mrrbob

fosin

Don't you remember how Homer defeated the giant marketing logos chasing after him in the Simpsons?

"To stop those monsters 1-2-3
Here's a fresh new way that's trouble free
It's got Paul Anka's guarantee...
(Guarantee void in Tennessee)
Just don't look!
Just don't look!
Just don't look!
Just don't look!"

LaurenKitsune

Ray Wert

So, why don't the "quit whiners" quit whining. Marketing us to death is a problem. Being force-fed advertisements in every nook and cranny of our lives is a problem. Perhaps the question you should be asking yourself is "if it's really no problem for me, is that just because I've become a too passive and too willing receptacle; a void just waiting to be filled with an ad?"

bilsemon

Why does Consumerist post this crap??? This is a great website... don't ruin it with this junk.

quiksilver

nequam

It seems that people just look for anything to complain about now-a-days. When they force me to wear a Chevy shirt just to get on the plane, then I'll start bitching.

Darkest Daze

ThinkAboutItPlease

ThinkAboutItPlease

US Airways can make a buck short-term from Ford, and lose money long-term from customers who decline to give them repeat business.

US Airways could certainly foist invasive advertising and marketing in any way they can think of. Another airline can be more restrained and more respectful of the customer, and the customer's space, and not treat as customers as a walking (or strapped in, in this case) marketing target and wallet just waiting to be pilfered. Which airline is going to make more money? It's an irony, and one that US Airways ignores at their peril.

ThinkAboutItPlease

I love those folks who come here just to post on how trivial half the stuff on this site is. Too bad there are NO OTHER SITES on the internet.

Even better 'replacement' ad would be for Greyhound :)

doctor_cos

Trai_Dep

smarty

Waaaaaaaaaaaa!

Smashville

jrdnjstn78

Here's one - Beer. It's not just for breakfast anymore.

doctor_cos

yellojkt

B

seawall

nytmare

Even if it's not solely keeping the company in business, it's making it possible for X number of flights, instead of a few bare-bones flights keeping them aloft (pun intended).

Also, I'd like to point out that the 30-second credit card ads are usually spoken around the time of the safety lecture -- when earphones are still permitted to be worn. :)

LaurenKitsune

"what is the difference between seeing an ad on a billboard and seeing an ad in a magazine? The answer, in a word, is permission-or, in three words, freedom of choice. Through a sequence of voluntary acts you have given the magazine advertisement permission to be seen by you. You bought the magazine of your own volition; you opened it at your own pleasure; you flipped or did not flip through it; you skipped or did not skip the ads; finally, it is possible to close the magazine entirely. You exercise freedom of choice all down the line.

The same is true of advertisements in newspapers. It is also true of radio and television commercials though in a different way, I'll admit. Arthur C. Clarke, in Holiday, likened TV viewers to "readers who have become reconciled to the fact that the fifth page of every book consists of an advertisement which they are not allowed to skip." The fact is that Mr. Clarke and you are allowed to skip-to another channel, to Dr. Frank Baxter, or to bed; you can turn it off entirely. Or you can throw the set out the window. You cannot throw U.S. 40 out the window, especially if you are on it. Nor can you flip a billboard over. Or off. Your exposure to television commercials is conditional on their being accompanied by entertainment that is not otherwise available. No such parity or tit-for-tat or fair exchange exists in outdoor advertising."

I have no problem with seeing ads on "free TV" but when you pay for a product (in this case a flight), do you agree to be sold as a product to Ford? The product in this advertisement is not the Ford Taurus being sold to you. It is your captive eyeballs being sold by US Airways to Ford Motor Co. When you view an ad, you are the product being sold.
That said, if the ad actually lowered the price of the flight (which I doubt it did), then I would have less of a problem with it. Would I go as far as to write to this website to complain about it, probably not, but perhaps if more people were pissed off about the way we are used by those selling ad space, the world be a slightly prettier and less visually jarring place.

To read the entire essay, go here:
[www.stayfreemagazine.org]

suburbancowboy

graffiksguru

[blogging.la]

The thing is that there's no way to ignore it ... someone who must have been annoyed tore the ad off of my tray which left the whole thing an adhesive mess.

The agency that sells this adspace specifically refers to people as "captive".

