In just the latest example of advertising’s near-total invasion of our lives, comes the news that startup Gas Station TV has pulled up to the pump. Calling itself a "network," GSTV will "broadcast" national and local TV commercials on 20-second, pump-mounted digital TV screens at gas stations.
Now I know some of you think I like to bash advertising just for the fun of it. But, c’mon, could the timing of this be any worse? With gas prices rising faster than the temperatures around the Arctic Circle, does anyone in their right mind think TV spots will encourage incremental impulse buying at the local ExxonMobil station?
I can just picture it now. Bob and Madge McAverage have been driving through hail and rain for 
hours and are running low on gas. Bob Jr., Little Madge and Sydney have been driving their hard-working, middle class parents absolutely nuts with their screaming and yelling in the back seat. Suddenly, Madge spots a gas station and begs Big Bob to pull over and fill up. She dashes to the convenience store to buy some goodies to placate the kids and freshen up. In the meantime, Bob is pumping some $60 worth of fuel into his Hummer when he spots the digital TV screen and sees some oh-so-enticing spots for Chevy, Allstate and Skoal. As an exhausted Madge comes back with the kids in tow, Bob asks if he can order a couple of tins of chewing tobacco and personal life insurance to go. Madge tells Bob what to do with the gas nozzle.
Someone far smarter than me once said, "In life, timing is everything." In my opinion, the timing for Gas Station TV couldn’t be any worse. Americans are up in arms over the outrageous gas prices and exorbitant profits being reaped by the oil companies. So, Gas Station TV comes along and says, "Hey, we have a captive audience here. Let’s subject the poor bastards to some ads." Why not? And, why stop with just gas stations? How about Telephone Pole TV? Would you believe Stop Sign TV? Or, how’s this one: Department of Motor Vehicles TV. Talk about a captive audience!
i-man – send me a note about the blog you are launching with that mystery poster…still interested in visiting it.
thanks,
jimym
To further my point, what if the ad is for Geico telling you how to save a bunch of money on your car insurance. So now Joe Consumer is pissed about spending 50.00 on gas but decides to call Geico and he saves money. All of a sudden pissed off Joe might not be so pissed anymore…
Rep-
I have to disagree with you in that i just don’t see Joe Consumer filling up his tank and getting more pissed b/c there is a TV screen showing ads. If Joe doesn’t like it, he can sit in his car on the cell phone or be like Jimmy and turn his head. If he does find the spot to be of interest he can divert his attention from the money he is spending and watch the ad. Tell me what is so bad about that.
We’re way ahead of you on this one, I-man. We’re planning on introducing a “guest commentator” component to RepChatter. One of our first guests will be an advertising executive. Preferably one who is progressive in his or her thinking and not stuck on the 30-second commercial as the be all and end all. Re: advertising’s and PR’s role in the purchasing decision, I am quite aware of how it works, I-man. Thanks for the quick tutorial. My point about this particular blog is that Gas Station TV is the wrong idea in the wrong place at the wrong time. Why try to hawk other products when the consumer is already in a pissed off mood about how much money the gas is taking from his/her pocket. Smart marketing, whether it’s PR, advertising or some other form, needs to take the consumer mindset into account first. This initiative strikes me as “Ready-Fire-Aim.”
James-
Didn’t post 2x on purpose…
Sure, the ultimate goal of all ads or pr placements it to sell products or services, but by achieving an objective or brand reinforcement, a sale could be made down the road. And you are right..i could throw you examples but you will just disagree for the sake of disagreeing, so I won’t waste time.
In terms of you not watching the ads, thats fine. I probably won’t either. But that doesn’t mean this is a bad idea. Some yodel who came up with this idea is selling it now and apparently people are buying into it. I agree it won’t be long before ads are in bathroom stalls- which by the way is a great captive audience, especially if Davey doesn’t leave you the Post to read…
I-man,
No need to post your rant twice.
And, I would disagree with you, advertising is used to totally drive the sale of products or services. Sending someone to a Web site, or brand reienforcement, might be other “objectives” of an advert, but their main purpose is to make consumers spend their dough.
