They Have No Shame
Friday, June 06, 2008 Filed in: Events
Back to school also means back to basics. The basic
sales blitz designed to separate you from your money.
The latest company to display a complete lack of shame is HP-- Hewlett-Packard. The PC company. Trust me. HP did not invent subtle.
They're also not the first to invent blatant advertising that appeals to the weakness in all parents-- buying what our kids want.
HP ran a four page insert in the Sunday paper highlighting all the back-to-school bargains available. What's wrong with that?
Can you say, "over the top" or "in your face?" The advertisement's headling?
"Your child WANTS IT. And you WANT to BUY IT for them."
There's not much that subtle in that headline. The front page of the insert also highlighted low-ball prices for HP PCs; as low as $299, a special price at $399, and an upgrade of $130 for a total of $529.
For parents so enticed to buy what their kids want, what will they get for their hard-earned money? What does $299, or $399, or even $529 buy these days?
The slowest new computer available with the least amount of memory possible, the smallest hard drive around, and the squinty smallest screen, sure to drive your kids to the optometrist.
Flip to the inside pages of the insert and the blatancy continues.
"The URGE to BUY is good" screams the headline. "...GIVE IN to the URGE" screams the headline on the opposing page.
Give in? Wait a minute. The $299 price of an HP PC on the front page has given way to a $649 PC on the inside page, which gives way to a $949, and a $1,199 PC on page 3.
Uh oh. Do I see a trend? It gets worse.
The bottom of the third page displays another upgrade of $290 for a total of $1,489 for the HP PC which also doubles as a TV. If you've had trouble conversing with your kids, how much more so will it be once they have a TV inside their PC?
Half of all PCs sold these days are notebooks, laptops, or in the case of some large models from Dell, luggables. HP's notebook prices, listed on the last page of the insert, start at $579 but with add-ons, quickly balloons to $999.
How about the advertising headline on the back page?
"DON'T THINK of it as TECHNOLOGY. Think of it as a SYMBOL of your LOVE."
That's as crass and tasteless as a company can be. Show you love your kids by purchasing a new computer. From HP.
Unfortunately, HP no longer invents much for the PC market, assuming they ever did. Not all is lost. HP uses a time honored method designed to separate you from your money.
Crass commercialism.
The latest company to display a complete lack of shame is HP-- Hewlett-Packard. The PC company. Trust me. HP did not invent subtle.
They're also not the first to invent blatant advertising that appeals to the weakness in all parents-- buying what our kids want.
HP ran a four page insert in the Sunday paper highlighting all the back-to-school bargains available. What's wrong with that?
Can you say, "over the top" or "in your face?" The advertisement's headling?
"Your child WANTS IT. And you WANT to BUY IT for them."
There's not much that subtle in that headline. The front page of the insert also highlighted low-ball prices for HP PCs; as low as $299, a special price at $399, and an upgrade of $130 for a total of $529.
For parents so enticed to buy what their kids want, what will they get for their hard-earned money? What does $299, or $399, or even $529 buy these days?
The slowest new computer available with the least amount of memory possible, the smallest hard drive around, and the squinty smallest screen, sure to drive your kids to the optometrist.
Flip to the inside pages of the insert and the blatancy continues.
"The URGE to BUY is good" screams the headline. "...GIVE IN to the URGE" screams the headline on the opposing page.
Give in? Wait a minute. The $299 price of an HP PC on the front page has given way to a $649 PC on the inside page, which gives way to a $949, and a $1,199 PC on page 3.
Uh oh. Do I see a trend? It gets worse.
The bottom of the third page displays another upgrade of $290 for a total of $1,489 for the HP PC which also doubles as a TV. If you've had trouble conversing with your kids, how much more so will it be once they have a TV inside their PC?
Half of all PCs sold these days are notebooks, laptops, or in the case of some large models from Dell, luggables. HP's notebook prices, listed on the last page of the insert, start at $579 but with add-ons, quickly balloons to $999.
How about the advertising headline on the back page?
"DON'T THINK of it as TECHNOLOGY. Think of it as a SYMBOL of your LOVE."
That's as crass and tasteless as a company can be. Show you love your kids by purchasing a new computer. From HP.
Unfortunately, HP no longer invents much for the PC market, assuming they ever did. Not all is lost. HP uses a time honored method designed to separate you from your money.
Crass commercialism.
