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Ads Tap Into That 'Mad-as-Hell' Feeling

Companies use consumer rage to sell

By Ambreen Ali,  Newser User

Posted Jun 26, 2008 5:14 AM CDT

(Newser) – Advertisers are feeling our pain. So they're tapping into consumer rage over rising prices by saying "we understand," and using that to sell products and services. Take a Southwest ad that asks what the competitors have been smoking. "Apparently, your rolled-up $20s," it quips. A legion of ads has cropped in similar fashion to assure us that companies sympathize with our anger, the New York Times reports. A few examples:

  • Harley-Davidson proclaims that “freedom and wind outlast hard times.”
  • Jackson Hewitt shows taxpayers who didn't use its services angrily smashing things.
  • Eastman Kodak claims to "take a stand" against “pricey ink stinks” and companies that “treat people’s most precious images" as file formats.

A yellow Harley-Davidson bike reflects on a silver helmet in this file photo. The company assures us that %u201Cfreedom and wind outlast hard times.%u201D
A yellow Harley-Davidson bike reflects on a silver helmet in this file photo. The company assures us that %u201Cfreedom and wind outlast hard times.%u201D   (Getty Images)
The anger of Peter Finch's character in the movie Network seems to be cropping up in more and more ads these days.
The anger of Peter Finch's character in the movie "Network" seems to be cropping up in more and more ads these days.   (MGM/United Artists)
Southwest Airlines has rolled out ads that say competitors charging baggage fees are smoking your $20s.
Southwest Airlines has rolled out ads that say competitors charging baggage fees are smoking your $20s.   (Getty Images)
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