Monday 26 November 2007

Heroes

If you have a choice to decide one super power you can have, what would it be & why?

I'd love to be able to back to the past or to the future. To go back to the past to understand the series of events that had happened & how they caused the chain reaction of events to happen in the present time. Why? Perhaps just kaypohness & hoping to change some unfortunate events from happening or know the lottery number so I could win the lotteries, invest & make money, set up a company & hire those who really need a job and invest the money in an educational and healthcare fund. But having watched 'Back to the Future', my interferences could also mean changing the outcomes and maybe even cause more troubles as a result.

But if there's one thing I could change, I would go back to the past & make my mum meet another guy and my dad meet another woman.

Well, my hubby would like to be able to command fire or lightning. Guess too much of cartoons & comics for him...

One of my colleagues would like to have the power to fly - so that she could fly all over the world & save on air tix costs. Preferably all her family members would share the same power, otherwise she would have to make several trips just to bring them to wherever she goes.

Another would like to be invisible so that she could know what's happening. Somewhat a little like me with the element of kaypohness. Yet she's contented to know what's happening & not what the person is thinking, hence it's no to psychic powers for her.

Another one would like to be the invincible - able to self-heal & not suffer any external injuries. If I can still grow old and die eventually, I don't mind having this power since I won't be hurt myself easily judging from the occasional bruises that I have. Or better, to be able to heal others, so goodp people won't die because of illness...but that means I'll be super busy with people queing to be cured, doctors and nurses might be out of jobs, insurance agents have less commissions to earn since healthcare insurances won't be necessary. Perhaps, the world might even be over-populated which may result in famine if there's insufficient food or environmental pollution.

Perhaps the power to heal people emotionally may be a better power. People won't feel depress, angry, jeolous, agitated, hatred...and just feel happy. Perhaps without negative feelings, the world might be a more peaceful and beautiful place. No wars, no racism, no class distinction, no terrorism...

There are always 2 sides of the coin. When there's goodness, there's also evil. So while the powers are put to good use, there'll be repercussions. Too much of a good may not be good. To quote Spiderman's Uncle Ben 'with great power comes great responsibility.

So what power would you like to have?

Thursday 8 November 2007

Advertisements

As I was typing this email, my hubby came in happily, kissed & wished me a Happy Deepavali, & showed me excitedly an ad that shows a promotion by Zojirushi - $68 for a lunch warmer set. I asked him if he's gona pack home-cooked food for lunch in office, he thought for a while, & said we can use that as a storage. I'd rather buy a tupperware then since I don't need the warmer function & it'll cost cheaper, but ot wanting to disappoint him, I agreed we could check it out.

Such is the power of advertisements. They can make one think that one would need that product.

Of course I'm also one of those who sometimes fall prey to these ads & occasionally would yield to my implusiveness as well. I'm one of those who will end up buying more items from the supermarket when I'm supposed to get just one. Apparently, supermarkets have their own marketing strategies in the placement of their items. I read somewhere that products placed near the cahiers are usually small items that are likely to attract people to buy on impulse. Fortunately for me, my impulse buying only applies to supermarkets & not other retail outlets. & it's a good thing I didn't subscribe to many magazines.

Advertising is one of the powerful tools to get the cash registers ringing. Open today's papers, we see lots of it especially on festive occasions where people tend to have a 'buying mood'. So does that mean more holidays will give the economy a boost with increased spending time & mood? My colleagues were all commenting that JL & Robinsons keep having sales that they can virtually be 'forever on sales'. So it's time for them to change their tagline 'The Sale worth waiting for'.

We are bombarded with ads everyday & everywhere, from TVs to radios to newspapers to emails to flyers to buses, cabs, posters/banners on the streets etc. Most of them are enticing people to consume, while some are for brand building (which ultimately also leads to spending), and there are some which are there to educate, inform or change mindsets or even for recruitment purposes.

Recently we see a number of 'cosy feeling' ads by financial institutions which tugs at your heartstrings. & these types of ads are usually used by some of the government agencies to promote their messages. I'm wondering if such an approach is effective in reaching out to the target audience in terms of them getting the message or to be influenced.

I've attached some ads here by Pertonas (by Leo Burnette) which I was told that they are very touching & impactful. I've watched them & agree that they did create an impression & managed to strike a chord in me because I can relate to the ads. I hope you could watch it & perhaps do a short simple poll as I'm interested to find out if such ads are indeed effective in spreading messages & changing mindsets.

















Advertisements

1. Do you like these ads?

Yes
No
2. Would these ads make you reflect on your relationships with your family?

Yes
No
Maybe
3. Would you do anything to improve your family relationships after watching these ads?

Yes
No
Not sure
4. Do you think these ads are effective in influencing people's mindsets/attitudes?

Yes
No
Not sure