Advertising

On a recent job interview, I was asked to create a sample banner ad that was supposed to entice someone to click on it. I did my best and ended up not getting the job, but that is okay. I was thinking about it later and I was given the impression that a well-designed and exciting banner ad would get anyone to click on it. The thing is - advertising doesn't work like that, at least for me. I'm throwing this out there to see how everyone else feels.

At my old job, we made spam banner ads and websites and were constantly challenged to make them visually appealing. I get that, you don't want it to look like crap. But still. If you are 55 and don't need an iPod, I don't think any amount of flashy design will make you click on a banner ad for a FREE* iPod.

My opinion is that if you aren't in the market for the product they're selling, nothing will make you want it. I've had zero interest in buying a new car for a few years now. If someone offered me $1,000, I couldn't tell you a memorable car commercial or advertisement I've seen in years. Besides that, car commercials are some of the worst ads out there.

I know ads are "supposed" to make you want something and make you rush out to buy it, but I would say it rarely, if ever, works on me. I can appreciate a clever marketing campaign and a funny commercial. I may even recall a logo or product years later based on advertisements - but if it's not my thing to begin with, is it even possible to make something like that? Can you truly make a banner ad to sell something a person doesn't even need?

Punky

The other day I watched the E! True Hollywood Story of Punky Brewster. God, I need a job or need to find out if I got into school soon.

Iron Eagle

With my newfound free time, I watched '80s classic Iron Eagle. If you want to talk about movies that age well, this ain't it. If you want to talk about movies full of '80s cheese and a nonsense plot, look no further!

A quick recap of the plot - teenager and young pilot Doug Masters' application for the Air Force is rejected. His Dad, also an Air Force pilot, gets shot down in some generic, unnamed Middle Eastern country and is taken hostage. The government tries to go the diplomatic route but plans stall, which leaves Doug with only one option - stealing a fighter jet and rescuing his dad himself! Luckily, he has help from semi-retired Col. Charles "Chappy" Sinclair and his teenage buddies, who are the children of Air Force employees. They're able to steal Air Force plans and maps in broad daylight, and also schedule and fully arm two F-16 Fighter Jets for takeoff.

Without a doubt, the funniest line is when Chappy Sinclair looks at the group of teenagers and says, "Without a doubt, this is the finest planning crew I've ever had the privilege of working with." Dude, you were in the Air Force for TWENTY TWO YEARS and you're saying a bunch of teenagers did a better job?! Wow, that really says something about our Dept. of Defense.

Anyway - somehow, a teenager and a retired Colonel walk onto the airstrip and take the planes out for "some mission" and make it most of the way to the unnamed Middle Eastern country before anyone catches on. Chappy decides it's a good idea to arm Doug's plane with a Hades bomb because really - if you can trust anyone with a bomb named that, it's a high school graduate who got rejected by the Air Force.

They fly over there and blow a whole bunch of shit up - even hitting a wooden tower with bullets makes as big of an explosion as the Death Star. Also, Chappy's plane gets shot down so Doug has to land and rescue his Dad, which he pulls off and they fly home. When he turns up to get sentenced to life in prison - Chappy is there! Turns out that fishing boats in that area regularly pick up Air Force pilots floating in the water. Instead of getting sentenced to jail time, Chappy and Doug are thanked for their mission so long as they pinky swear not to tell anyone how easy it was to pull everything off. Also, Chappy recommends Doug get into the Air Force Academy and the government board approves it. Because, let's face it - if you can steal an F-16 and rescue one person by yourself, you surely deserve to do it legally for the Government.

There aren't enough thumbs in the world to appropriately point up for this film. It gets a bonus thumb for excellent music montages - especially the one with Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It." Classic film and a definite must see.

Sell Out

So it's now been a week of being unemployed. I've long joked around that I would sell out my design career if a job came along that paid me enough. I don't know how much these paid, but I think it kinda proves it when I tell you that I submitted resumes to be a Creative Manager for the Jonas Brothers and a web designer for the Ryan Seacrest page on KIISfm.com. Fortunately for my soul (and my sanity) the Seacrest posting was closed.

Yay, economy.