The decline of British advertising

[Huff 'N' Tumble]

being rudely drowned out by

.

In the first offering we imagine our hero has just alighted from Kings Cross on his quest for that elusive book. He's always polite, but over the course of the production the formalities are replaced with a growing sense of despondency that we all knew he expected. With his hopes turned to ashes he returns home to be greeted by a concerned loved one. His forlorn sulk permeates through to the living room only to be healed by such a biblical resource. His rejoice at hearing that the stockist at the other end of the line is in possession of the Angling holy grail is met by an expression last seen on his face at the signing of the armastice.

As a target audience we applaud the product on offer, and praise the advertising nous that cause us to reach for our hankies.

The second offering looks like an arcade game that leads us to post threads like this.

What happened?

[Huff 'N' Tumble]

The two exceptions in modern advertising though are Audi and Guinness. Obviously.

[????]

Oh come on, Michael Winner too

[Huff 'N' Tumble]

Only if he advertises Shark repellent.

[SimonM]

I blame the smoking ban......No more "Hamlet" ads...

[silverfox]

Huff 'N' Tumble wrote:

"...As a target audience we applaud the product on offer, and praise the advertising nous that cause us to reach for our hankies."

You may applaud and praise but count me out. It's advertising - it's trying to get you to spend your money.

Your thread is 'The decline of British advertising'. It hasn't declined , it is alive and well.

[reggie]

I think its sad when people try to get free advertising on community discussion sites.

To find out more about this sad development, click on these links.

This

shouldn't

be

happening

[SimonM]

Free advertising on a community discussion site is indeed repugnant to all right-thinking people. Can blatant product placement be far behind? I said as much to my wife as she passed me a mug of coffee and a slice of delicious chocolate cake from Cafe 2050.

[RosieH]

We Buy Any Car is a work of freaking genius and I'll offer to step outside with anyone who cares to disagree. So it's lacking the plot narrative of J R Hartley, but in the words of another ad, it does what it says on the tin.

What makes an advert pleasing to those watching it is quite different from what makes a good ad - as silverfox says, they're there to make you spend money. I used to work for Brita - their "my lovely cup of tea" ads regularly topped the polls of most hated by the public. And yet the sales of water filters went through the roof every time they were on air.

[david_carnell]

You were responsible for that?! Damn you Miss H! And why was his tea nearly red in colour....it's not natural I tell thee. Tea is brown.

I used to quite fancy the actress in it though.....

[RosieH]

Nah honey, ahm in the PR bizniz innit, they wuz just a client (although even my own parents still think I make ads for a living, so what hope I of disabusing anyone else?)

[david_carnell]

Mee-jah....all the same to me.

[Huff 'N' Tumble]

"We Buy Any Car is a work of freaking genius and I'll offer to step outside with anyone who cares to disagree."

No. That advert was the work of someone who still can't fit the right shaped pieces through their matching holes. The same could be said of their customers.

[????]

H'N'T - do you wear spotty bow ties by any chance?

[Huff 'N' Tumble]

No ????. Do you wear Gordon Gekko braces?

[????]

yup

[Huff 'N' Tumble]

Predictable aren't you, squire.

[computedshorty]

Postal Gold advert on TV. Do you think that anybody sending gold to them will get the real worth of their gold?

Just count how many times that they put on the Postal Gold Advert, these costs make your gold offered as far less.

You might do better dropping into your local Uncle.

[PeckhamRose]

Compare the DON'T MAKE ME SAY IT.

I hate the advert and I will never use the product website.

But it's brilliant. But I hate it.

[*Bob*]

Guinness.. yawn yawn yawn

Ooo! it's like a work of art Aah! it's more than just an advert Ooooh! and it's in black and white and everything.

[*Bob*]

It's the Pavlov's Dog of the advertising world.

"Hey! You! Name a really good advert.. quick!"

"Urrhhh.. Ummm (panics).. Guinness, innit. The black and white one."

[mockney piers]

Oooh. Those brita ads starred advert girl didn't they, that actress that was in that film about Indian villagers beatig a bunch of English toffs at cricket in the style of a sergio leone film.

For want of a better term, corrrrrr

[Huff 'N' Tumble]

"Ooo! it's like a work of art Aah! it's more than just an advert Ooooh! and it's in black and white and everything."

It's undoubtably true that the 90's were favourable to minimalist black and white adverts that featured models with a thousand yard stare but they're now a thing of the past which anyone whose not presently wearing a prehistoric pair of Reebok Classics and a Phat Willies t-shirt will know, *Bob*.

[*Bob*]

The best advertising happens when you have to sell an abysmal product with a budget of ?200, not when you have to sell a comparatively cool product which already has an cool advertising pedigree, armed with only a mere few million pounds and a two-week shoot in Hawaii.

It's pretty enough and blah blah but it's just a big-bucks advertising wankfest, really.

[Huff 'N' Tumble]

"The best advertising happens when you have to sell an abysmal product with a budget of ?200"

I agree *Bob* although your proposed budget tips towards the absurd. However, the ads shot on a budget such as Cilit Bang and the JML products all rely on their inovation as much as - or more than (it's debatable) - the quality of the advert promoting them.