Advertising companies and the exploitation of sub-conscience

If, like me, you’ve ever bunked off school, phoned in sick to work, actually been too sick to attend school or work, or been unemployed (for the record I’ve done/been all of those things) then you will probably have had the unpleasant experience of watching daytime television and the adverts which appear on it.

Daytime television is generally banal and depressing enough, but then when there is a break from Jeremy Kyle telling people how disgusting and reprehensible they are without even a hint of irony, you get the adverts. As if watching people with the most bizarre and depressing lives tear into each other in pigeon English on Jeremy Kyle wasn’t enough, you get advertisements for insurance companies trying to either get you to claim for money for no good reason, or give them your money, for no good reason. Or there are adverts for comparison websites, car buying companies or JML products polluting your eyes and conscience. 

I know there has always been advertising and a lot of it is the work of Lucifer but it wasn’t always this bad. During the 90’s Guinness ran a series of entertaining, amusing advertisements for their product which didn’t patronise, terrify or cajole the intended audience which is what we now seem to be left with.

The Injury Lawyers 4U advert is great. Before even the advert came to be they chose a name for the company with 4U in the title, you know, because that’s how people spell now and they’re just like U, looking out 4U. Fuck off. It’s patronising in the extreme and suggests that those they wish to target for their brand of ambulance chasing exploitation are too thick to be able to spell or see through their thinly veiled pretence. The advert itself is hilarious, men in suits walking through some posh looking offices saying things like ‘We’re real lawyers’ ‘here to help you’ ‘lawyers you can trust’ what utter bollocks. Your not real lawyers your actors hired to pretend your lawyers and the lawyers your representing are not here to help others their here to find any possible reason to claim against somebody for some sort of compensation so why in the name of the great satan should anyone ‘trust’ you? 

Then there is the Sun Life Over 50’s Plan and similar life insurance for those with the temerity to live beyond 50. Some of these are truly astounding in how far they are willing to push the boundaries of common decency. ‘WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO YOUR LOVED ONES IF YOU DIE SUDDENLY’ capital letters aside that’s pretty much word-for-word from one advert. So, the basic tactic for getting older people to hand over their cash is to tell them ‘you might die soon and then your family will be fucked so you’d better cough up’. To awaken and antagonise the lingering fear of death that we all have in older people is utterly despicable. ‘Leave your loved ones more than just memories’ is another quote. I lost a loved one recently and the memories are infinitely more important than what I inherited, I understand that when people near the end of their lives they will want to leave things to the ones they love but most people in that situation will naturally consider it at some point anyway and do not constantly need to be reminded they are going to die and have insurance companies trying to get hands in their pockets through the television every fucking day. 

Lastly you get the cartoon ad. Because we’re all so fucking retarded now that the only way we can take on board information or comprehend a concept is if you have a claymation dog with a broken arm and the voice of Joe fucking Pasquale explain it to us. Jesus Christ Almighty! How thick do advertising companies assume the adult population of this country are!? They now use the most irritating and childlike images and audio to appeal to people to buy or insure things; how many times have you seen people singing or humming along to the webuyanycar.com jingle with a stupid half grin on their face? Or the GoCompare advert, Or the Confused.com ads? People even use the phrase ‘I’m confused.com’ no your fucking not, your not a website, you’re a person who isn’t sure about something. The terrifying thing is that the puerile, insidious marketing has managed to infect our common conscience to such a degree that they have had this effect on some of us.

I’m not saying I haven’t been taken in by advertising, the Apple ads for the iPhone when it first came out made me crave it like I was a crackhead who hadn’t had a hit for a week but the nature of some of our advertising at the moment is surreptitious, patronising, childish and flagrantly amoral.

The unique fear of Arsenal fans

It's been a while since I blogged, is that a word? Is now. Last time I was debating the ethics of the press, this time it's back to the football. Well sort of.

After Sunderland sent Arsenal packing from this years FA Cup I was reminded of an old idea I had when I was a kid. That Arsenal supporters of my generation didn't know what it was like to support a rubbish team and as such had no idea what failure truly felt like.

This, unfortunately for them, may now be coming to pass. They have already endured the greater part of a decade without winning anything and watching their team slip further behind their rivals, a trend which shows no signs of abating.

The situation is unique. Since SKY catapulted English football to economic prominence and the inception of the Premier League, there has not been a team which has gone from doubles and domination to abject failure and laughing stock. Until Arsenal.

Having spent so long mocking Spurs for being utterly mediocre and laughable in comparison the unique fear that must now be emerging in Gooners is that they may well be heading towards that which they so derided in the past.

To be honest I don't think they could ever be as awful as the Spurs teams of the late 90's early 00's but in the modern premier league era it must be the bitterest of pills to swallow to watch a team go from such a position of power to being mid-table cannon fodder. Especially when your noisy neighbours are making an absolute racket.

