Why I don’t understand advertising

September 3rd, 2008 Posted in Personal

You see, down here in Oz, we are in the middle of a major drought. Well, at least in Victoria we are — there’s bugger all water. The past few years, it’s been raining less and less, which on one hand is a great thing, but on the other, sucks demon balls.

Australia’s greatest river system, the Murray Darling, is under threat. They are saying that if we don’t cop a heap of rain, it could have an immense detrimental effect on the system — not a good thing. Our largest reservoir in Victoria is under 20% of capacity, and the others aren’t so full either. And Victoria is currently at Stage 3a water restrictions (meaning you’re not even allowed to wash your car at home — which is good, because it gives me an excuse for not having washed my car in months, although I was only made aware of this recently)… This is pretty strange for me, because we weren’t under any restrictions before I left for Japan… Anyway, what the hell’s all this got to do with advertising?

Well… I was watching Australian Idol (as I do), and an ad popped up and got me thinking… What was I thinking? Let me tell you. I was thinking, “Why the hell is an insurance company advertising FLOOD cover as a bonus?”

Why the hell, indeed. Sure, floods are a worry for some areas of Australia… There have been flash floods and storms even during the drought period, but the amount of people living in those areas is minimal. It begs the question — sure, some Aussies may need this cover, but why advertise this during prime time? Are the Australian public really that stupid? Yes. Or are we? Yes.

Or… is it simply that they want to show that under their insurance even floods are automatically covered — meaning you get covered for all sorts of shit? Who knows. I think they are just milking the naivety of the public — much like the whole ‘gas mask’ craze following 9/11, and the push for bomb shelters in the 50’s (not sure if that was TV myth, or even if it happened down here in Oz, but it’s worth a mention). They talk about a couple of things in the ad, including tsunami, and I think the fact that these things have recently occurred in some countries and kiled a hel of a lot of people, they are opting to bank on consumer fear. Jerks.

Or maybe they might be reptiles, and they can smell a flood in the ripples of time… Maybe it’s a warning from the powers that be, telling us to prepare for the coming floods, like god’s warning to Noah (if you’re into such things). Hmmm… Maybe it’s time I joined GIO?

I don’t know, I just think it’s a bit of a strange concept to be pushing. There are many things Australians should be worrying about, but floods and tsunamis aren’t even on the radar. However, it should be noted there are several important things to consider — one, it tok me several days to actually notice that and think about it… it just didn’t register; two, now that I have noticed it, I’m going to remember GIO; and three, I’ve now written about it on my blog and provided the company some extra advertising.

Vent?