Recently I’ve been watching old TV shows from the 1980s on cable which means I am repeatedly exposed to these ad lines: “You may be entitled to compensation,” or, “Find out if a reverse mortgage is right for you.” Hey, it’s the Fonz doing that last one—looks like he shrunk a little. Fred Thompson, the former Law&Order DA and for real U.S. Senator, preceded the Fonz in this ad campaign—quite a contrast as Fred appears to be three feet taller than Henry Winkler. I wonder if test groups thought Thompson was too big to be a senior. Or, maybe I have it backwards—Winkler was too short. Push the whatever button!
The point here is even though I mute the ads, they sometimes come without warning; i.e., I’m too late to mute the catch phrase about “compensation.” We could all use a little of money for the holidays, although you have to have a fatal disease to qualify.
The film quality in these ads with the exception of those for medications is grainy and there is excessive dialogue with lots of printed information on the screen and no music. When I go network, the ads are entertaining as I try to guess the connection between the product and the action on the screen.
Bottom line: ads on oldie stations stay in my head, but usually not in a way that the marketer intended. Ads on network are fun. Thankfully, there is the mute button.
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