Advertisements

According to http://oxforddictionaries.com, the definition of the word "advertisements' is a notice or announcement in a public medium promoting a product, service, or event or publicizing a job vacancy.

Advertisements originated from the word advert, which originated from the word ad, which originated from the letter 'a', which originated from the sound of drunken Vikings burping.

Oh, you... didn't need to know that? But I was just trying to explain.... You sure? Ok, ok, I get it, no more stupid definitions! Moving on!

Advertising, as we all-or at least the more intelligent ones like those who understand my words-know, have been the main source of income of the information industry. One of the more popular ones nowadays is Google's text ads.

But today, I will be talking about the more traditional ads, meanning the ones on the TV, radio and newspapers.

Being humans, we are always wowed by great ads. Remember when the DiGi "Yellow Man" ads first came up?

They were hilarious and creative, and surpassed any recent ads at that time.

You're probably thinking, "Ok, but why is Terence Wang ranting about ads?"

Good question.

Everyday, we are constantly being barraged by ads. I'm not blaming anyone for this; it's just the way it is. In exchange for free content, we view ads by companies.

But can't they sometimes make it more interesting?

Have you ever been frustrated by an ad? Because they were so boring or cheesy you wanted to throw up, or because it just aired too many damn times? Well, I have, many, many times. From the "Alif" advert on TV(because it was aired, like, every 14 seconds) to the Suzuki ad on the radio. In the latter, a man is saying how the two new Suzuki models "really get his pulses racing", while speaking like he is as excited as a Greyhound dog after a huge lunch.

I also have a tendency to dislike ads for skin care, shampoo and most beauty-related products, mainly because they are all EXACTLY THE SAME. It typically begins with shining skin/flawless hair walking in and saying how the product has 'transformed' her. The ad then shows how the product works(showing you layers of the skin-the product then enters the skin and wipes out all unwanted items). Seriously, which girl/woman wants to know how the product enters the skin?? Pointless!

Just look at these ads.

Different product, same method. In other words, BO-RING.

I am sometimes also ticked off by some song adverts, like the new McDonald McChicken one. It's because when you make a song ad, it shows that you can't think of anything else besides asking some people to sing all the good things about the product.

BO-RING.

So what makes a good ad? And who makes good ads?

To answer the 1st question, I shall have to answer the 2nd one 1st.(pun intended)

Volkswagen have made good ads over the years, and even now. It started with the "Think Small" ad, which was that title with a tiny pic of the VW Beetle.

And recently, the Scirocco ad.

Telecommunication companies seem to do it well too. After the hilarious DiGi ads, here comes Yes 4G.



The ad just utilises one person, while the narrator talks about saying 'yes'. "Yes mom, I will be home for your birthday." The preson's expression changes as he speaks. He DOES NOT say anything about the product directly.

In other words...

me.com(Editor): BO-RING??

Get out, me.com. No, not boring, GENIUS.

So what makes a good ad?

The answer is simple. A good ad is one that does NOT try to tell you all about the product in a short time. It does NOT have some people pretend to testify how good it is. It does NOT keep on yelling and saying, "Hurry, buy one today!" It leaves you with a scenario that keeps you interested, seems to have little connection with the product(yet indirectly has a lot of connection) and lets you draw your conclusions.

Until next time.

Disclaimer: The Suburban KID team does not wish to violate the copyrights, patents and/or trademarks that have been mentioned above. It will not be held responsible for any of the actions mentioned. The above brand names, labels and/or trademarks that have been mentioned above are for the purpose of reference only. The Suburban KID team does not intent to offend or insult any party, company or person(s) mentioned in the article.

The Demise of (Proper) Cartoons

What examples can we think of when 'cartoons' are mentioned?

The legendary Mickey Mouse.

Winnie-the-Pooh.

And... sorry my brains's out at the moment. Can't think of much else. (EDIT: I thought of something now: Bugs Bunny) In terms of Japanese animation, Pokemon, Digimon, blah blah blah. There was another one that starts with a D, too, but I can't remember what it was. All I know is it was big, blue and liked hats. With propellers.

But that's not the point.

What I wanted to do is make with a comparison with the cartoons of today, especially the ones for younger children. Yes, yes, I know that all cartoons are for children anyway, but I mean the younger ones. So no The Legend of Aang: the Last Airbender or Detective Konan(or was it Conan? Oh I'm terrible).