I'm not predicting the end of Arsenal. I'm not even saying that there has been the far-too-much-talked-about 'power shift' in North London. I'm merely observing a unique and very uncomfortable period in the history of one of England's big teams.

Toner's prediction: Arsenal finish 6th and Wenger 'moved upstairs' in the summer.

Follow/insult me on Twitter @johnedwardtoner

Kercher Family betrayed by insensitivity of the media.

“Everyone needs to remember the brutality of what happened and everything she went through, the fear and the terror… I think Meredith has been almost forgotten” said Meredith Kercher’s sister Stephanie after Amanda Knox won her appeal.

The main focus of media attention naturally falls on the prime suspect in a murder case. However the particular type of attention certain sections of the media have directed towards Amanda Knox has been at best insensitive. At worst it has been morally and ethically reprehensible.

The Sun newspaper has repeatedly referred to the accused as ‘Foxy Knoxy’ quite often in big headline splashes on the front page. Not only does the sexual inference of this phrase damage the defendant’s public image, the light hearted and jovial tone of this moniker indirectly makes light of Miss Kercher’s death.

The Daily Mail, The Sun and the Daily Mirror have all covered Miss Knox’s return to the United States using phrases such as ‘delighted’ ‘all smiles’ and ‘beaming’ to describe her demeanour. Using such language in the public domain is extremely insensitive towards those who may have known Miss Kercher, especially considering the many question marks that hang over the decision and the possibility of an appeal by the prosecution.

The most disgusting and disturbing example of the blatant disregard shown to the victim of this crime and her family comes from Channel 5 topical debate programme The Wright Stuff. On his programme on October 5^th 2011 presenter Matthew Wright asked his male viewers “If you met Amanda Knox in a bar and she invited you back to her room – would ya?” with the banner on screen bearing the tag-line “Foxy Knoxy – Would ya?” Mr Wright has since apologised but the explicit sexual reference and laddish tone of this question trivialises the death of a young girl in horrible circumstances and is utterly indefensible.

What seems to have been forgotten or disregarded by some media organisations is that a family is still grieving for a loved one. Meredith Kercher’s family has suffered this kind of insensitive and distasteful treatment of the case for nearly three years. As if the torment of losing her wasn’t enough the Daily Mail, The Sun and others have turned her loss into a macabre money spinning circus for their own ends at the cost of common decency and press integrity.

Carlos Tevez and the modern footballer’s bubble.

Exactly What Carlos Tevez actually refused to do in Munich is still up for debate. The player is now claiming he declined a request to warm up after having just done so, with Roberto Mancini and several senior club officials insisting he refused to play.

Whichever request was denied, the arrogant and petulant nature in which he defied his manager is symptomatic of modern day, higher-earning footballers’ almost complete removal from reality. It shows the contempt that many well paid players have for some of the basic structures of society, like chain of command, cause and effect and mutual respect. You or I would think twice about flagrantly ignoring a reasonable request at our place of work because we are acutely aware of these intrinsic principles. 

The mind-set of players like Tevez is completely different.  Having been paid vast sums of money from a young age and constantly pandered to by club officials and agents, they seem to have a significantly underdeveloped sense of responsibility in relation to their profession. When he was asked to play, or warm up again, by Mancini it is irrelevant whether or not he wanted to. He had a responsibility to himself, his employers, his manager and the fans to carry out that request because it is what he is paid to do.

It is a depressing and bizarre aspect of the modern game that so many top flight players are so far removed from their fellow man on the terraces. This forms a large part of the reason fans are so quick to turn on a player when he is going through a bad patch on or off the pitch. The greatest and most important distinction is financial, why should they have sympathy for someone who gets five times their yearly salary in a week? It is human nature to afford the ludicrously well-paid less margin for error, the public anger towards former RBS chief executive Fred Goodwin is testament to that.

Whether he is fined, sacked, suspended or sent to the moon, the feeling of his disdain towards the club and its fans will linger and that’s the problem. Every time a high profile player shows this kind of contempt for the game and the fans, it opens ever wider the chasm of empathy between supporter and footballer to the benefit of neither. 

The Dangers of Societal Labelling

I have heard the phrase 'feral under-class' more times than I care to remember in the last few weeks since social unrest spread across the capital and quite frankly it's becoming disturbing. 


To hear all manner of eminent and respected individuals, as well as some not so eminent and respected individuals, brazenly labelling sections of our society in such derogatory and offensive terms in the media is astounding. "What I found most disturbing was the sense that the hardcore of rioters came from a feral underclass, cut off from the mainstream in everything but its materialism." said Justice secretary Kenneth Clarke. 


So is he suggesting that there are in fact swathes of people populating our island, rabidly foaming at the mouth with the desire to get a brand new pair of trainers 24/7? To use the term 'feral' in reference to human beings is disgusting in its ignorance and short-sightedness. Has he never heard of things like 'group mentality' and 'human fallibility'?


