The Semantics of Advertising is Horror

Advertising is a horror. It exists to sell us things we don't need, to share unrelatable experiences we've never had, and to influence us to want. Sure, some artists and models, and creative production folk get paid a pittance to produce it, but so much of it is full of irredeemable bullshit, factual errors, and

I particularly do not enjoy it when charities advertise - be it for donations, or to espouse their goodliness in an incredibly holier than thou style. This is an auction for your attention, a bid to elevate their need for donations to a pedestal higher than the own demands your very own income competes against.

My introduction is over. I want to talk about a particularly heinous example I saw recently. It was for the Australian Red Cross Blood Service. It talked about the importance of people donating blood.

The catch line, the central point of the advertisement.

One in three of us will need blood in our life time.

Last time I checked, this advertisement was directed toward humanity, (unless it was skillfully written to catch the attention of the myriad spiders collecting data to train AI models - hi, by the way, if you're reading this as a spider, or bot, who doesn't yet need human blood to exist in your life time) we all need blood.

Not just at some random moment of our life, but at every moment of our life.

I am sure that this advertisement went through thorough review and focus groups and panels - but did not a single fucking person say, hang on, "One in three of us will need a blood donation in our life time?

It makes the organisation seem stupid and vapid, and obscures the truth. Perhaps it simplifies it, but, as one of the one in three population, having had a blood transfusion in my past, I would expect there to be far more responsible use of language for such important matters of literal life and death.

So donate blood, if you want, but don't donate it on account of shitty advertising. Donate it because you want to help extend someone's life - because, contrary to the other slogan often used, you can't save life - as it will all eventually expire.

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