Television vs Internet

[Solais]

As far as I block the pop-up ads, and the others stay just as banners, I don't care.

For TV ads... As I see the hungarian ads are become more and more stupid, and more annoying. The most annoying was that, when I watched House then suddenly in the middle of the screen, while the show was still running, appeared "Who will be Uri Geller's Heir? Find out this Saturday, blah blah". I was so annoyed, that I really wanted to kill those who made it.

[OlHillBilly]

I got rid of my television bills years ago...I still have TV but every once in awhile I have to "fix" it when it goes out.

I spend most of my time on the 'net these days when I'm not at work or attending classes. When I do watch TV it's mostly the Discovery channel, History Channel, Animal Planet, or Cartoon Network (for my toon fix and Adult Swim (not the anime portions)).

If I had to get rid of one forever it would be the TV. The internet/computer can preform the same task as my TV and so much more...so the choice is pretty obvious. Plus I don't think I could ever go back to living without my computer and broadband internet connection.

[Vinak]

I haven't watched more than an a few hours of tv in a week for the past few years.

from what I understand it's just full of stupid reality tv shows, murder drama's and comedy shows that aren't funny. plus some news...if you can all it that.

[nanafan]

i still don't get the appeal of reality shows, some are good like the amazing race, but who wants to marry a millionnare and the like are just lame.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by WanderingKnight

So I do pay attention to TV ads, mostly because I'm accustomed to. However, I don't believe it affects my consuming behavior in a very noticeable manner.

Ahh... but you have indeed been affected, much more subtly than you'd realise. It's because of a simple (and very devious) device known as "mind share".

Advertisements are not necessarily trying to make you jump out of your seat to buy a product right away. Rather, the ultimate objective of all advertisement is to make sure a brand name stays in your memory, and becomes part of your "evoked set" of items whenever you want to buy an item from that product category. Think of it as a way of inducing a potential customer to keep a brand inside his "mental shortlist" of things to buy in the future.

It's easy to test how far you've been affected by this phenomenon. Take razor blades for example. What brand jumps into mind right away? Chances are, it'll be Gillette^tm, even though there are actually many other brands to choose from, such as Wilkinson Sword^tm.

A great deal of an ad's effectiveness depends on whether copywriters can come up with brilliantly effective taglines that stick in your head. Famous examples include:

• "Maybe it's Maybeline"
• "Have a break... have a Kit Kat"
• "Intel inside"

And talking about Intel, take a look at how much effort it took to create that ubiquitous four-note Intel jingle.

Originally Posted by Solais

As I see the hungarian ads are become more and more stupid, and more annoying.

For an incisive look at the sinister power of advertising, I urge everyone to watch Czech Dream (it's not Hungrary, I know, but it's close enough that you reminded me of this film right away). Reality shows don't get any better than this gem.

[WanderingKnight]

It's easy to test how far you've been affected by this phenomenon. Take razor blades for example. What brand jumps into mind right away? Chances are, it'll be Gillettetm, even though there are actually many other brands to choose from, such as Wilkinson Swordtm.

Well, around these parts, "Gillette" was so popular that it actually replaced the Spanish term for "razor blade", so you bet I'm going to buy a "Gillette" (there's a name for that kind of language evolution, but I don't remember what it was).

But yes, you're right, the ultimate purpose of advertising nowadays is to make the brand known and easily remembered. Argentina-operating French telco company Telecom paid a fortune for their simplistic logo design, which is one of the most easily recognizable around, for example. I can't deny that there is an effect, but I said it wasn't noticeable... I still judge much more based on personal experience with the product than on advertising or word-of-mouth knowledge. Or at least that's what I'd like to think

[Ledgem]

Hey, Gilette is the brand that I use, too! They sent me a free razor (their business model has them making money off of the blades, so this makes sense), and then when I turned 18 they sent me one on my birthday along with a message about how turning 18 is special and all. I know the company really doesn't care about me and I don't know how they pulled that sort of a promotion, but whoever marketed that was a genius. Of course, I was already using Gilette, but I appreciated the gesture. Appreciation = brand loyalty, I suppose, even though it's not quite logical since I know it was just a marketing tactic.

I block many annoying ads (such as those that take forever to load, or are very flashy, or take up a lot of processing power). However, I have clicked on ads before. When there's something relevant to my interests, such as photography products and services on a photography forum, or software for a task I'm examining, I'll occasionally click the ads. As WanderingKnight has mentioned, I'll usually do my own product research before buying something. I see the ads as giving me more information for products and services that I might have otherwise not known about.

[.BeachBoy]

1. How many hours a day does everyone here watch television, or surf the internet?

I spend many hours on the internet due to having online school courses. I rarely watch TV because I don't have that many channels, so maybe an hour if something good is on. XD; So, internet use way over television use in this case.

2. Which one do you value more?

I value the internet much much more, it's my education for one point. And my other fun. I don't even need a TV, however I do need the net. o.o

3. What do you guys consider to be the pros and cons of tv/internet?

Internet
+ Information/media heavy
+ Speed (For some people. o.o)
+ Can meet many people to relate to (i.e forums)
+ Can ask questions. XD
+ Can show your creative side
- Viruses ;/
- Addicting (Con or Pro?)
- Ads (Though, you can block them, so...)

TV
+ Much better live (Like no buffering/loading)
+ Quality is usually better with the shows.
+ Gives you something to do when the computer is getting fixed or internet is down. XD
+ Entertainment talkshows that aren't on the net/radio.
- Time restrictions. (i.e want to watch so-so, but so-so is on, where the net you could watch so-so anime whenever)
- Commercials (Good god, Billy Mays will be the death of me)

4. What improvements would everyone like to see in the next couple of years?

I don't know, I'm content with how it is. I'm sure there are numerous improvements, but I'm okay as is. I'll gladly take improvements, but at least I have the access to both of them.

[nanafan]

i agree with beach boy, billy mays and his ads are annoying his voice hurts my ears. i like to watch tv to watch reruns like today of roseanne and movies that i like