Choices, Choices, Choices

Summary

Lucy Dan reflects on the impact of advertising on human choices and culture, contrasting her experiences with marketing tactics from her youth to the present day, and invites writers to explore the theme of advertisements through a writing challenge.

Abstract

The web content presents a personal essay by Lucy Dan, who shares her fascination with the psychology behind human decision-making, particularly in the context of marketing and advertising. She contrasts the nostalgic influence of advertisements from her youth with the intrusive and often criticized nature of contemporary ads, especially on platforms like Tumblr, which used to be ad-free. Lucy Dan also discusses the cultural significance of certain advertisements, using her own experience of sharing Hong Kong jingles with her boyfriend as an example. The essay serves as a #WritingPrompt, inviting a list of writers and any interested parties to contribute their thoughts on the subject through poetry, shortform pieces, or essays, emphasizing the challenge of overcoming writer's block and the value of diverse perspectives on the topic of advertisements.

Opinions

The author acknowledges a love-hate relationship with marketing, recognizing its toxic aspects driven by financial incentives and manipulation of human attentional weaknesses.
There is a sense of nostalgia for past advertisements that have become cultural references, contrasting with a disdain for current ads that are seen as invasive and poorly executed.
The author expresses surprise and dismay at the introduction of ads on previously ad-free platforms like Tumblr, suggesting that users have not adapted well to this change.
Lucy Dan questions the effectiveness of current advertising strategies, pondering whether they might harm both brand image and the return on investment.
The author values the role of advertisements in cultural transmission, as evidenced by her sharing of Hong Kong jingles with her boyfriend, leading to their adoption into their shared cultural experience.
The essay concludes with an open invitation to other writers to explore and articulate their own perspectives on advertising, framing it as a creative challenge and an opportunity for community engagement.

a poem

Did you know that I have a side hobby of listening to marketing gurus share the art of presenting and promoting ideas?

You’d have to understand that it’s a pretty toxic atmosphere there when a lot of it is is motivated by giant dollar signs, catering to people’s attentional weaknesses.

Yet, I’m fascinated. (sorry)

I’m fascinated because I love learning about human choices, particularly the ones that make NO sense logically, yet were originally there as heuristics to save us time in another kind of world of decision-making.

I’m fascinated about how ads of my youth served me jingles I still reference as nostalgic 90’s moments,

yet ads I see now fire up a rage in me, as I, amongst other netizens, roast poorly conceived messages shoved down our throats across every platform, across many screens.

#WritingPrompt: advertisements, promotions, etc.

Inviting Mark Tulin | Alina Vrabie | Daniel Burg | Aaron Kemp | Teresa Young| Susan Alison | Dr. Preeti Singh | Ntathu Allen| if you’re up to it and anyone else interested to smash that writer’s block, join in on this tiny challenge and write a response, wherever it takes you! It can be a tiny poem, a shortform piece or an essay — whatever comes into that brain noodle! If you want to be added/ removed from the tag list, please leave a private note! ♥

Hi, I’m Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她), and there are a couple of classic Hong Kong ads where I still sing those jingles at my boyfriend from time to time to immerse him in ~our culture~, and by sheer exposure, he’s now had them memorized. Contrast that from my recent re-entering of the Tumblrsphere, shocked that ads are being placed after every few posts. I shouldn’t be shocked because they rolled out ads at the same (if not delayed) timeline as other platforms rolling out more constant ads. But, having spent my adolescence on an ad-free Tumblr, it was a shocker. Quite frankly, I think no one else has gotten used to it either, as I constantly see people roasting these ads that are placed. It makes me wonder if placing ads is a hit to the money spent AND the brand image together.

Choices, Choices, Choices

a poem

#WritingPrompt: advertisements, promotions, etc.

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