iPod Advertising
Advertising sucks. That’s the cold, hard truth. It’s engineered to make you feel like you’re incomplete, that you have an unfulfilled need, that you’re not good enough. And we willingly take it in hour after hour, day of day, like some kind of self-hating masochists. There are some better ads out there, but is that really good enough?

The shocking part of it all is that it’s getting easier and easier to limit the number of advertisements we take in each day.  We can consume television programming and fresh music in new and exciting ways (well, new at least…). Of course, we find ourselves ditching one form of advertising just to pick up another. After all, how many ads do you see in your web browsing each day?

It’s hard to argue that advertising messes with our minds, but it’s pretty challenging to cut them out of your life entirely. Limiting the amount or type of ads you consume is a good starting goal.

1.  Use the Adblock plug-in for Firefox to limit the web-based ads you see. To be honest, I’m not wild about this option, since most bloggers provide free content that’s ad based. (I’ll probably be adding in a couple of ads soon as well.) Still, it’s a valid way to cut out a huge amount of advertising from your view. If you’re not using Firefox for your web browsing, I really can’t think of a better reason to start.

2.  Netflix your favorite TV shows. Yeah, there’s TiVo, but I’m holding out on that technology for a couple of reasons. First, I’d probably end up subscribing to 90210 reruns and other stuff I don’t really need to watch. Second, I’ve got to take positive action every few minutes to skip the commercials, which is a pretty labor-intensive way to skip the ads. (You may have a totally different take; feel free to hop into the comments and advocate for your opinion.)

When I Netflix shows on DVD, I miss all the commercials, and more importantly to me, I miss the hype. When I break the cycle of keeping up with coworkers in terms of TV, I also put a huge dent in the idea that I have to keep up with them in other ways, too, like cars and clothes and weekend fun. Win-win.

3.  Skip the lifestyle magazines. They’re a guilty pleasure, and I’m all for guilty pleasures, but magazines are the worst offenders when it comes to advertising. First you’ve got to dodge the airbrushed models and runway wreckage that takes up the first 30 to 120 pages of pure advertising. You may get lucky and flip to the masthead page right away, launching you into the content. Bullet dodged.

But then you’re trapped wading through the “Gotta Have Gadgets” and “Beauty Bargains” pages that are little more than blatant product pitches themselves. (I always find the $300 bag labeled as “Bargain!” endlessly amusing.)

Lula Magazine
Slide past the latest Apple doodad and turn the page on Elizabeth Arden’s latest offering. You’ve got one more hurdle: the celeb interview. Let’s face it; they’re not there to provide their infinite wisdom out of pure generosity. They’re schilling for a new product or project. It’s all one big minefield of slick, focus-group tested ads. Let your subscription slip and find yourself feeling a whole lot less anxious about being you.

Is it possible to cut advertising out of your life entirely? I’m not sure, and I’m also not sure we need to. After all, it’s up to each of us to keep our critical thinking skills sharp and staying a step ahead of marketing messages is a great way to do that. Plus, there’s also some solid information out there to be consumed, as well as items that can actually add to our lives. But I do think it’s a good idea to take control of how these messages reach you and what messages you let in.

My weakness is fashion, so I stay away from glamour mags for the most part. if you’ve got acute tech-lust, then tech and men’s magazines are danger zones for you. On the other hand, if you’re trying to eat healthier foods, do not—I repeat DO NOT—watch children’s programming.  Attack your biggest weaknesses first for the most payoff. You can only control so much, so make it count.

What are your strategies? Do you even notice ads? I’m very curious about how others view this topic, so even if you’ve never commented before, I’d really like to hear your opinion. See you there!

Creative Commons License photo credit: Orin Optiglot

Creative Commons License photo credit: tiloe

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