If you don’t know that, you don’t know jack.
Now, i’m sure you will throw countless examples at me knocking my position, but I will still disagree. Let’s consider Pcom’s ESUVEE work (nice job, btw). Now, while it was to raise awareness, it was also to show consumers that driving an SUV is safe, and that they should buy one. Granted it wasn’t a plug for a particular brand, but The McAverages see that and think “hey, it is safe to drive this Hummer, so, let’s buy it, fill er up, and go for a cruise.”
But, I agree with Rep, I wouldn’t want to watch some commercials while doing so. So, I turn my head and that’s that.
Rep, Rep, Rep…
Let me start by saying that I don’t think this is greatest idea of all time. That said, it certainly isn’t a bad idea. The reason is simple- no one is forcing you to watch the ads when you pull up and fill up. You aren’t held hostage to the ads as you essentially are in a movie theater. If you don’t want to watch GAS TV then don’t. But here’s a question to all repman readers-think about what you currently do at the gas pump while your tank is filling- either sit on your cell phone, or just stare at the “total sale” number rise through the 30 and 40 dollar range. So actually, watching an ad for Kodak or Gilette is a lot more pleasant than watching the “total sale” box.
While on the subject I love to debate with the repman, I have to say that you keep missing the point on advertising. Not every ad is designed to sell, sell, sell. Some ads are there to drive you to another medium (website) to learn more about a product, some are for brand awareness, some are for brand reinforcement, etc. That being the case, you always come back to the point that “Is John Doe going to buy life insurance on the spot?” Likely not, but Mr. Doe buying life insurance that moment isn’t necessarily the objective af that particular ad.
The problem is that you equate advertising to point of sale marketing. The two are not the same- not even close. Think of it this way- how many times in PR do you score a quote for a client in an article and tell the client about the fantastic work of the team getting in the NY Times? Now, is Average NYT reader going to see that Mike Consultant of Consultants R US was quoted in an article and run to my desk to call him and hire his firm for a project- about as likely as Bob buying life insurance at the pump.
Gas TV, ads in elevators, on the sides of busses, subways, in the movies etc. are a way of life for one reason- b/c advertisers find value in them. And if they are willing to pay, someone will take their money. And if you want to debate they don’t provide value, then I think an excellent RepChatter would be a live debate between yourself and an ad exec. That would be interesting to hear…
Rep, Rep, Rep…
Let me start by saying that I don’t think this is greatest idea of all time. That said, it certainly isn’t a bad idea. The reason is simple- no one is forcing you to watch the ads when you pull up and fill up. You aren’t held hostage to the ads as you essentially are in a movie theater. If you don’t want to watch GAS TV then don’t. But here’s a question to all repman readers-think about what you currently do at the gas pump while your tank is filling- either sit on your cell phone, or just stare at the “total sale” number rise through the 30 and 40 dollar range. So actually, watching an ad for Kodak or Gilette is a lot more pleasant than watching the “total sale” box.
While on the subject I love to debate with the repman, I have to say that you keep missing the point on advertising. Not every ad is designed to sell, sell, sell. Some ads are there to drive you to another medium (website) to learn more about a product, some are for brand awareness, some are for brand reinforcement, etc. That being the case, you always come back to the point that “Is John Doe going to buy life insurance on the spot?” Likely not, but Mr. Doe buying life insurance that moment isn’t necessarily the objective af that particular ad.
The problem is that you equate advertising to point of sale marketing. The two are not the same- not even close. Think of it this way- how many times in PR do you score a quote for a client in an article and tell the client about the fantastic work of the team getting in the NY Times? Now, is Average NYT reader going to see that Mike Consultant of Consultants R US was quoted in an article and run to my desk to call him and hire his firm for a project- about as likely as Bob buying life insurance at the pump.
Gas TV, ads in elevators, on the sides of busses, subways, in the movies etc. are a way of life for one reason- b/c advertisers find value in them. And if they are willing to pay, someone will take their money. And if you want to debate they don’t provide value, then I think an excellent RepChatter would be a live debate between yourself and an ad exec. That would be interesting to hear…