Honestly, if the experience of flying was BETTER for this added stream of income, I don't think I'd be as irritated, but it's not. (Didn't they use to put ads in the ticket jackets?)

Yes, I could fly a different airline, but USAirways is the only one who flies non-stop to PIT from LAX. (I just booked another trip yesterday.)

NOTLAZYJUSTDONTCARE - actually, you can get television without ads, it's called cable. Check out HBO and Showtime sometime. All without commercial interruption - and the business model works. Or you can get the broadcast TV programs later on DVD. I do actually pay the premium to not have ads OFTEN in my life. (Arclight movie theater here in LA does not show ads, just trailers before films - I pay a little extra to not see them and have an assigned seat.) Here there isn't really an option. Except maybe carrying a "trayble cloth" to cover up the ads in the future.

typetive

The photos aren't so good, but why wouldn't you think the quality of the ads leaves something to be desired? Quality, not annoyingness factor.

balthisar

On the other hand, it's hard to imagine the expensive, crappy food at the Cheesecake Factory being subsidized by the ads occupying every odd-numbered menu page. Sometimes it's just for more profit.

notlazyjustdontcare

MissAnnThrope

We can't have it both ways. Either we listen to every soccer mom who wants the word "effing" stricken from television AND to get rid of these "offensive" advertisements, or we tell them to GET OVER BOTH.

Whose side is Consumerist on?

LaurenKitsune

consumeristlegs

Sudonum

Voyou_Charmant

Buran

Buran

Buran

I sure would NOT like to see an image of a spilled cup of whatever on my tray. It reminds me of the TV ad (orkin?) with the cockroaches running across the screen, and people ended up smashing their sets in panic. Seeing the spilled drink provokes a tiny amount of anxiety (?) to need to clean it up.

They could win points with the ads, though, if the paper they were printed on DID something - like maybe change color when something hot or cold was placed on top. People would interact (play) with the ads, most likely, whether they wanted to or not.

ribex

nan

Personally, I think Ford should have advertised the quiet cabin and interior space in their cars on an airplane.

And you will see advertisements for screws, PVC, etc. if you're in a position to buy from a manufacturer i.e. if you own a hardware store. By the time the consumer see it on the shelf, the advertising has already worked.

Scott

Boreddusty was talking (i believe anyway) about sunday paper circulars and in-store ads for things like pipe and pingpong balls. Companies don't pay directly for space in those circulars, the store does because it's an ad for the store specifically, and the products in the store are meant to drive traffic there and feature items that are on sale.

Companies like Phillips, Gatorade and Snickers all sell products across multiple markets in multiple locations and venues. A cardboard snickers stand could be feasibly anywhere, not limited to a hardware store or sporting goods store. Floor stickers that lead to the Phillips Light Bulbs are meant to promote them over GE light bulbs because there's competition there.

What you don't see are those type of ads for things that don't change or have little to no competition, like staples, or building materials. You might see floor stickers leading to the Phillips lightbulbs or Hunter ceiling fans, but not to the screws or lumber because nobody cares what brand they are.

DeeJayQueue

"On an aircraft, getting off at the next stop is not an option. Changing seats is not an option. Even putting on your headphones is verboten for large parts of the trip. When you're strapped in to your breadbox-sized seat your only real guarantee is that nothing will invade your tiny fiefdom - except maybe an elbow or errant drink cart. The tray top ads violate this principle and manage to make your tiny, $300 fiefdom feel even more cheap, tawdry and impersonal than the airlines can already accomplish."

I find this passage particularly amusing. First, you had a choice to fly with that airline in the first place. Have you ever seen those web sites that offer ad-free browsing at a premium? Same goes here. If you don't like it, fly another, more expensive airline.

During which large parts of the trip are you verboten from wearing headphones? During that 5 minute safety lecture? Yeah, that's a huge chunk of change right there.

Making your personal section of the airplane sound matchbox-sized might work on some people, might even make them feel a little peeved next time they fly, but it will not cause an uprising. You sound like you're trying to be Che Guevara here.

Bottom line: We live in a capitalistic society. Fighting for the consumer's dollar through advertising is a fact of life. Maybe you would be be more comfortable in a Communist ro Socialist society, where someone can make those tough decisions for you.

Amsterdaam

cageyjames

It is truly hilarious what people get wound up about.

