Entry 383, on 2006-08-19 at 23:14:12 (Rating 3, Comments)
Yesterday I saw a brilliant advertising billboard which made me stop in the middle of the street and use my phone to get a photo (depending on where you're viewing this from you might see the photo, if not it says "Xtra Fast Broadband. Yeah, right"). One of New Zealand's beer companies has been running an advertising campaign (its interesting how beer advertising is always the best) for a few years now around the phrase "yeah right". On one side of the billboard is an unlikely phrase and on the right "yeah right".
Some classics from the past were: Let your mum stay as long as she likes, Yeah right; I only read it for the articles, Yeah right; I was reading her t-shirt, Yeah right; Guys look great in Speedos, Yeah right; Her butt walked into my hand, Yeah right; etc. You get the idea? I know it has nothing to do with beer, but that's the way a lot of advertising works, isn't it?
Some peace activists have even modified the original message to make political points. For example: Surgical bombing, Yeah right (after the Americans accidentally bombed a hospital); War will bring peace, Yeah right (regarding the wars the US has started recently); Let's go Bush, Yeah right (against the US president in general). So the billboards have really become an important social phenomenon.
You might have noticed that I regularly ridicule our big telecommunications company, Telecom, in this blog. Xtra is their Internet section, and Xtra's Internet services are just as hopeless as Telecom's phone services. Recently they have been advertising faster broadband in a series of television adverts. People often ask me when this is going to happen, because their broadband is slower. I have to regretfully inform them that it has already happened! You can trust Telecom's advertising. Yeah right!
Since the great New Zealand economic "revolution" of 1984 most New Zealanders have treated business with great respect - a lot more than they deserve, certainly. But Telecom now seems to be the subject of almost continuous ridicule, which is great. The sooner people realise that big foreign companies are here to exploit us, not help us (and Telecom is probably the worst example), the sooner we might be able to improve things! I'll be joining the great exodus from Xtra to another provider next week.
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