Re: US ad conventions

[Ryan Fellini <rfellini@domain.elided>]

hey charles, luca, and everyone else,

charles, i have to disagree with the 'is rarely done'.  i see
these types of product vs product commercials all the time
here in the US.  one that comes to mind is the subaru
commercials that shows a ford escape being crash tested, or
getting stuck in the mud, etc.  or you have the hyundai/kia(?)
commercials that show them comparing themselves against a
civic on some long distance test, and being cheaper, etc.

i think that these 'my product is better than your product'
type of commercial is one of the mainstays of the industry
over here... :>

cya,
ryan

> > I think you there in USA can advertise something againt something else.
> > I mean there it should be possible to advertise my Grappa saying it's
> > much are better than Di Matteo's one... not just THE BEST, but really
> > better than THAT particular one.  Here this is not allowed.
>
> Strictly speaking it is not against the law, but in practice a direct
> comparison with a competitor's product is rarely done.  Sometimes, in fact,
> it works backwards!  One case was a campaign for soft drinks some years ago.
> Pepsi Cola found that consumers preferred it in blind taste tests, so they
> had a head-to-head campaign built around the theme that people picked Pepsi
> over Coca Cola in tests.  But, people may prefer the TASTE of the Pepsi
> (revolting though it may be) but they like to BUY the Coke, and the result of
> the expensive effort was bigger sales for the competitor which got free
> mention and a boost in awareness.  I think that kind of thing taught
> advertisers that in most cases a direct comparison (even if you have all the
> legal ducks in a row) is too risky to try in most cases.
>
> Nobody is going to propose, I'll bet, that when ALFA returns to the US market
> they advertise the cars in direct comparison to another marque, even if they
> could reasonably say something like, more style than a BMW for half the price
> or better performance than a Saab.
>
> What they WILL say will make all the difference, though!

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