My friends, I gather you here today to discuss commercials. Specifically, the New AT&T Yellow Pages commercials. There are several that I know of. There is one on television where a couple is walking around with the phone book in hand, using it to find a pizza place. Upon arrival, they discover, not a pizzeria, but a store that exclusively sells engagement rings. The girl, thinking that her boyfriend has staged a proposal, jumps for joy and hugs him gleefully as he stands with a stunned look on his face which then transforms to a look of dawning horror. The implication, of course, is that if they had used a more up to date book, this wouldn't have happened. There are also two radio ads for said book. One features a man who has hired an organic pesticide exterminator. It turns out that this exterminator uses rocks. Rocks that he throws at everything in sight, including the cat and the image of sasquatch on the television. The other advertisement has a minister of some sort trying to conduct a wedding ceremony while a photographer loudly and constantly talks and snaps pictures in a most annoying fashion. These ads state that if these people had used a "more complete book" they would have been able to make better choices on who they hired. Now I have a problem with these ads, and it has been bothering me more and more with every passing commercial break. The television ad can indeed make the claim that their book is up to date. But I have a hard time believing that it will still be up to date in December. So, really, it can only be called the most up to date book for a week or two after publication. I seriously doubt they will reissue a book every single time a business closes or changes location or something. But really, it's the radio ads that bug me the most. Are they trying to say that their book contains ads that say things like, "Exterminator-I throw rocks and am so dumb I can't tell reality from roaches." Or maybe, "Really obnoxious photographer for hire: I'm loud and annoying and will completely ruin your big day!" Seriously. Their ads are put into their book by the advertiser, just like any other phone book. What are they trying to pull here? I, for one, am outraged! From now I on, I will not use the AT&T yellow pages. I will continue using the Verizon yellow pages! Which actually really works out, because I am in the Verizon service area.
Don't even get me started on Emergency rooms advertising. Really.
3 comments:
ROFLMAO! yer funny margie. here's what i don't get and maybe im being dense. why even advertise the yellow pages. they give it to you for free. they don't sell it. what's the freaking point? god i sound like seinfeld. im such a sellout.
I haven't heard that exterminator commercial! That sounds funny...I agree with Cainnum though...they're free and home-delivered...why advertise? hmm...and you're right about the up-to-date thing.
I can actually understand why they advertise. I mean, to my home is delivered 4, count them, 4 different phone books. One for the Lewisville area. One for the Dallas area. And two for the Denton area. Of the Denton ones, one is the official Verizon book, and one is a pretty crappy cut rate book that isn't very good at all. So I can see that by alerting people to the fact that your book is better, it not only makes the people see that, it makes the advertisers see that, who then are more eager to pay for bigger and better ads in your book. Meaning more revune. Yay! So there you go. But that doesn't change the fact that their ads are misleading.
Now Hospitals on the other hand! I mean seriously. What's the point in advertising how great your heart team is when most people are going to go to the hospital that their insurand=ce will pay for? And people that don't have insurance avoid going to the hospital. And ER's. If my son cuts his finger off or my dad starts having chest pains, I am shoving them in the car and speeding to the closest hospital, and I don't care how many billboards for other hospitals I see on the way. Dammit. So they can put that in there pipe and smoke it. I TOLD you not to get me started! Didn't I? Didn't I?!?
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