New WotC Advert: FREAKS HERE'S YOUR FLAG

[buzz]

Do you talk to grade school aged kids on a regular basis?

Do you?

Computer games and using a PC are no longer geeky. That's pretty much it.

It's better than when I was in grade school.

 

[Len]

I was born in the year of the dragon. Can you guess what year that was?

1940.

 

[buzz]

Yes, it is misused. Letting your freak flag fly means not being ashamed of your noncomformity.

I.e., "Say it loud, you're a geek and you're proud." I'm not seeing how the ad is negative or misusing the phrase.

Yes, it does play off negative stereotypes. The "freak" is clear as day.

Then you have an issue with the phrase itself, even in its original context, and not this ad. "Freak" was a pejrorative term for hippes which they themselves later adopted.

Yes, Mad is popular. It's on nearly every newsstand across the country, and newsstands receive magazines based on their popularity with a demographic- Barnes & Noble, for example, has no control over which magazines they carry.

I'll take your word for it. I used to buy Mad and Cracked at the grocery store all the time. Now, I can't remember the last time I saw them on sale, or saw anyone reading one.

No, it's not popular to be a D&D player. Let's not kid ourselves.

I never said that.

Those were the ads TSR ran in the early 80s, look again.

I know, I was there. I'm making a comparison.

During the 90s they used a lot of company-owned art to make ads such as claws tearing through paper saying "It's coming" (That's great, what's coming?), a dragon breathing fire on the kewl new book with the statement that this will kick your ass, and a lot of things to that nature.

And the current ads are way better than those.

You completely misunderstand my position. The ad doesn't offend me.

You seem to find it quite insulting and stupid. "Offend" seems synonymous, especially when you use terminology like "negative stereotypes".

I'm not trying to stand in the way of D&D being successful. I want people to start playing, but I think ads like this are a waste of WotC's money and I'm disappointed that this is what that exciting promotional campaign amounts to.

Then we must agree to disagree. IMO, the current ad campiagn is the first one I've ever seen that has a flippin' clue. I see the "Freaks..." tag line and I see a call to arms. More power to 'em.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

All these posts about letting your freak flag fly, and no references to "How Can I Sing Like a Girl?" by They Might be Giants? For shame!

Well, I've had it in my head all day, if that counts.

 

[VirgilCaine]

Those were the ads TSR ran in the early 80s, look again. During the 90s they used a lot of company-owned art to make ads such as claws tearing through paper saying "It's coming" (That's great, what's coming?), a dragon breathing fire on the kewl new book with the statement that this will kick your ass, and a lot of things to that nature.

I was more likely to buy Megaman III than play 2e based on the ads in my old G.I. Joe mag.

"SnakeMan, HardMan, GeminiMan, MagnetMan, NeedleMan, ShadowMan, SparkMan and Topman. They're the eight new robotmaster in Megaman 3."
[Sidebar: Wow! That's a hell of a lot of info to get from just an ad when there's not Internet (with advance release info from Japan) to look for the bosses names on.]

Note: Ad contains a large picture of the game box, two small in-game stills and "Megaman 3. Anything else you need to know?" + the box picture taking up 75% of the page.

Two pages later:
"It's Coming!" In large red painted-looking letters on a yellow angular cut-out background. A red-and-black drawing of a dragon takes up most of the ad space. There is small white letting at the bottom reading thusly:

"In just a few months, you and your friends can experience adventure gaming unlike anything you have known before...
A medieval swordsman, powerful warrior, or mystical wizard--this can be you in the new, easy-to-learn DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game...
Learn to survve the deepest dungeons and the most horrible dragons...take the new DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game challenge....it's coming--soon!"

I know which one I would pick as a 12 year old.

http://www.retrojunk.com/details_commercial/61/

This commercial is pretty funny though.

 

[JustKim]

You seem to find it quite insulting and stupid.

I'm not insulted in the least. It seems you've decided I imagine the ad calling me personally a freak and everything I say is an angry spittle-launching rebuttal that needs to be divided and conquered, so yes, let's agree to disagree.

 

[buzz]

It seems you've decided I imagine the ad calling me personally a freak and everything I say is an angry spittle-launching rebuttal that needs to be divided and conquered, so yes, let's agree to disagree.

No, I was having a discussion with you. The (perceived) snark quotient in your first post also led me to believe you were engaging in more than purely academic criticism. My intention was not vitriolic. :\

My point is just: I like the ads WotC has been doing lately. I don't really understand people who find them at all negative. There have been other threads where folk have gotten their panties in a bundle over them (I think the mods had to shut one down recently). I don't get it.

 

[buzz]

http://www.retrojunk.com/details_commercial/61/

This commercial is pretty funny though.

Yep, that's the Jami Gertz ad I was talking about (for the 1e-era Basic set, BTW). Even when I was 12, my friends and I made fun of it.

I laugh at the new ads, too, but at least the humor is intentional.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

My point is just: I like the ads WotC has been doing lately. I don't really understand people who find them at all negative. There have been other threads where folk have gotten their panties in a bundle over them (I think the mods had to shut one down recently). I don't get it.

*shrug* I'm not upset by the ad, but I find it hard to understand how calling the entire consumer base of a product "freaks" can not be negative. Freak always has been and continues to be a word with negative connotations, in my view. Perhaps I simply haven't kept up with modern culture at my ripe old age of 30, but I've never found calling someone a freak to be taken as a compliment.

*shrug*

 

[ThirdWizard]

*shrug* I'm not upset by the ad, but I find it hard to understand how calling the entire consumer base of a product "freaks" can not be negative. Freak always has been and continues to be a word with negative connotations, in my view. Perhaps I simply haven't kept up with modern culture at my ripe old age of 30, but I've never found calling someone a freak to be taken as a compliment.

I agree. I would take odds that most people who read the ad will have no idea its connection to hippies or counter-culture. They'll think freak shows, outcasts, weirdos, and generally people who can't fit into socieity, or they'll just be confused by what the ad is trying to say, like I was.