Let's start with the classics, now reformatted into modern versions.

Mickey Mouse
Now: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse


I'll say it straight off: (The current one is) a load of sh*t.

Why?

First, a look at the original. It's main purpose was to provide entertainment through animation. And as a pioneer, it was absolutely brilliant. The laughs were mostly from physical jokes, such as Donald chasing his three nephews and slamming into a wall of ice. All the shows were instant classics. Yes, sometimes they were unrealistic, but aren't cartoons supposed to be so?

Now? Someone at Disney must have sat down and said: "Who cares about thinking of more jokes... The children don't understand anyway. Let's make it educational."

Maybe he didn't mention the no jokes part, but one big difference, among many others, of the current MM or MMC as it is now known is that it's so... dull. There isn't even an effort to make them funny any more.

As for educational, I'm damn sure that they mentioned that, because it tries so hard to do so, because every few minutes-no, seconds- the characters, who sound so fake ask you to answer a question like "Can you see the vase? (When it's so obviously placed at the corner of the screen...Do they underestimate the children's intelligence??)" or "Count with me. Onnneee.... Twooooo.. Threeee...."

My point is that cartoons nowadays, especially ones by Disney, just aren't as fun or hilariously funny any more! They're probably under pressure by parents, because they focus so much on being educational. The ones under Nickelodeon are quite good, but most of them are aimed at slightly older children than their Disney counterparts. Ex: Spongebob Squarepants.

Okay, let's head on to another one.

Winnie-the-Pooh
Now: My Friends Tigger and Pooh


My childhood favourite. I don't think it's hard to see why.

There was something about their relationship that was just.. so sincere. They had many witty lines, like the following, one of my favourite from Pooh when Piglet was insisting there was a flood outside his house, but Pooh came in without seeing one: "Either your flood is a very dry flood, Piglet, or it is hiding somewhere," delivered in his cute drawl.

The thing is, the characters didn't only rely on being cute, unlike many cartoons/shows of today. The writers managed to create good plots and lines for them every time, the design was great. Yes, the music and dancing were rather cheesy, but that's an exchange for the goodness. And Disney continued delivering this greatness...

Until 2005.

What has it become now? Basically, the same has happened to it as Mickey Mouse, but it's just slightly more interesting. SLIGHTLY.

Cue the obviously fake greetings and socialising between characters, the 'missions' Darby, Tigger and Pooh perform as Super Sleuths- come on, the guys are supposed to be normal people animals, not some heroes who save the day! This shows that television companies nowadays think that children are all about crime-fighting superheroes. And more "Can you find the tree? Where is it?" You'll soon be shaking your television with frustration, yelling "STOP ASKING ME TO DO THINGS YOU DIMWIT, JUST GET ON WITH THE DAMN SHOW!"

Before I end, I have to say something about Cartoon Network shows.

 I said I won't comment anything about shows for older kids, but I  couldn't resist. the shows, save two or three good ones, are mediocre. They don't offend you and your intelligence the way Disney's shows do, but they are always relying on the same things for laughs. Same action scenes to make them cool. Same... everything. They're not really bad, just not outstanding.

So hats off to Nickelodeon for continuing to provide great entertainment to those slightly older kids. For animation movies, it would be Pixar, but that's for another day.

But wait.. someone has to cater for the younger ones too. Please, they're young, but they deserve great entertainment. So Disney, take a look at your history, and learn.

Until next time.

EDIT: Terence Wang finds it sad that no matter how bad the content Disney provides them, they are just going to suck it all up, without knowing what they've missed.

The Shutdown of My Blog

I hoped my title scared you.

If it did, you can relax. But you probably weren't scared in the first place. Bleh.

No, I'm not shutting down this blog. Not Suburban K.I.D.; oh no. I'm shutting down the other blog. Yes, 'Terence's Dairy'.

Why?

Some of you don't know it exists in the first place. That's fine, because only a smattering of you(6, to be exact) are allowed to read it anyway. Thing is, not even all of the 6-I'm not revealing their names here, something to do with 'customer privilege', whatever that means- read it.

So what's the point of writing something that isn't read, not even by the writer?

As first I thought it would be a good place to write about my daily life. But there's one big problem-ok, two if you count the lack of views- Blogger's photo upload system is terribly slow. And photos are a key part of talking about my daily life.

This is a view of it before shutdown.

With that, I declare Terence's Dairy... CLOSED.