mercoledì, giugno 28, 2006

And I now know you will satisfy me

Yesterday was the second BRC television gala I’ve attended. I think I wrote about the first in my first virginal poke of a blog on Friendster that “married but open” guy I worked with once thought I should start – let’s see - here it is. I’m attaching the link because it was pretty much identical this year – same lovely roast, same stupid critics (though they talked less this year, which was precious of them) - except I was even less interested because I’m through with television. There wasn’t a single new show previewed I was at all interested in, except possibly that comedy about robbing Mick Jagger's penthouse. But not interested enough to watch. "Let's Spend the Night Together" had been playing in a groceteria the day before so the synchronicity and all was sort of cute. Mick Jagger must have made girls so horny back in the day.

Anyways, I've realized I fucking hate television even more than I thought I fucking hated television. I just look at any television now and see crap that tries to make you watch long enough to be too hypnotized to TiVo the commercials. Commercials. Ahhhh. I love marketing - I hate advertising. It's so ubiquitous; why be sporadically entertained by loooong shows to get some more of it? Two points in case: our table got some fun swag, like a pen from the Global network that has a built-in writing light and a Bluetooth headset that I’m going to try to hawk – I’m getting a new handset soon but if I need a wireless device giving me head cancer I’ll just hold the cellphone right against my ear, please and thank you. Point two: finding the above link was the first time I’ve looked at that Friendster blog in kablages and they’re selling ad space on it now. Sick. As if anyone has looked at it in a good ¾ of a year. Ad noise, everywhere. Fuck TV.

12 commenti:

Anonimo ha detto...

And the Internet content is being increasingly paid for the same way television content is. So Blogger is owned by Google, and their money comes from advertising. And they give you the option of having Google adds on your blog and of getting some money from them. Devious, no?

Mistress La Spliffe ha detto...

No, not really devious, because they give you the option. And a cut. I think it's sort of a nice system - better than MySpace or Friendster where the ads are there willy-nilly.

Melbine ha detto...

Boo, I can't get anything to come up from your Friendster blog. :(

Whenever commercials come on TV, I change the channel or I leave the room to go and pee and get a popsicle or something. Doesn't everyone do that??

The only show I'm watching these days is "So You Think You Can Dance" because it cracks me up.

If "Dukes of Hazzard" was a new show airing right now, would you watch it?

Mistress La Spliffe ha detto...

Mel, honestly, I don't think my heart is tender enough anymore to fall for anything on TV the way I fell for John Schnieder's ass back in the day. And advertisers really hope people stay in the room when ads come on - whether they do - I don't know. I hate TV now.

Masonic Boom ha detto...

I have a much higher tolerance to be able to block out ads on the interweb than on the television. Probably because they don't have SOUND whereas if they did, I'd be screaming at them.

(Seeing as this is a work 'puter, the internet is a fairly soundless environment for me.)

What I hate, however, is those ads that come up on MySpace and just take control of your interweb browser until the thing tries to install some sh*t on your hard drive then up and quits on you. Grrrrrr.

I've nicked your phrase "red dragon" BTW because I love it. :)

Melbine ha detto...

I don't know that I could ever completely hate tv, but I don't have to deal with it in a professional sense...although I used to when I processed all the Telefilm material...which were blissfully ad-free!

Poor advertisers everywhere, I ignore them completely. Even my long-distance plan which is the cheapest of the cheap requires me to listen to a 5 second ad occasionally. My brain just turns off during this time. Suckers!

In fact, I don't think I have ever bought something b/c I saw an ad for it! Is that true? Let me think about it..except for maybe movies b/c I saw the preview on tv..

Mistress La Spliffe ha detto...

I would love to take credit it for it, but Gigi was the one who made it up when I was on a public euphemism quest to replace 'on the rag'.

I can't - get - in - to - MySpace. I appreciate what a great way it is for me to get more information about bands I've seen live and want more of, but I just smell Rupert Murdoch and profit drives off it. There are better ways, surely, than all that ad shit it's littered with (especially considering how popular it manages to be without managing to turn a profit yet).

Mistress La Spliffe ha detto...

Mel, there's no proven correlation between the rise of a market and a specific ad campaign. There's been some give and take between market competitors that *seem* correlated to ad campaigns, but it could be argued that statistically and practically speaking no one has ever bought a generic commodity because of advertising. Which means we're probably sitting through all this rubbish for nothing except to have our consumer intelligence massively insulted.

Melbine ha detto...

I often feel massively insulted as a consumer...
Why do they bother then?? Dumbasses.

Mistress La Spliffe ha detto...

It's a self-perpetuating industry, darling, like armaments. Take away the advertising industry and the streets would be flooded overnight with thousands of poor helpless dolts who're too smart to do retail, too cynical to be schoolteachers and too fucking scared of life to do something really creative or *gasp* revolutionary for their profession.

THAT MUST BE AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS. In part because I'd be one of them.

Masonic Boom ha detto...

It's weird the way I've become somehow more sensitised but also less aware of advertising since I started to live without a telly.

There are whole ad campaigns as cultural phenomena that just pass completely over my head. (Weird, because the Guardian (sorry) has a whole weekly column about good or bad TV ad campagns.) But it's made me notice the ones that intrude into my life (bus adverts etc) much more.

MySpace is a tool, nothing more. It's really good if you're in a band, for making contacts and networking - have been offered loads of gigs and things through it. But it's this thing that just happens to be owned by Murdoch, rather than a Murdoch Thing, if you know what I mean.

Mistress La Spliffe ha detto...

I appreciate its tool-quality as music consumer, and I know Murdoch only bought it a few months ago, long after it blew up big.

We're just doing long features these days about the activities of groups like Burger King on MySpace that have started since Murdoch bought it up which piss me off because of the ad-noise involved, and have effectively emotionally turned me off - as a non-artist, non-selling-anything person - from wanting a peice of it.