The sell of fear

In the last few years, I have noticed a small trend in commercials. And that is using a state of fear to sell their product or message. Which if you ask me is a trend that is in very bad taste.

I think the reason that these types of ads have appeared is that as a nation we are still in a state of fear since 9/11. We are still jumpy over the ideal that we could be attacked again at anytime. Just the other day they're where many people thinking that the power outage in LA was due to a terrorist attack (and two years ago people thought the same thing when the power was taken out on the east coast). Thought it may just be that I have just started to notices these types of ads around that time.

The first ones I've notice where P.As on what people can dencasese of a terrorist attack. They basically just had the former head of Homeland Security just talking.

By it's very nature this ad will tap into our nations fears. If it was just that I wouldn't really think any thing about them, but it gets worst, there are also a number of ads that use fear and or the fear of children to get their point across.

For example, there are the more recent Homeland Security P.As that have a bunch of kids asking questions about what to do in the event of a terrorist attack. Now besides the fact that really there is much we can in the event of a terrorist attack, it puts out something that will cause little kids to be afraid. So, you are now forced to tell your kid in the case of a really critical terrorist attack we are fucked.

Currently there is an ad in the same format (kids asking what they should do in the case emergency) but itÂ’s selling car insurance or an on-star like service or something of the like.

And commercial of horror that gets the prize is an ad for pet medicine. Yep that right they are trying to scare us into buying meds for your little pet. The ad features a mother, her son and their dog. The dog makes a little whimpering sound and the boy looks up at his mother and says what wrong with sparky? The camera then focus on the mother as doom music plays. An announcer then says, "don't let this happen to you buy such and such"

Now I don't know about anyone else but these ads don't make want to go out and buy their products. In fact I may avoid those products (and warnings) because of those ads.

I just really wonder do these ads work? I remember reading a report that a good percentage of America are overly fearful maybe these types of ads work on them.