Wednesday, December 07, 2005

A Message For The Salesman

This morning I got a comment about my "J's" post. It looked like this [bracketed text filled in by me]:

"Cmon, Homer Jay Simpson has to be won that list.

btw, Hey guys,

I dont know if you’ve seen it yet but i just got my copy of that [name deleted] dvd. It’s pretty sick. There’s footage of [stuff deleted] over the last century and even more. my buddy works for the company and gave me this code to knock 20 percent off the price. just go to www.[website deleted].com and type [code deleted] in the shopping cart. Figure everyone could use something for the stockings during the holidays!"


Wow, for a second there, I thought you were trying to advertise on my site for free.

Then I saw the "Hey guys," and I realized you were just another reader--"one of us," if you will--who just happens to really enjoy this DVD a lot so he goes around to websites and pastes his opinion into the comments sections. (BSM got the identical comment today, too, I noticed, only slightly catered to what he was talking about.)

Tell your "buddy" that if he wants to advertise on my site, he should ask me nicely. When I decline that offer, he should ask if I'll take cash compensation--to which I'll also say "no."

Disco Stu doesn't advertise.

Any further ads put onto my site will be deleted, as yours was.

This is a great example of everything that's wrong with a capatalist society. People doing everything they can to make money, including using other people's space to advertise against their will, and worse, I think, pretending to be someone they're not to lure people into giving them money.

Comments:
And this post comes from a guy who bought a Red Sox Nation Card, so he knows what is or is not a rip off. Jere, in your case you did get a discount on your computer watching/listening service for the computer, so the logic is there. It always is for you, just sometimes hidden beneath 2 or 3 layers of camoflauge. And wow, I spelled that word correctly!
 
And on your earlier post when I signed off as 10, all your ideas were good, but can we just go for "boss", without the quotes. Peter is fine, but everyone up here in far "Northern" Conn. calls me that because I am the biggest Bruce fan there is, and from the beginning, too. Hey, have you heard from Reb lately. I know she's busy with the move and all. Just curious. If you speak to her , tell her hi for me, please. She's terrific. I also miss her writing. You've become my 1 source of bloggish entertainment. Whoa! B (for boss) . See, that works. I do more writing here than on my own blog, which is www........just kidding. U2 here tonight and it's killing me NOT to go. No tix 'cept for huge bucks. Too huge. Take care Jere.
 
I just got my copy of Internally Yours 16. it's pretty sick too, but you don't see me trying to shove it into anybody's stockings....
 
The RSN card wan't a ripoff at all. It cost 10 bucks, and for that I got that Audio thing, but more importantly, chances to buy tix to games which I totally scored on, getting field box seats for the first time.

So, to sum up the volumes I've written about this:

Card name: cheesy, but, hey, someone was gonna get the copyright for and use "Red Sox Nation" as a marketing tool, so I'm glad it was the team.

Idea in general: totally normal, been done before, non-offensive (to me) discount and perks card that I ended up glad to have bought.

Reason for buying: Not because I wanted to feel like an "official" fan, because I, along with everyone else, already was one, but because I wanted the discounts and stuff and I felt they were worth it.

I still don't see how it's different from buying a Red Sox t-shirt, only with that, you actually ARE buying it so you can show people you're a Sox fan. Whereas I've never shown anyone my RSN card, which, unlike the t-shirt, gets me more stuff. Like t-shirts, ironically.

Oh, and boss, you can plug your site here any time. Until you start selling stuff.
 
I think it's hysterical. Do these people really think they are fooling anyone? I wonder if they have actual cost benefit analysis to support blog spamming. Seems a little desperate to me.
 
It is funny how they use a template, and now they've got some poor slob reading, like, the first line of a post, and trying to make a one-line comment about it, before segueing into the pre-written ad paragraph. The segues are the funniest: "Oh, ha ha, wow...we sure have had some great times, haven't we, old friend? Ahh. Anyway, this friend of mine turned me onto this great car wax that's also a dessert topping...."

The weird thing is, it's a dvd that advertises on the scoreboard at Fenway. It's pretty well known. So why are they going this far to get people to buy it?

And why so sneakily?
 
I have to go back and read the comment that set this off. Bye.
 
I did a little research: The CEO of the company that put out the DVD in question is a marketing guy, and "also serves as a strategic marketing consultant with the NBA and holds a BA and MBA from Harvard University."

So he's some smart guy who's using his skills for evil. But at least he's not selling yankees DVDs.

No, I take that back. I'm sure he'd sell anything.

And when I said "boss" in my last comment, I was referring to Peter. No, two comments ago.
 
Also, go over to BSM. He anwsered our friend so much more effectively than I have, and in a thousand times fewer words.
 
Great post, I totally hate BS hidden advertising. What a joke.
By the way, I just switched my car insurance over to Geico, and I saved 15%!!!! I figured everybody should know this, and switch themselves (it's the holidays, after all).
Gedman for GM!
 

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