Why have commercials changed like this?

For one simple reason: they don’t move product anymore.

Marketing and advertising is a data intensive business. If sales don;t move, the advertising goes to a place where more product will be sold.

We do. I saw one recently of two twenty something’s next to each other with a cartoon circle, something about a “zone”, I think. Then they put a mint into their mouths, thus enabling them to overcome their shallow repulsion of each other for am equally shallow encounter; lasting, one presumes, for an evening or a month.

Well, I think the reason for this is probably much the same reason that a political correct style of language is generally used in the media. Now we do have excitations to this (some radio stations and reality television).

For example the Special K add is possibly too direct for some people. People don’t like being told they are fat (even if they are morbidly obese). Personally, I don’t think the Special K choice of words is promoting something that healthy. I think it actually promotes an obsession with making oneself as thin as possible. Its just advocating one extreme to another. But that’s another issue.

When it comes to advertising, what really works is reverse psychology, sexing up the ad and glamorising the ad. So instead of making ads pretty much saying “You are fat!”. They are making ads showing someone in very good shape. They don’t need to use words or narration, but there is the subtle subtext of This is what you could look like.

And yes it is totally, 100% sugar coating the issue. But let us not forget, this is marketing. And marketing a product, is all about making it appealing. That was probably the idea behind the diet coke ad in the 90s. I’m sure you’ve seen the one, with the sexy topless man washing the windows in the office building. While all the office ladies look at him rubbing a cold can of diet coke over his body. This is an example of creating a positive image to what the media is promoting as the ideal image. Now granted, diet coke is not the best beverage choice; but its also the image that is being advertised.

I recently read a book which discussed a general shift from “fitting in” to “standing out”. The author made the case that at the moment, being “quirky” or “an individualist” is more important than worrying about what the neighbours will say. If your observation is accurate, that would fit in.

Interesting, @longgone. This is getting funny, girlfriend! That could be a question unto itself. When is it time to fit in, and when is it time to stand out?

This is kinda funny as I know I have been telling someone about a commercial I have seen and I’ll describe it as “that commercial with a dog, or a baby, etc, but I have no idea what the commercial is for.” This happens quite often. So I’m not sure how effective these commercials are if I and others have no idea what they are selling.

As to the Special K add: I think the average American today would look down at their own midriffs and let out a huge belly laugh—then change the channel.

There has been a huge shift in focus in marketing techniques in the last couple of decades. Research showed that people are less likely to remember what they see than how they feel.
Advertising is less about selling so much as it is about evoking certain feelings. You may not remember what the product is, but if you see the product, and it makes you feel good/positive/cheerful then the marketers have done their jobs.

@chyna I’m not sure what you’re referring to. I looked back and didn’t see any comments that could prompt your comment, so I assume it was in reference to the details in my post, and I still don’t understand the relevance. Could you clarify?

@Espiritus_Corvus that kind of touches on my thought. Was pinching an inch in the 60’s more unusual than it was usual? Could that have something to do with the shift? Or is it this, “We don’t hurt other people’s feelings,” kind of thing?

@canidmajor Do you think people have always been that way, or we more driven by guilt (or “fitting in,” as @longgone said) in the 60’s and 70’s?

Advertising, for a very long time, was written and produced and paid for by men, so even products that were ostensibly for women, were marketed in a way that would appeal mostly to men. Women should be thin, should use the cleaning products that will make a man’s home more appealing, should by the foods that men want to eat. Things started to change (albeit slowly) in the 70s, as more women were in white collar positions.
Nowadays, whoever has the most “feel good” points will get the market share. Celebrities do voice-overs for orange juice. If you like the celebrity, the sound of his/her voice creates a positive physiological reaction ( not sure if it’s endorphins or serotonin) that is repeated when you see the product on the shelf.
Women still spend the household money, no matter who earns it, and are more prone to react to a positive impression. It’s a physiological thing. Higher ticket items tend to sell better on perceived merit, but the lesser things go on how good you feel about them.

Sorry I wasn’t clear. What I meant was that I see commercials with a cute dog, or a cute baby, or something funny in the commercial, and I will have no idea what the commercial is selling, just that there was a cute dog or baby. I agree with you that commercials in the past were very clear as to what they were selling and usually had a catchy jingle along with it even mentioning the product.

@Jak or a relationship lasting the lifetime of the mint. You sell more that way.

^^ Someone more cynical than me! Yaaay! We should have coffee one morning ;-)

Maybe

@Dutchess_III Interesting…yeah, ask that question!

Majority of shopping was done by women. But back then my dad never bought any household goods.

So I think advertising was built more around building women into (the perception of) better wives. At least convincing them that they needed your crap to project the image of a great family.

I feel like I worded something in there wrong. If I offended you I promise it wasn’t intentional… It is the Pabst.

We have the same techniques, only applied in different ways.

What you’ve described in the question is a “bring to ruin” moment. Show people how their lives are somehow in ruin because they don’t have what you have. Religious leaders have used it for centuries.

Nowadays, television viewers are maybe, sometimes a bit smarter than they were once upon a time. They know, for example, that headaches are not literally caused by a man with a hammer inside their heads. But they have soap scum on their shower enclosures, or their car tires aren’t able to track on a wet and snowy road like an Olympic skier, or they get winded climbing a set of stairs. Advertisers still help to show people how their lives are in ruin because they don’t have the latest and greatest, the most au courant, the newest upgrade, or whatever.

All you have to look for in a sales pitch is “where is the ruin?” and “what is the promise?”

As I recall, the “Pinch more than an inch” commercials showed men pinching their abdomen, not women. Thinking back, that’s kind of interesting.

@CWOTUS… Hey…that commercial wasn’t just any old set of stairs. It was the stairs leading up to, and inside, the Statue of Liberty! I got winded just watching him and I was a kid!

These are some great answers, you guys. Another thing I’ve noticed is that the products they sell today, especially for weight, are geared toward some magic drug now, not a change in life style. They’ll mention a change, “FatBeGone, along with a good diet and regular exercise, will change your life!”