The Bigger Unit

kubus_gt

MENDOZA!!!!!

Come one, though...there's an ad on your tray table and you feel like that is some horrific injustice? People need to get over themselves, and fast.

Thain

campero

campero

Xerloq

A shack in the woods won't have any advertising.

KSE

And what's the deal with the new Ford Taurus? I thought the Ford Fusion was supposed to be a hipper and sportier replacement?

They're changing the Ford Five Hundred to the Taurus. The Fusion's sticking around.

The Walking Eye

Youthier

I believe you are mistaken. Have you never seen advertisements for certain products in your Home Depot? I'm remodelling my house right now and I've spent countless hours at the hardware store in the last month... They have numerous advertisements for products all over the store... Advertisements on the floor for Philips lightbulbs, Gatorade and Snickers promotions, etc, etc. Ads, although annoying, are basically unavoidable.

DePaulBlueDemon

If that toddler had babbled through one of those cc sales pitches, he would have been doing everyone around him a service.

acambras

Well I hate to say it, but advertising is here to stay. And with the innovation of e-paper and flexible LCD screens, we'll see more ads in more places. In about 10 years, that airplane tray ad in this story will be a full audio/audio commercial.

And what's the deal with the new Ford Taurus? I thought the Ford Fusion was supposed to be a hipper and sportier replacement?

LatherRinseRepeat

dantsea

banned

Also aren't the times you cannot use electronic devices usually the times when seatbacks and tray tables need to be in their upright and locked positions?

If it was a monitor that shouted at you then yes we have a problem, but haven't you learned to tune out web-ads? Apply that principle here and get on with life.

Josh Smith

@skrom:You don't see ads for things like screws, ping-pong balls and PVC pipe because there isn't really any competition in the marketplace over those type of items. They all have to be made the same way so there isn't much room for brand loyalty, or subjectivity in product design. If someone designs a better screw, eventually all screws will look like that.

You see advertising where there IS room for subjectivity, taste, preference, and brand loyalty, AND competition. Coke vs. Pepsi. Canon vs. Nikon. Mac vs. Windows. Ford vs. Chevy. These are all areas where consumers have choice in what they buy, so companies want to make their brand seem the best and most appealing, and most visible, hence advertising. I agree that it's gone a little overboard. It seems like every day someone comes up with a new way to get a second of our attention. Passive billboards, banners, posters and leaflets begat TV and radio spots, which led to internet viral videos and more aggressive print campaigns. Valuable in-store real estate creates competition which means that to generate the highest dollars per square foot you need the most visibility. We start seeing pop-out signs on springs, giant floor stickers, ads on almost every surface we come into contact with. It's crazy but not upredictable and not unignorable.

DeeJayQueue

B

Even putting on your headphones is verboten for large parts of the trip.

Not during the parts when you're allowed to have your tray-tables down.

camille_javal

Time to add Jalopnik.com to your RSS feed.

Ray Wert Jr

raybury

I love Joe Dirt.

matt1978

esqdork

Ray Wert Jr

I don't even know why I'm bothering, but if you go into a hardware store, there will be ads for hardware. In a sporting goods store there will be ads for sporting goods. (This also applies to relevant publications). The reason that you don't see ads for PVC pipe on the subway is that it is a poor place to advertise it.

boreddusty

If you're not using the tray for anything (i.e. you aren't covering up the ads), put the tray up! Problem solved...

until they put ads on both sides.


(I realize that if you have a drink you aren't covering up the ads, but you can grab one of those magazines from the pocket and cover up the ads with other ads).

boreddusty

C'mon consumerist, enough of these stories...

rbb

skrom

SOhp101

homerjay- Smiling politely

I guess I should think before I type...

Suzi

US Air is short for USAirways, they're are the exact same thing.

Suzi

B

palegreenstars

roche

It's coming man.

SaveMeJeebus

bilge

Ray Wert Jr

discounteggroll

As for the airlines making a profit off cheap tickets, it's their own fault that their business model isn't making them gobs of money like it used to.

SurrenderMonkey

And besides, you could always use a different airline...

qwickone

Maybe it's all a part of the advertising companies' plan. One step closer to Idiocracy, I guess.

rmz

I guess you think the airline is making a profit off your $79 supersaver fare to Boston?

Pelagius