Sunday, April 15, 2012

MINDLESS ADVERTISING: The last few times I've been to the movies, as part of the pre-show, I've been subjected to a very odd ad for boyband Mindless Behavior (which apparently wants to be the new B2K), which, sadly, I can't seem to find on the Internet.  In the ad, we hear little (if any) actual music, but instead, lots of screaming fans together with bold statistics in all-caps like "MILLIONS OF YOUTUBE VIEWS!," "TRENDING ON TWITTER FROM OVER 50 COUNTRIES!," "THOUSANDS AT MALL OF AMERICA IN-STORE!," and, my favorite, "EXCLUSIVE MERCHANDISE LINE AT KMART!"  What, exactly, is the goal of this ad?  It certainly tells me that this group is popular among teenagers, but gives me no idea what they sound like (the answer appears to be "the unholy union of Justin Bieber and T-Pain" judging from this video) or why I should want to buy their records.  Is it to get people to pitch endorsement deals to them?  Is it to tell parents "this is popular, buy it for your kids?"  I just don't understand it.

5 comments:

  1. This is why I bring a book to the movies.  My retention from the pre-show is zero.

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  2. Mr. Cosmo8:55 PM

    It just makes me wonder why the movies you're seeing are viewed as good audience targets for this ad, hm?

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  3. This is in the pre-show for EVERYTHING at AMC and Regal, I think.

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  4. Okay, and to be fair, the last movie I saw in the theaters was (consult wife) Cave of Dreams (cringe).  So just pretend I didn't say anything.  I'll go back to ordering diapers on Amazon now.

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  5. gretchen6:10 PM

    "Trending on Twitter" has to be my least favorite phrase in the Current Marketing Lingo.  Or possibly in the entire language.  Nothing makes me feel as curmudgeonly as Twitter.

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