Is It Just Me?
Are you influenced by advertising? Do you feel that it connects with you on a regular basis?
I am not, and I feel that it does not. There are three possible explanations for this:
- I am set in my ways as a consumer, and most marketed products do not interest me. Or,
- Advertisers generally do a poor job crafting a message that resonates within me. Or,
- I am simply out of touch.
I concede the first point. Indeed, I am practically an old man in that regard. I don’t feel a need to own an iPhone or a Swiffer Duster, since I already have a mobile phone, and can dust perfectly well with a rag. The flip side of this is that I do not need to be “sold” on products I know I like. As far as I am concerned, Coca-Cola never needs to spend another penny on advertising; I’m going to buy their magical elixir until I die (possibly from diabetes).
I reject the third point, since advertising, by its very nature, is supposed to be convincing, or, at the very least, informative. Motion picture trailers, for example, are not designed to appeal to everyone, just as every movie released was not produced to suit the tastes of every theater-goer. But everything being sold isn’t as awesome as advertisers would have you believe. In fact, most people could really do without many of the things they have been sold via advertising. For example, I know for a fact that you do not need another credit card. And what useful products are being marketed are often pitched in a profoundly unappealing way. That brings me to my second point, and the one I think is most accurate.
Despite of an increasing number of genuinely funny commercials and visually stimulating ad campaigns selling all manner of products I nevertheless do not wish to buy, advertisers still cannot manage to effectively market items I do want in a way that I find appealing. Case in point: Fender guitars. I really, really like Fender guitars, and endeavor to own many. I read about them, and look at pictures of them, and, in general, daydream about them constantly. So you would think that the Fender Musical Instrument Corporation would have no problem crafting a message that would appeal to me directly. Yet, they do.
The International Music Products Association’s 2008 convention is being held this weekend in Anaheim, and, as always, Fender is an important participant. Fender has been at NAMM–that’s what the convention is called–for decades, and has made major product announcements there, including the introduction of the Jazzmaster in 1958. This year they unveiled the new American Standard series of their most popular guitar models, the Stratocaster, Telecaster, Precision Bass and Jazz Bass. Coincidentally, I have played these models already, at Lipham’s Music here in Gainesville, and I am impressed by some of the improvements and modifications, particularly the finishes on the all-maple necks, and the bridges on the basses and Strat.
But watch the first few minutes of Fender’s NAMM press conference, and see how lame Justin Norvell, the senior marketing manager of electric guitars is.
I get the feeling–and this may be totally wrong, but it is the impression I get–that he doesn’t even play guitar. Worse, he talks like he’s on The Apprentice. He’s got a consciously hip, corporate taint about him. Obviously, I don’t know Mr. Norvell personally, and he may be the nicest guy on earth. But I don’t trust people who talk like that to sell me anything. Wisely, Fender does include endorsements from many prominent players. Indeed, Fender has another video featuring G.E. Smith discussing the Telecaster. That is the sort of advertisement that I can respond to.
So, if I could offer Fender some advice it would be this: drop the buzzwords, stop trying to sound like a hip guy version of Lindsey Neagle. Everyone knows Fender’s reputation and legacy. That isn’t in question. The hard rock and metal guys are going to stick with their Gibsons and Jacksons. Let them. Don’t pander. Just make good guitars, show them close up in all their available colors, give us some sound clips on your webpage. That’s all I want.
Filed under: Popular Music, Rantings, Television on January 20th, 2008
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