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Example: Sports.

In the past 4 years, I haven't heard anything about baseball aside from occasional off-handed remarks. Each season was like it hardly existed. Not many (if any) radio or tv plugs. Very little conversation. No posts on forums. No-one cared.

All of a sudden this season is the almighty baseball season, apparently out of nowhere. Everyone's talking about baseball, it's all over the radio and TV, I'm seeing posts about it on every forum.

The demographics used by commercial media is astounding. It's like they can create trends when they need something to make more money.

Personally, I dislike major league baseball. The commissioner, the players, the owners, all corrupt. It's like a big mafia, and I can't stand that. But that's not really the focal point of my subject question. Question is: how do these popularity surges happen? What was the origin point in commercial media that sparked it?

Interesting.

I hate baseball. Guess I'm not part of the 'in crowd'.

I guess I haven't really noticed a difference in popularity between this year and the last few...other than baseball has been on an upswing of popularity over the last few seasons (the McGwire/Sosa home run battle did a lot to start that).

Then again, I live in St. Louis. Baseball is life here.

It probably didn't hurt that 3 hugely followed franchises (Yankees, Red Sox and Cardinals) are in the finals this year. (no offense to Astros fans, I just don't think that franchise has the national following the others do)

I'm probably not the best person to respond to your points though, Tarryk. I've been a baseball fan since I learned how to walk. I've played it, coached it, called it on-air...I love the game. I hate the commercialism, myself.

You want to really see my psychotic fan side...wait till the Blues make it to the Stanley Cup finals. (as if)

Well, Im getting the brunt of it because my area in NH is split pretty evenly between Yankees and Red Sox fans, bit I think the real hype is suddenly because two of the teams with the biggest followings that have always had a pretty strong rivalry are going face-to-face.

Tarryk wrote:Question is: how do these popularity surges happen? What was the origin point in commercial media that sparked it?

Well, isn't it really like this all over the world? It's been a pet peeve of mine for a long time noting when it happens and who follows it. I suspect this is because I rather dislike people who do things for no apparent reason other than "Everyone else is doing it". So I started noticing, and disliking, trends. I'm guessing it's the "flock mentality". We need focal points. No single human is unique there. We need something to like, to praise. Be it withing our own little group of friends, people or aqueintances, or be it in a world wide spectrum, we need something to like. We all do it, the differance is the hype. Some are easier than others and will more openly follow the band wagon where ever it may go. But the people who claim that they have never blindly followed anything because their friends and those they respected did, are lying. Hating the hype can be as fake as loving it.

The world has a problem with America. It's now so wide spread it's a trend, not a reason. They can't say why anymore, it's just popular to be against capitalism... I mean, what did capitalism ever do for us? Well, they gave us clothing franchises, Burger King and Coca Cola for one. But the popular oppinion is that America sucks. If that is sucking... I wish Denmark did.

Hype will always be there tho. Teenage girls, in hysteria over some pop-star, teen idol or movie star. They all "love" him, and cry over him at night, yet they've never met the dude. It's a hype. Some people do not rest in themselves. They are not confident in themselves and thus find other things to build self esteem. One way os to be like everyone else... To be accepted.

The majority of the world consists of people who in some way lack self esteem. Some more than others. That is why they follow trends, they need to be accepted, and when everyone thinks this is cool, so do they. It is not a conscious descision, but nor is getting horny. It just happens.

We all want to be accepted by our friends, family, and loved ones, it is not a new thing. Some just need more than others, and thus, need to be accepted by everyone whom they look up to or see as "right". Hence the hype.

The media figured this out a long time ago, and are just cashing in on it. They know that if they portrey something as great/cool or fantastic, there will be someone out there who jumps on the wagon and says so too. And then his/her friends, and before you know it, the hype is raging, and the dollars are rolling.

It's always been there tho. It used to be religion, now it's commercialism. But the deal is the same. Convince them that this is right, and they will chant it in their sleep. There will always be people who need to feel part of something who will join it. And so it grows. Eventually the hot air will be deflated, but it will have served its purpose. And they can always make a new hype tomorrow.







Tm

Thing is it's all marketing & big business. I think by this point in our history it's such a monster I'd have to equate it with the monster of our government. Each is essentially a gigantic machine with so much going on inside it most probably even those on the inside can't keep up with it all. Consider just how many TV stations, newspapers, radio stations & publishers in this nation are probably owned by a very small group of top tier corporations. A very small amount of people are pulling all the strings to target us and lead us down the road of what they want us to buy this year.

there is nothing better then seeing the yankee's choke after going up 3 games to non in the league championship series. especially when they spend 191 million on their line up.

WATCHING THE YANKEES LOSE IS ALMOST AS GOOD AS SEX!

The News.

By any means possible!
And they got literally a arsenal of methods.


advertisement everyone know about,
product placement is also angient altough it's not that long ago since people
really took notice of productplacement in big movies, or sports.
I suspect sports is one the first obvious places.

