Tuesday, September 09, 2008

I heard a commercial on the radio recently for a monitored home security system called laser shield. In fairness, I can't say whether this was a local or nationally broadcast commercial. What caught my attention was the sales pitch. The announcer was saying that renters are umpteen times more likely to be burglarized than are home owners. The announcer then urged renting listeners to buy a laser shield system to "even the odds on this unfair statistic."





The thought that there is a fair number of times to have been burgled in life, of course, brought to mind Discworld and the Thieves' Guild of Ankh-Morpork. Only, in the book, it's viewed with irony and humour, as the idea of an agreed-upon number of times to be robbed is clearly ridiculous, right?





Right?


I just wonder what is wrong with people that they think if they are burgled, then it is fair that other people be burgled as well. Isn't this shifting the blame for the occurrence onto the victims, or onto people who haven't been victims, rather than taking the blame to the doorstep of those actually responsible for these crimes? And how nasty of people in the security business to capitalize on fear, rather than simply taking a common-sense approach! Why couldn't there be a straightforward sales pitch which doesn't rely so heavily on emotionally driven manipulation? How about "it's a neat idea to have a security system, and sometimes it will be a deterrent for thieves?"

The sad thing about common sense is that these days, it's less and less common.

6 comments:

Liz said...

Does it vaporize burglars? Cause I'd totally be up for that ;> Although around here it would probably mostly catch possums.

Thud said...

In modern Britain most people count being burgled as an unofficial tax...help the non working class dontcha know!...the police don't even bother coming out anymore...An Englishmans home is his castle is looking a little frayed.

Anonymous said...

Of the home-security ads, the ones that most gets me shouting at the TV are the ones for Brinks Home Security. They always -- ALWAYS -- show defenseless homeowners in a situation, threatened by a goblin, in which, if the alarm didn't chase the goblin away, the results would be, shall we say... tragic?

And yet, they never suggest that, were the homeowners to be armed, the situation could probably be better-resolved, with less risk to life and limb, at considerably lower cost than the $50 the police will nick you for responding to your alarm trip.

Me? If the wife's not around to complain about me shouting at somebody who can't hear me, I'll be screaming at the TV: WHERE'S YOUR GUN, FECKWIT?

Do they listen? Hell no.

M

Rabbit said...

I've got a sign in my bedroom window that says simply

"Steal Here- Die Here".

No problems yet.

Of course, large, eeeevil blue-eyed dogs and one terrifyingly yappy little one might have something to do with that, too...or, maybe I should hide those Claymores in the yard better.

Regards,
Rabbit.

phlegmfatale said...

liz - Vaporize. Nice.

Thud - my girlfriend lived in an Edwardian row house in Rochester, Kent, and she told me to not leave my purse on the ground level at night when I was visiting, because people might break in, and they'd just take whatever was on the ground floor level, usually. Sheesh.

Mark - that's one reason I can't watch tv much. It sends me 'round the bend.

rabbit - here's to our adorable, lovable, snarling beasts. And claymores. yays.

Catmoves said...

I've gotta get me some claymores.
As for the offensive advertising Phlemmy, which particular TV ad doesn't have offensive messages in it somewhere?
As a wise man once said, "No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people".