Oh, now I get it (0 Comments)
We had the radio tuned into a local radio station a few weeks ago when my brain tuned into one of the commercials. It was all about “passing gas” and when to not to it. It talked about leaving the area when “it” was about to occur and to NEVER do “it” around children because it contained noxious “gas”. It was sponsored by the Ad Council etc. I kept thinking “was that for real?” Which just goes to show how little I have to actually think about.
Finally, it was there in my mind while I was on the computer so I looked up the Ad Council to see if they had any information on it. I learned that the Ad Council was a non-profit organization that helps put together Public Service Announcements (PSA). After doing a search on “gas” I found that they indeed did sponsor such an ad. This one was directed by Jason Alexander of Seinfeld fame and has been an on going series since January of 2005. BUT the point was not about “passing gas” but about second hand smoke. Ooops. Silly me. I must have missed that part.
Seems second hand smoke contains noxious gases that is harmful to children and this ad will help motivate parents to stop smoking around their kids. Of course, this is an ad campaign put on by the same people who did the “TV Boss” ads. These ads are supposed to inform parents about the V chip and encourage them to use it to “block” offensive TV shows. One of them has a strung out drug addict on the floor with a man explaining how the show was “great” television but it was too adult content for the kids (seen playing outside through the window, ages about 10) so he was going to “block” the show. The he leaves and the addict says “What a nice lady.” The kids thought that was funny. We don’t watch much TV and we don’t have cable so I have no idea what show he was talking about but I know for sure my kids wouldn’t be watching it! I am finding that some of those shows aren’t even healthy for adults! Anyway, a poll was done to see if the ads had increased parents use of the “V” chip and found a 1% DECREASE in usage. Uh, don’t think it’s working. Could it have been the timing of when they showed the ads? The reason we saw them was not because we were watching “graphic, adult content” TV shows with our kids but because we were watching CARTOONS with our kids on Saturday morning. Wow. What a concept. But it baffles Brett and I as to why they wouldn’t show that kind of ad during the shows that they think are not for kids and maybe make the parents start thinking “is this good for my kid who isn’t in bed yet?” But, no that shows my naivety again. That would mean a loss of revenue because there is someone willing to pay for that slot and they would have to run the PSA free. Oh, and the ad campaign only cost $550 million dollars.
