I thought the Burger King "Herb" ads were dumb, not clever. The whole idea that there was only 1 person (& of course he was a man) who'd never tried the product kinda insulted people who had reasons not to eat it, or just weren't interested--treating them as if they didn't exist. When those ads came on, I used to call out things like, "Herb's a vegetarian!" or "Herb keeps kosher!"

How do you know to whom to write a letter of complaint about a commercial? How do you know which ad agency represents a product or produces any particular commercial?

He keeps referring to the people in the business as "ad men" . What do you call a female
ad man?

An ad catching your attention does NOT necessarily sell the product. I still remember a jingle from an ad for a product long since off the market - "Ammident reduces tooth decay 'cause it's ammoniated" - it's stuck in my memory, yet I never bought or tried the toothpaste. I also remember a Pepsi-Cola campaign from several years back, about something they called "the Pepsi generation". I resented the whole idea of the ad, and determined never to buy Pepsi. I bought Coke instead. Of course now, I'm off soda altogether, because of the health implications.

On the topic of research:
Please have your guest comment on Dr. Frank Stanton of CBS.

Could Mr. O'Reilly explain why TV stations now run the same ad twice in the same commercial break? This has been happening for several years now, & I find it really annoying--which makes it hard to believe it's effective. Is it? If it is, why?

"Jingle" from the OED3. a. The affected repetition of the same sound or of a similar series of sounds, as in alliteration, rime, or assonance; any arrangement of words intended to have a pleasing or striking sound without regard to the sense; a catching array of words, whether in prose or verse. Chiefly contemptuous.

c1645 HOWELL Lett. (1892) II. 658 In the perusal of these Parables..you shall find no gingles in them. 1663 BP. PATRICK Parab. Pilgr. 157 Frivolous hearers, who are more pleased with little gingles, and tinkling of words than with the most perswasive arguments.

b. A short verse or song in a radio or television commercial or in general advertising.

1930 A. FLEXNER Universities I. xxv. 165 Let the psychologists study advertising..in order to understand what takes place when a jingle like ‘not a cough in a carload’ persuades a nation to buy a new brand of cigarettes. 1949 Life 28 Mar. 36/1 She abhors the jingle's suggestion that she be taken home and squeezed.

David Ogilvy was a spy for England.

About Informecial. Is it a good source of advertisiing?

I had learned that Johann Tetzel created the first jingle in the 15th century to sell Indulgences for the Catholic Church. The jingle was "Every time a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs." Sounds suspiciously like Clarence from Its a Wonderful Life.

Soap operas aren't dead.

The melodrama has moved to reality programming and inflammatory news.

Glenn Beck is a "soap opera", for instance. He carries on in order to get viewers, so as to sell ads. Same as the original "soap operas".

"Advertising justifies its existence when used in the public interest - it is much too powerful a tool to use solely for commercial purposes." - Attributed to Howard Gossage by David Ogilvy
Advertising has performed public interest functions in past... could it help inform the public about climate change threat?

I'd appreciate it if your guest could comment on the current phenomenon of behavior placement in TV shows as opposed to product placement.

What does he think about Sesame Street's use of the commercial format to sell curriculum like the alphabet to children? Would this work online?