Anothe thing which really creeped me out is something I saw not that long ago on a documentary. I forgot to check the production year (C) on it but for all I know it could have been 4-5 years old which scares me even more.

Marketing Agents in the literal sense.

Have you ever been in a mall, grocery store, shoe store. or some othe place there usually is a lot of people?
Have you ever heard two people talk about say Britney Spears etc.
And one of them saying "You really gotta listen to this, her latest album is awsome, esp this and that song" etc etc.
Seems innocent enough, but it could also be marketing agents.
No I'm not kidding, these are actual people who seem just like anyone else, except that they travel from store to store, or walk around busy streets even. and "discuss" various products.
It may seem like you are overhearing a "conversation" but you are not,
you are actually "overhearing" a flat out ad in the flesh.

These are paid professionals that all year round travel around the country, visit as many places they can wher there is a lot of people to "overhear" them, and they do their act or acts even.
This is their living.

and they could talk about anything from music to tv series to shoes toi chewinggum.
"and then he said..." "mm, here try this chewinggum, it's awsome" "thanks....oh wow, thats really good what is it?" "your kidding right? it's the (brand here) strawberry ice, they got like ads all over about it. but damn it's good huh?" "hell yeah".

Then you glance at the two people talking and they look just lilke any other teenager.

Or if they where talking about *Shrug* vacations to the pacific or boat cruise it could be a elderly couple etc.

This kind of agents thing is damn sneaky,
but also extreemly brilliant whomever tought of it.
Cause what it does is actually use the same principle as Word of mouth
(i.e somebody who plays AO and loves it would obviously tell others about it, thats free advertising)
But put a lil money behind it, some good writers to make a few lines,
and these agents can create the illusion of Word of Mouth.
You'd never know, there is no way to tell the difference,
unless you happe to go to a another city and run into the same two people again that is hehe.

So Tarryk wondring how the heck these things happen. (with baseball suddenly on the upswing)
I can only say, how the heck could it NOT happen? Anything left dormant
will be revived if there is potential to get new customers due to it.

I almost miss the stunt Coca Cola compay do now and again every um 5 years is it? when Yo-Yo's suddenly get in again.
(thanks to Coca Cola promoing the hell out of it that is).
At least that is a marketing you can clearly see and even appreciate,
these new techniques (and remember I sad the documentary I saw could be a few years old by now)
like marketing field agents kinda creeps me out.

Imagine what the bleeding edge in marketing right now could be... *shudder*

And to those wondering, no I'm not stealth marketing Coca-Cola here.
Myself I prefer Pepsi (wee free advertisement), i used Coca-Cola as a example as they routinenly x years inbetween relaunch the Yo-Yo thing lol.

Just tought about something, *no idea if this is something any would do but who knows how far some would go. and warning this is very Matrix'y creepy idea lol*

Ever seen the news and a big warehose fire and that x thousand products from brand x was damaged etc "and luckily no-one was injured at all?
Have you ever wondered if the company did it on purpose JUST to get on the news?
You'd never know, would you?
Now theres a creepy thought!

Or even more creepy.
big news about somebody trying to bring a gun on board a plane,
but "expert" airport security of airline company "easily" caugh him thanks to their "high" security.
I mean, a lot of people would'n mind getting a evil mark in their police record if they got payed a million or two.
And the airline would earn houndreds of millions in from free news coverage about their "high" security.

I'd be surprised if such a ploy hasn't been done allready with all the terorist hysteria going on.
Heck, look at the US elections, they are actually using the terririst hype to get "freebie" points on their campains. and national leaders are supposed to be the good guys lol.

Well, the government *SHOULD* be the good guys, but you can really never, ever trust the government. Never trust them.

Never trust corporations, either. You're just a dollar, and they'll do ANYTHING to get it from you. I had heard of the marketing ploys you mentioned. Most of them don't hit me because I don't tune into traditional media, and haven't for many years now. I watch a crap load of movies, and they are starting to get really bad with the block buster ones. Bringing in shitty expensive cars just so they can spin off and do an endorsement deal with the movie characters. Look at Spider-man 2! They were putting spider-man on all the bases in the Yankees stadium. They reversed the decision, but still. How long is it going to be until everything you see in sports is going to have an advertisement. Even the god damn balls themselves. You'll see sports players running around out on the field looking like Nascar vehicles and drivers. It won't matter anymore about how well you play the game, but who your sponsors are that keep you on the team.

I thought it was REALLY convenient that Boston, who has had this magical 'curse' for so many years, got into the World Series and the Yankees were left in the dust. I'm not such a sports fan, but I believe that's the root of the interest in baseball at the moment and how the media got that spark going for it.

It kind of reminds me of Rollerball. Not the 2001 commercialized bullshit movie, but the original. Watch that, get chills, and feel sorry for the american past times of yesteryear and how they used to be. I used to play pretty much every sport available to me: baseball, soccer, football, basketball in all their various leagues. I eventually quit because I saw a game that was supposed to be fun become the foundation for young peoples' careers. They were more worried about how they looked for the highschool scouts in the stands than anything.

Greed. Such a sick thing.