My Journey home

I was always under the impression that advertising was supposed to bring attention to a product/cause – to lure somebody’s interests in that direction. Because it IS. However, I had a conflicting advertising vs my mind experience tonight, that I couldn’t help but think far too much about….

So, I was sitting at the bus stop tonight, after a long tiring day at work, and just to my right was a much, much larger than life-sized mother and son. Problem is, their heads are smashed into each other, inches from a steering wheel. Now, these shock tactics ads that the motor safety dudes are using more and more frequently lately disturb me. Even more so when I am tired, hungry, and just want to go home. Suddenly I’m not so hungry. “The last thing to go through her head was her son”. Well, now that you say that, the only thing managing to get through my head at the moment is “This is why I am 22 years old and do not have my license”. What a great way to use your shock power to influence people. Hey, guys, I love the way you have used this particular one halfway down the highway, on every bus stop! Cheers.

These bus stop images are large enough to attract the attention of not only public transport users, but also everybody else that looks in the general direction. On my lovely homeward bound journey tonight, I also noticed, in their bold, illuminated glory, all the advertising on the other side of the road. I’m not going to try and depict exactly what it stated, but it was, basically, a big bottle of delicious wine sitting above some quirky quip about ‘fifth legs’ and ‘sav plonk’ in cute quotation marks. Nice! Let’s succumb to our temptations, and pick up some wine tonight, and drink and be merry! I personally find it rather difficult to resist a glass or three of a good Sav Blanc. This ad, tonight, would have worked perfectly for myself, on the bus home for the evening. But if I was driving to a friends house after the same hard day, knew I had the day off work tomorrow, and saw this ad, as it was, plastered over about ten bus stops? Not so cool.

On the other hand, though, ads such as the current Sunkist range, are incredible. Pretty colours, happiness saturating the very air around the bus stop… they make me wish I liked Sunkist enough to even think about purchasing it.

You’d call me a crazy person if I was to say that I felt in some way or another that these two ads tonight conflicted far too much. Which brings me to the conclusion that before, whilst and I can only imagine that after sitting down at the PC tonight I STILL really need to get my license, I am STILL too scared of what I could potentially do if I was in charge of a ton of steel and flammable liquids, and yes, it would be lovely to trade my Sav Plonk for a fifth leg. Or whatever I am supposed to do.