July 21, 2003

Advertising

Doc has some comments about TV advertising that I don't in principle disagree with. He quotes a 1998 David Strom article which reads, in part:

Let's face it: there are only two kinds of advertising demanded by their consumers: yellow pages and classifieds. It's not coincidental that they're both ugly. Beauty isn't a value when the only purpose is to answer the simple demand for useful information.

In terms of print advertising, I would have to disagree. I value print advertising in magazines and newspapers. In fact I prefer the print edition of the WSJ to the online edition, because I like knowing who's spending $150k (or whatever today's rate is) to run a full-page ad. When I read the WSJ, I scan the ads as much as I do the stories. Same with technical magazines, be they MacWorld, Linux Journal, or InfoWorld. Even WIRED.

I like when there's a clear delineation between ad and editorial content. With WIRED, that line is often blurred (thanks, Conde Nast) which decreases the value of the publication for me.

As for television: if you don't like it, why watch it? Indeed, considering the very few channels I watch, I would prefer to rent my TV programs thru Netflix. For example, having all of C-SPAN's "BookTV" programs available thru Netflix would be fantastic. As well as Comedy Channel's "The Daily Show". You listening, Netflix? Posted by brian at July 21, 2003 11:04 AM

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