Tailored Commercials ??

The media is full of irrelevant messages connected to an entirely different product. Almost every successful commercial is entirely centered upon an idea or emotion relatable for the target audience. Medications for elderly people for example, are always about grandparents finally being able to keep up with their grandkids, and montages of them missing out on their childhoods, pre-use of the "life changing, miraculous" medication. It is also very interesting to me how these commercials seem to air on channels or websites the elderly are more inclined to watch. I used to sometimes watch the Antiques Roadshow with my brother and dad late at night and every time there was a break there would be commercials for the new best dentures, or joint pain ointment or infomercials for those seemingly ten in one vacuum, broom, mop, swiffer things, among many others. Obviously I would not need any of these, but I am also not someone that would typically be watching Antiques Roadshow. My point being, because television is not something that can take our individual information from and craft an extremely specific ad for us, they must make generalizations about the audience most likely to be watching the show.

I have always thought of this in wonder and disbelief. When I had cable I was in elementary school and obviously watched a lot of Disney channel and Nickelodeon. All of the commercials on these channels were about cool toys and I absolutely fell for it. Their trick worked on my young, impressionable mind! It also made me feel like I just had to have the next new barbie or my little pony or littlest pet shop. I believe this is because when I saw the kids in the commercials having so much fun, I thought that I could have that much fun and it would make me as happy as it made them. Thankfully, I am a lot more observant of these tricks now. After taking this class, I will hopefully be more aware of all the tricks they use, even when they are tailored to be as seamless as a tech suit.