Advertising

We have some passing clouds this morning and there’s a threat of the possibility of a few showers, but once this little nuisance passes by we’re told we’re in for a super week of great weather. I sure hope so.

Wife Gator and Dog are now outside doing some work on the gardens. Weeding and the like were ignored during the constant threat of and actual rain we’ve been having this month. I think WG wants to get caught up. Dog, of course, must be wherever WG is.

I know advertisers spend millions of dollars to get their messages out. There are a lot of employees of media organizations to depend on that revenue for a living. To be honest, advertising has affected some of the things I’ve bought over the years. I couldn’t tell you how many times WG and I have thought of buying something, seen or heard an ad, and had our minds made up. There have been times when advertising has influenced us to buy something we didn’t even know we needed, too.

There comes a time, however, when an advertisement is repeated so often and for so long that it totally loses its effectiveness with me. This, of course, is in the TV advertising. I can simply and easily turn the page in print media or just shut out an ad on the radio. I could shut out the ads on TV as well, except it’s much more difficult as with today’s big and wide screens the ad is just blaring at you.

There’s a certain law firm that I would never call. I wouldn’t care how bad my meso-whatever is or if I were on my death bed. I’m so sick of that ad on TV I change stations every time I see it. Once changed, I rarely go back. If I ever needed a law firm for any purpose, that law firm would be the last I’d call. I hate that ad!

I’d bet that advertising agencies can cite figures one right after another about the effectiveness of the saturation ads. Saturation ads have no effect on me except to cause me to stay away from the company or service being advertised. Chances of my going back to school at my age are less than slim, but I wouldn’t even consider one local area school. Every time it advertises, I silently wish Jack Dimbulb would trip.

How much advertising money does that work/card/vote group have urging me to call and ask one of our politicians why he opposes secret union ballots? The ads were sort of fun the first 50 times they were shown. But now they’re really wearing thin. I won’t be calling the candidate, but I won’t be voting for him, either. I have yet to hear about anything he’s done for Maine.

I heard on the news this morning that the Portland City Council has authorized a contract with a company to redevelop that city’s major pier. I’m not a Portland taxpayer; but if I were, there are a couple of questions I’d be asking. Like, why doesn’t the project begin construction before 2011 and why a major component, a mega pier, was eliminated. I’d also ask why a multi-million dollar project to construct housing, businesses, etc., around the pier will be rent free for 20 years? If funding is a reason, then I’d ask why the other company bidding on the project didn’t get it since it already had funding?

And in Scarborough the sham of a new city center sponsored by a race track is underway. Under the guise of creating “millions and millions” of dollars in tax revenue, possibly enough to pay the entire school budget, for the town, the race track wants to establish slot machine and possibly other forms of gambling to go along with its already establish horse racing. All the promises it is making are simply attempting to hide the real reason behind the effort. Casinos, or more properly called racinos, have been voted down twice by Scarborough voters.

WG just came in. One of those threats of a shower has come to pass.

GiM