We all make mistakes. Granted we weren't all stupid enough to loot shops in broad daylight but can we all honestly say we wouldn't be tempted by a free 48000" television if we thought we could get away with it? Those of you saying 'no' are lying to me and yourselves. Get out. 


As a society we need to be extremely careful about the kind of language we allow to be used in reference to sections of the populace. If 'feral under-class' becomes acceptable terminology to describe certain people it becomes much easier to automatically view these people as violent, criminal, scum; and in turn they become much easier to demonise and persecute.


The Justice Secretary should have a much more rounded and cautious approach to describing such large scale social unrest or he run's the risk of propagating dangerous social myths that already pervade large portions of British conscience. 

Levy and the waiting game

We are now at the end of July and it is exactly 31 days until the end of the transfer window. Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City and even Arsenal have strengthened their squads in key positions.


United have bought a winger, a centre half and a goalkeeper. Liverpool have bought a winger and a central midfielder. Manchester City have bought one of the worlds best players (again) and will probably buy another entire squad before the window closes just for the craic. Even notorious non-spenders Arsenal have bought a striker. 


In the midst of all this Tottenham have signed a teenage striker (albeit a highly rated one) when it is clear that our squad needs more extensive strengthening and bloodletting. 


For a start there is a considerable amount of deadwood that needs to be either cleared from the ranks or turned around. This group consists of David Bentley, Giovani Dos Santos, Robbie Keane, Jermaine Jenas, Ben Alnwick and Bongani Khumalo. In my less-than-humble opinion I would sell them all except Dos Santos who I believe still has something to offer, he's young, quick and has bags of technique. He just needs to get more first team opportunities.


Then there is the necessary strengthening. We need another centre half. Ledley King and William Gallas cannot be relied upon for an entire season meaning we essentially have two centre halves (Michael Dawson and Sebastien Bassong) and two half-centre halves. We also need a striker. We have three strikers in our first team squad but not one of them is a stand-out 20-25 goal a season striker. I think we should allow Roman Pavlyuchenko or Peter Crouch to move on and use the money to put towards a world class replacement. 


I'm guessing here but I figure most Spurs fans would agree with the changes I've outlined above and must therefore conclude that Daniel Levy recognises the necessary changes. So why in the name of Great Oden's Raven has he not done anything about it!? 


I can only assume it's because he's doing what he always does. Playing the waiting game, looking for that last minute deal to get the best value player or get the best price for a squad member. It's a tactic that has it's advantages and Levy is very good at it. However it's a risky business and I can't escape the feeling that come midnight on August 31st we are going to have the same squad we do now (minus Luka Modric) and be a long way behind our competitors.

For Harry, England and St. George.

Quite recently, over one or 7 pints, a very salient point was made by my father who is also a Tottenham fan. It's one that a large proportion of Spurs supporters have been doing a good job of ignoring (I include myself in that group for the record). I've had to paraphrase as the old man is a bit more definitive/sweary in his opinions but it goes a little something like this; Provided Spurs achieve a respectable league finish, say 7th or above, Harry Redknapp looks very likely to be the next England manager after Euro 2012.





Harry has made no secret that he would jump at the chance to take charge of the national team, a right and admirable conviction as an Englishman but I feel this represents two major problems for the football club that Daniel Levy must address.


Firstly, How can a manager who in all likelihood will be taking charge of England when Fabio Cappello's contract runs out at the end of Polkraine 2012 be 100% committed to season 2011/12? A prospective England manager needs to be on good terms with all the managers in the premier league in order to avoid club/country rows. Spurs and Harry Redknapp going out all guns blazing at the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup this coming season would be bound to ruffle more than a few feathers along the way which wouldn't exactly be conducive to a good working relationship were he to take the England job. Admittedly Harry is very adept at getting on with most managers but surely a quiet season would be a safer bet. Why go all out for Spurs this season expending a lot of energy and enduring heart attack inducing levels of stress when he could coast along and still get his dream job?





Secondly, it is impossible for him to be fully committed to the future development of Tottenham Hotspur. As the tournament gets closer throughout next season so the debate about who should be Cappello's successor will rage ever louder. As the din of that debate grows Redknapp's name will surely be heard louder than most as long as Spurs aren't bottom of the league at Christmas. Given that we know he will take the job if it is offered to him, all thoughts of future planning for the club will quickly disappear from his priorities.


I am not for one moment suggesting we replace Redknapp. However Daniel Levy must, if he already hasn't, discuss these issues with Redknapp and obtain some assurances on how he would seek to balance his ambitions with the ambitions of Tottenham Hotspur. Otherwise the club is in danger one of its most important seasons in recent years becoming disrupted and hindered by the distracting ambitions of the manager.