This article has nothing to do with Taylor Swift. The image was manipulated in Photoshop specifically for you to click on the article. It does not promise what is advertised. But this isn’t the only place where you’ll find gnash advertising. Here’s a critique of companies, products, campaigns and ideas that make you grind your teeth.
Qantas
‘The spirit of Australia’ my ass. To the credit of the Qantas marketing team, for years they have created this romantic notion that the ‘flying kangaroo’ is part of this nation’s lifeblood. It’s not. The actual ‘spirit of Australia’ is us – the people. It’s not some corporate entity. From mass layoffs, to zero customer service, lost luggage and cancelled flights, and to cap it off: Qantas executives going on a ‘wellness retreat’ during all the chaos.
The iPhone
The word ‘new’ has a powerful connotation in marketing. This is evident each year when Apple release the ‘new’ iPhone. But each new release of the iPhone is almost the same as previous models – maybe the camera is slightly better or the screen slightly bigger. What it does illustrate is the power of cultural capital – branding – in that a large stratum of society gets a hard on for a product that is pretty much the same as what they already have.
Healthy Food
Some of the most intense people I have met are health food fanatics. Everything in life is about storytelling, that includes food, so sticking to only healthy food is one of the most boring life narratives that you can have. No doubt that eating healthy is important, but so too is allowing your mind to escape from the challenge of life. Once every couple of weeks, go out and eat a greasy burger with cheese chips or a family-size pizza. This is the release of tension that your soul requires every now and again.
Superhero Films
You’ll never see great actors like DiCaprio or De Niro acting in a superhero movie. Or Tarantino directing one. There is nothing wrong with the genre, but they’re like the active wear or swimsuit markets, each week there is a different one popping up that is almost the same as the last one.
YouTube Advertising
This isn’t about the concept of YouTube advertising, it’s more about the people who advertise on YouTube. These are those weird-ass salespeople who are trying to get you to sign up to one of their courses on how to sell eBooks or whatever else on Amazon. But, truth-be-told, if you were making that much profit from this, why in the world would you want to share those secrets to the public?
Perfection
It is more than just body image. It also relates to productivity. I recently heard a great saying about perfection. I have no idea who the author was but it went along the lines of – ‘Overthinking is the biggest waste of human energy. Trust yourself, make a decision, and gain more experience. There is no such thing as perfect. You cannot think your way into perfection, just take action’.
Zero Percent Beer
Drinking in moderation is incredibly important. And, if you were trying to reduce your alcohol intake then zero percent beer could be an effective solution – take ‘dry July’ as an example. Here, you could see how zero percent beer would work. But one of the appeals of beer is that when done in moderation, a few beers can relax you. It takes the edge off. So, if you’re not going to drink actual beer, then wouldn’t it be better to just drink water?
University Degrees
Is it just me or does every 2nd person have a communications degree? And, where does all that money that you pay to them go?
