Who Are You People?

Let me first say, I am no Don Draper. Okay, bad example, nobody is that cool in real life.* What I'm getting at is I am not an advertising guru. I don't know the first thing about research figures or profit margins. (Really touting myself, aren't I?) However, I do consider myself to be a fairly regular person. A little eccentric, but I have my feet on the ground enough to say I identify with the viewing public. Or so I think...

If I have anything in common with the average American, then television commercials are a massive waste of money. Like any other man with a sense of humor, I love the Old Spice guy. I giddily clap my hands like a teenager when that miniature giraffe shows up in the DirecTV commercial. (This one) Does this mean I'm going to sign up for DirecTV and order Old Spice by the crate? I'd rather buy something I need. How about some socks? Everybody needs socks. Yeah, I'll stick with the socks.

I just can't believe that consumers are so impressionable that a commercial is enough to sell them on a product. Even for something as harmless as deodorant or candy bars, I reject the notion that people are so gullible that an entertaining advertisement will cause them to run to the store and turn on the tunnel vision, opting to waive their right to choose what they buy. Symbol for the everyman he may be, it is inconceivable to me that Homer Simpson is an accurate depiction of the effectiveness of advertising. We can't all go to clown college just because the billboard tells us to do it.

"That's it! You people have stood in my way long enough. I'm going to clown college!"

Who are these people who do what the TV tells them to do? Perhaps this is the kind of disconnect one experiences when you spend your whole life in "modern" areas. That's not enough to make me move to Arkansas. I'll run the risk of being called an arrogant intellectual. Anything other than being associated with the Heartland Tea Party. Oops, I shouldn't have given them a party name that makes sense. As long as it doesn't make it to a commercial.

*George Clooney is the obvious exception to the rule. If you disagree, feel free to stop reading my blog. Your kind ain't welcome around these parts.