Trivial Matters

Part of my job with the Army involves analyzing messages, but not the coded kind that most people think of. No, I get to look at marketing messages (for lack of a better term), usually sent by the enemy, and figure out what makes them work; what makes them effective.

That skill, it seems, has spilled over into my TV watching. I cannot watch a commercial these days without trying to dissect every little bit, from the actors used to how the words used are arranged.

I find this ironic because, as a kid, I avoided any sense of commercialism. I never had to have the Air Jordans or whatever else was popular back then. I work plain clothes without labels or markings. But it wasn’t because I knew about target audiences or anything like that, I just never had the desire to “fit in” that way. As I grew older, some of the idealism went away and I find myself sporting symbols like the Nike Swoosh over other brands, or even the plain (and cheaper) versions.

So even though I much better at reading through the marketing BS, I’m apparently more susceptible to it. I’m not sure what that says about me, but it can’t be good.

I might turn this into a regular thing here, where I take apart a popular commercial. Or not. I can’t give away all of my secrets on here, can I?