Showing posts with label sneaky advertising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sneaky advertising. Show all posts

Friday, August 28, 2009

I am in no way endorsing this article on yahoo


In advertising there is a thing about truth in advertising - not that anyone really looks closely anymore (yes they do! it was a tongue in cheek comment honest!!)
There is a parallel in things related to the financial markets as there is a straight up area of hype potential and instead of some bad pasta sauce you'll never buy again in the financial markets you can loose your shirt if the other guy isn't telling the truth about the smallest thing.
When I read an article like the cite about in Yahoo, my first thought is, well it's Yahoo soooo.....not the Encyclopedia Britannica. But then I think about the mix that occurs in between advertising and "news" and financial matters.
I almost went to work for AIG years back writing research and POV papers for management. I didn't. For investment purposes I'm glad that fell through as I would have probably bet the farm on that rock solid company (then) and now would be looking down the abyss. Now I wonder what I would do if I read the article mentioned above.
I know enough now to know that if you are buying into AIG or the gov. mortagage companys you have to have rocks in your head and that some people are buying...well my opinion is that there are two kinds of buyers right now. One buyer is the "me type" who thinks this phoenix will gain rise from the ashes and the other buyer is probably the guy who thinks that if he keeps this stock alive some guy like me will come along and buy (from him).

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Little things that make me crazy

Focus on Lifelong Investingbrought to you by Fidelity
Hedge Funds for the Average Investor
Standard equity and fixed-income investments should make up the bulk of your nest egg, but if you're looking for added diversity, here are some alternative options.» View More Stories...
Sponsored by: Fidelity

So, I'm in advertising. We usually denote "self advertising" or "astroturfing" with "special advertising supplement" which is jargon for an advertorial...something that is shaped like an editorial or "content" but is a trojan horse...just yap from the company.

Let's call it for what it is. If a company, a big established company, has to use this silly form of trickery, then what gives? Can you believe anything is real or is this just more crap...like the "fine print" commercial stuff you see on those banking ads...the ones with the kid trying to ride a bike in a little square or the cardboard cutout truck....

Why do people do that?