Everybody has seen the commercial of Belgacom about a little mouse, Stuart Little, who burps soap bells. There are people who think it's funny, but on the other hand, there are some who think it isn't appropriate. Even more, some people are getting irritated by the fact that commercials are becoming deceptive and bald.
About 170 complaints are investigated by the 'Jury voor Ethische Praktijken inzake Reclame'. JEP investigates the commercials and add some advices about how they can improve them. However some complaints aren't that obvious. There's one about the commercial of Gillet ( Woods and Federer run in a shop and they try to be first to catch a Gillet-raser). The complaint about this one is that it increases the violent behavior.
We can conclude that there's a kind of 'grey zone'. It's a zone where some people think that something is funny, but some others think that it isn't. The line between what is funny and what is inapropriated isn't the same for everyone.
I think it's ridiculous that people have complaints about commercials. Some of them are really far-fetched, for example the commercial of Gillet. The purpose of them is to entertain and to sell products. When we watch them and we can remember them when we see the product in a shop, it's more likely that we buy them. Companies need the commercials, because sometimes it makes the difference between winning and losing.
This blog is based on the article ' Opmerkelijke klachten tegen reclame' in 'Het Laatste Nieuws', p. 83, Saturday 30th of January.
by yorick stroobant
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I agree with you, Yorick.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenThe complaints concerning the commercials are a bit over the top.
I do think the way we look at the commercials depends on our education.
We grew up with television and the internet, so we are kind of used to this stuff.
But if you compare that to the education your mother/grandma had, we can see a big difference.
Your grandma (maybe your mom too) was raised with religion and church. To burb for example, was out of the question.
So older people will judge the "burb commercial" as inapropriate because that's what they learned at young age.