October 19, 2018

Advertising ineptitude.

A screenshot of something displayed in my Facebook timeline this morning. Glance, then look away, and tell me what you saw:



I saw, "DON'T VOTE."

I had to look a lot more closely to see what that other word was. (Admittedly, I'm going blind.) It felt like, "DON'T VOTE, BRO."

And the bro is looking at me hypnotically. Don't vote.

50 comments:

Henry said...

Huh. I wondered if it was Ryan Braun and didn't read the words.

Darrell said...

There's an unspoken "or else" there.
He'd get his teeth knocked down his throat, if he made a move.

Wince said...

Is that suppose to remind us of Paul’s portrait inside the Beatles White Album?

alan markus said...

Maybe it has something to do with this.

The common wisdom in politics is that higher turnout helps Democrats.
But could the opposite be true this fall in Wisconsin?
Could lower turnout — meaning fewer people voting — improve the Democrats’ odds of knocking off GOP Gov. Scott Walker?
And could higher turnout be good for Walker?

Oso Negro said...

It’s probably a good subliminal suggestion for most Milwaukee residents

Rob said...

What an anemic mustache. Give that boy some testosterone, stat.

Quaestor said...

Don't wear your Halloween costume to the polling place.

And don't ask anyone witch candidate to vote for.

Quaestor said...

Looks like my first moustache attempt grown when I was barely sixteen. It was so wispy and blond that I used horse shampoo to make it darker. And it did make it darker, so dark that it looked like a caterpillar had taken up residence on my upper lip.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Don't Boo, Vote is a President Obama quote. If you already knew that quote, you would probably read it correctly the first time.

Maybe this is super-secretly brilliant advertising: Hard-core Democrats read it correctly and are encouraged to vote, while rational people misread it and are discourage from voting.

Lyle Sanford, RMT said...

Scott Adams has often mentioned when seeing "Don't remove card" from a reader at the store - he sees "remove card" and does it and messes up everything - and talking to cashiers found out a lot of people do that - and says it's something about how the brain works.

Paco Wové said...

Thanks for the reference, IiB. Definitely wouldn't have picked up on it otherwise.

Anne in Rockwall, TX said...

How did the concept of using boo for something you don't like come about? Booing crowds. Why boo? Why not hiss? Or something else. And boo is also someone does to scare someone.

It's not a very pretty word, and it doesn't have a good sound. And it looks unfinished.

Paco Wové said...

LOOK DEEP IN MY EYES

YOU ARE GETTING VERY SLEEPY

WHEN YOU WAKE YOU WILL VOTE FOR DEMOCRATS

Leland said...

I'm tired of Beto thinking my phone is his personal way to annoy me.

Ann Althouse said...

"Don't Boo, Vote is a President Obama quote."

Well, then, I cry racism. They think blue eyes ares mesmerizing.

Kate said...

A "Boo" is a hawt guy.

But this guy has a caterpillar on his lip.

Curious George said...

Too much soy.

SF said...

I got "DON'T VOTE. BOO."

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

This Halloween season, don't Boo! Vote!!

Vote for the scariest Dem candidate!

Fernandinande said...

DON'T BOO VOTE.

Deplorables like me who don't know anything might get the idea that it's a picture of Tony Evers, but Tony Evers is black; here's a picture of him helping some demented old fart who's trying to register to vote because the republicans made it so difficult.

buwaya said...

I had a better mustache at fourteen.

Yancey Ward said...

The ad is obviously a well designed GRU social media ploy to trick Milwaukeeans into to staying home.

Infinite Monkeys said...

Wake up Boo! (Shouldn't that be "Wake up, Boo!"?)

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

The left need the vast immature and easily fooled youths to vote for them.

AS people mature, they lose the religion(D).

Levi Starks said...

Implied in the narrative is the notion that if we can make it easy enough you’ll vote, and we’ll win.
Democrats believe (rightly) that the voters they need to win also happen to be the laziest least likely to actually vote voters.
If only there were a way for them to vote without actual having to get out of bed.

Rick.T. said...

Beards are the padded bra of masculinity. You be you, boo.

mockturtle said...

Sorry, I didn't see 'Don't Vote'. But it's still a really stupid ad.

Caligula said...

All sorts of products and services are now available only with auto-renew.

So why can't I vote a straight party ticket in perpetuity, just selecting "D" with auto-renew?
And then have this choice auto-renew forever (or at least until someone notices I've moved out-of-district or have died)?

Even lazy voters have a right to vote. If you deny me this you're suppressing my right to vote, fascist!

mockturtle said...

Rick Turley asserts: Beards are the padded bra of masculinity. You be you, boo.

Only if the beard is stuck on with adhesive. You jealous, bro?

jim said...

Seems like a dumb ad to me, but perhaps saying "don't vote" is a good way to get people to vote. I could see your hero Trump becoming king of world following that strategy.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

The White bro in the ad is a strange choice. Those guys aren't voting Democrat. Not this year.

wild chicken said...

Ugh, these preferred soyboy models are so boring.

JAORE said...

If only there were a way for them to vote without actual having to get out of bed.

There's a (soon to come) app for that.

We're doomed.

buwaya said...

Beards are fashion items. I had a beard from 18-25 or so as a bit of individuality.
Partly because I could have a proper heavy beard, in a land where they usually can't grow them at all. It did attract interest I have to say.

Bay Area Guy said...

"Don't vote Bro" is a perfectly acceptable campaign slogan, particularly in my neck of the political woods.

In fact, if you have to be urged, prompted or cajoled to vote, you probably shouldn't.

JAORE said...

The shadow on the guy's face is interesting. Could it be a subliminal diversity effect?

Seeing Red said...

Why did they use a white guy?

rcocean said...

the first time i saw it i read it as

"Let Boo vote"

and then as

"Don't vote Boo"

My first thought was, who the hell is "Boo" - 2nd thought: "Me and you and dog named boo".

rcocean said...

Yeah, I'm sure all the Big Democrat Cities will have LOTS of open voting places, who won't mind if you drop into vote multiple times or have no American citizenship.

No doubt your dog is welcome to vote.

Me, and You and a dog named boo, all voting D.

rcocean said...

"Going blind"? Not if you have surgery.

Bay Area Guy said...

"Don't taze me, Bro" -- that was a good slogan too, but it had nothing to do with voting. I think some spoiled, white, leftwing, college protester was getting tasered by the cops.

Michael K said...

It's a subliminal attack on "Its a sin to kill a mockingbird."

No Boo Radley. Vote ! or Lynch !

gg6 said...

Yup - a very badly executed ad (not even counting that 'boo' clunker). aka, clever beyond its talent and judgement.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

I didn’t for a second see “don’t vote”.

Unknown said...

I remember seeing a United Air Lines billboard once that showed happy employees and had the tag line of:
"We don't just work here."

But every time I saw it, to me it read:
"We just don't work here."

Rick.T. said...

mockturtle said...

"Only if the beard is stuck on with adhesive. You jealous, bro?"

No soybro here. Thanks for asking!

Birches said...

I saw Don't vote Bro. I assumed the Republicans had been renamed in the ad. Wow

JaimeRoberto said...

It's probably just the shadow, but his head looks seriously lopsided.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Don't boof me, bro.

This is a seriously bad ad. It's almost as bad as that ad that shows up on my FB feed with old people saying they always vote (Republican), but they know young folks won't vote (Democrat). It's supposed to encourage young/Democratic voters, but it seems very demoralizing and fatalistic. Russian troll farms couldn't have come up with a better way to dissuade liberals and leftists from voting. I approve.

gadfly said...

"Don't 800 Vote."

Methinks - Only in America.