
Internet advertising: Going up, up, up - gibsonf1
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9735979-7.html?tag=nefd.only
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mynameishere
The big advertising spender is Proctor & Gamble, which leads at $4.9 billion.

4,900,000,000 dollars to differentiate soap.

I'm surprised Newspapers are still as high as they are. It's going to look
more and more like the _Geritol and Gold Bond powder presents Lawrence Welk
and his Champagne dancers hour_. Can Geritol save the NY Times?

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pg
The more generic your product is, the more you have to spend to differentiate
it.

Coke is just sugarwater. Few could tell it from Pepsi if you switched the can.
Nearly all its "value" is brand.

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ralph
Maybe I'm one of the few, but I can instantly spot the difference between Diet
Coke, Coca Cola, and caffeine-free Diet Coke and have done when mistakenly
given one for another in a glass. The difference between Coke, Pepsi, and
other colas is more marked.

I suspect a lot of people that automatically reach for a Diet Coke every day
would also spot the difference.

I get the impression you don't drink it?

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mynameishere
It would be interesting to give people who make claims like that a taste test.
We sometimes see odd results from professional testers in blind tests: You
know, Two-buck chuck and MCD's premium coffee winning huge competitions. Put
some boone's farm in a decanter, and I'll bet your snootiest guest will like
it, even if its "a little sweet".

I _think_ I can tell the difference between caffeine and non-caffeine coke,
but it might just be the label. Maybe I'll test myself sometime...

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staunch
You're mixing identifying which you like better with being able to
differentiate.

PG used a bad example, but I think it'd be hard to argue that it's not true in
general. Bottled water might be a better example.

BTW, I can quite easily tell the difference between non-caffeinated diet coke
and regular diet coke. There's an unmistakable difference in smell with the
non-caffeinated one. I don't even have to taste it. It gets way trickier
telling the difference between the various "diet" cokes in the US, Europe, and
Asia.

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donna
Here's an interesting article: Bob Garfield's 'Chaos Scenario' A Look at the
Marketing Industry's Coming Disaster <http://adage.com/print?article_id=45561>

