become, and in a manner people don't notice. Social media makes it infinitely easier, but it's not impossible through other mediums. 

I like watching video essays on YT, there's a lot of rubbish there of course, but there's also a lot of very educated people who have a passion about some topics I never would have thought I'd spend an hour or more learning about

[springyzone]

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@brerrabbit585 wrote:

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@digital*ghost wrote:

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@countessalmirena wrote:

There are people who are more susceptible to advertising, and as a corollary, people less susceptible...

---

I know, but by the same token someone who is impervious to overt advertising isn't necessarily impervious to subversive advertising, and that is something impossible for an individual to determine about themselves. 

---

I think some of us do know our own minds, but I'll admit that applies to very few people.  Most people want to conform and they're extremely susceptible to advertising and are blissfully unaware of it, but some of us are quite happy in our skin and prefer to do our own thinking and be in control of our own lives rather than hand over control to others.  Some of us aren't swayed by fashion or trends.  I know I never have been - I've always tended to run from anything that's 'in fashion' or that's popular at the moment.  I'm still the same as I was when I was at school - if something is popular I'm just not interested in it, whether it be books, films, clothes, hairstyles, etc.

When I go shopping I buy what "I" need/want/like, not what someone else thinks I should buy.  I know there are a lot of small tricks that most people are unaware of, like sticking the most expensive items at eye level and the more mundane items higher and lower, but that's only a tiny part of it.  A lot of ads on tv are a real turn off, especially the ones that say "you're worth it" or "you deserve it".  That's only for gullible women who are insecure enough that they need someone to tell them it's okay to waste money.  Those two expressions have been around since the 90s and you'd think people would have woken up to them by now but they can't have or those companies wouldn't still use them.  

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I was really interested in what you said about the 'You deserve it' style of ad. It's everywhere and I think a lot of people, even if they don't think they are influenced by the actual ads, are influenced by the attitude. It explains why a lot of people over spend or break a diet or whatever. They tell themselves-I deserve the occasional treat etc

I used to say I wasn't that influenced by advertising but I know that is false to some extent. Most ads on TV leave me cold, but I know if I go to eg a home party for Tupperware or kitchenware or something like that, I can be attracted to something that looks as if it will be useful. I'm not in the least impressed by celebrities but if someone can convince me how much better a particular thing works over the opposition, then I can feel myself being tempted.

We all have to know our weak spots, I guess.

I think advertising does work for all of us to some extent. I know if I am out shopping with a friend, I might want to pop into a store to look for a particular thing and while we are in there, she might see something on a shelf and buy it.

And vice versa.

Had we not been in the shop in the first place, she probably would not have felt the immediate need for that particular thing but because it has caught her eye, a sale is made.

It reminds me of ebay. We sometimes read posts where people say their friends don't buy on ebay. My sister said similar to me a while back-she hadn't bought anything here for a while. It is because she hasn't visited the website to browse.

I think that's where advertising can be successful. If people once go on a site, and if they go often enough, they will be like my friend in the shop and occasionally buy something they vaguely had in mind. They search, they see, things crystallise.

You are probably right and the best way to resist a lot of advertising is not read the pamphlets etc in the first place.