SECOND ANNUAL BADDY AWARDS

A couple of weeks ago I saw the Lexington Advertising Club gave out its annual "Addy" awards, for the best ads in different formats and media.

 

I prefer to hand out the "Baddy" awards for the WORST in local ads.

 

Winner again this year--surprise! surprise!--the  ads for American Freight Forwarders, which continue to talk down, actually shout down at 200 decibels, to gullible Kentuckians.

Losers again are the customers who buy there, and the station amangers of our local TV stations who continue to run down their medium by letting such ads run, without asking them to tone down the cacaphony.

 

Somewhere in economics (not my college major) there's a principle that the bad will drive the good out of circulation. In econ this may apply to currency, but it works in ads too. Already at least one of our old-line, traditional furniture stores is running ads using that same, loud truck diesel horn that AFF uses to announce its impending nonsense.

 

Maybe a national advertiser has also taken note.  Stanley Steemers used to feature its laid back crew. Have you seen its  latest ads featuring some rock group that devastates a home owner's rooms, all the time shouting at the top of their voices? (No music here.)

 

And in #2, the American Window group of ads..not because any one of them is inherently bad..but because they are running so very,very,very,very,very many they have overstayed their welcome. This happens more times than ad agencies will tell their clients, but let me tell them, as a viewer,  it happens. (And I "love" a variation on this where a short local ad runs once, then a different ad runs, then the same first ad runs again! Bor-ring! Turns me off; I won't use their product or service, and I suspect the same is true for others watching.)

 

These ads make "Where price sells cars!" , which retired the Baddy trophy years ago, seem tame by comparison.

 

If you see a "Baddy" ad, in your own judgment, let the stations know because of that ad you are not inclined to buy that product or service, and when it comes on you change channels--I do. The stations may get the message. Don't call our Baddy winner; they just won't understand. Tell the stations you expect them to do better. 

I'm just sayin'...