MD Anderson Threatening Ad
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http://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aYwZEp7_460s.jpg
So glad to find this on 9gag. I saw this serious of ads in an airport and if you read it aloud it could get you arrested. Each of the ads says something directly threatening with the words removed which they have crossed out. The ads make no sense directly. If you don't look at them casually and pay attention you can figure out that they mean that they are attempting to imply that they've wiped out cancer or they've stopped being a cancer center and do something else instead - I'm honestly hot sure which. But "removing cancer" from the facility (but not the patients) appears to be the underlying theme.
But if you read it aloud or look at it casually or quickly, each of the ads appears to be someone threatening you. Since I saw them in the airport, it was much more odd because reading them could get you tackled on the spot in the US.
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The one in the picture here is better than most. Some were like "I'm coming to get you" and such.
This particular one is more confusing, though, since it must be implying that cancer didn't have a chance, but now it does - thanks to MD Anderson either sucking or just giving up on cancer work. Whichever they are trying to promote.
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If Medicine is to be promoted, the disease is being advertised to have a good business in their Center
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@Lakshmana said:
If Medicine is to be promoted, the disease is being advertised to have a good business in their Center
It's being advertised that Cancer is no longer being treated well. That's why the ad makes no sense. It appears to be an ad saying that they no longer treat cancer. And on top of it, it gives a vague impression of threatening the reader, rather than sickness. As all it says is "You don't have a chance."
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Scott - I have no idea how you take it that way. And sure, if you said those things while just standing in the middle of the airport with nothing around, you might get in trouble, but if you're even causally looking at the billboard and reading it aloud... well I do suppose we live in ridiculous times. lol
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@Dashrender said:
Scott - I have no idea how you take it that way. And sure, if you said those things while just standing in the middle of the airport with nothing around, you might get in trouble, but if you're even causally looking at the billboard and reading it aloud... well I do suppose we live in ridiculous times. lol
Take it which way? In the literal sounding way? What is the ad even saying? It is "removing cancer" from its statements. Which would imply that they are "no longer going after cancer" and "no longer a cancer treatment facility". Right? Other that reading into it something that isn't in the readable ad text what is the ad trying to say?
The only thing it shows is that cancer has been struck out. If cancer had been cured, I could see this meaning that they don't need to deal with cancer anymore. But given that it has not, what do you believe 1) they ARE promoting and 2) it comes across?
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Remember.... I found this posted online in a thread elsewhere where people had posted it for the reason I mention. A much more "mainstream" community than an IT one. So this isn't a "Scott thing" in any way whatsoever.
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Sure, in a purely literal, grammatically correct appearance, the strikethrough (missing from FF) would mean removing cancer from their services. But that's clearly not what they intend.
To me, their intention is to say something to the effect that they defeat cancer, that they remove it from you, the patient.
What site did you find this one? Was it posted by someone who is a writer? Again, in this case it's context that changes the meaning for the masses. Should it be done? meh, maybe not and if not it's because the strikethrough has a very specific known reason. But even writers choose to purposefully break the rules to bring attention to things at times, and those broken rules are sometimes what makes a specific writer great.
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@Dashrender said:
Scott - I have no idea how you take it that way. And sure, if you said those things while just standing in the middle of the airport with nothing around, you might get in trouble, but if you're even causally looking at the billboard and reading it aloud... well I do suppose we live in ridiculous times. lol
Oh, and I take it back.. I do know how you take it that way, but then again, the ad isn't meant for you either.
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@Dashrender said:
To me, their intention is to say something to the effect that they defeat cancer, that they remove it from you, the patient.
But they specifically made the ad say the opposite. You are bringing in what you "feel they meant to say or would want to say" into the equation rather than reading what has been put on the ad itself.
This is the same way that marketers get people to think that they've said all kinds of things about products that they have not. Getting the customer to "guess what we meant" and then think that they said it and stand by the statement is a marketing trick we've talked about before.
And yes, I understand that the ad surely is not meant to say something bad. But 1) Im not 100% sure what they are trying to say and cannot determine it completely from the ad, your guess is just one possible option and 2) whatever good thing they meant to say is not said NOR implied by the ad itself but purely from a certain type of reader.
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@Dashrender said:
Sure, in a purely literal, grammatically correct appearance, the strikethrough (missing from FF) would mean removing cancer from their services. But that's clearly not what they intend.
It's the only use for that there. You can ask @dominica as I pointed several of these out to her last month and she agreed that the ads, even when you had five or six different ones in one place, made zero sense.
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@Dashrender said:
What site did you find this one?
9gag, people mocking it for being nonsense and saying the opposite or completely different than intended.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
To me, their intention is to say something to the effect that they defeat cancer, that they remove it from you, the patient.
But they specifically made the ad say the opposite. You are bringing in what you "feel they meant to say or would want to say" into the equation rather than reading what has been put on the ad itself.
This is the same way that marketers get people to think that they've said all kinds of things about products that they have not. Getting the customer to "guess what we meant" and then think that they said it and stand by the statement is a marketing trick we've talked about before.
And yes, I understand that the ad surely is not meant to say something bad. But 1) Im not 100% sure what they are trying to say and cannot determine it completely from the ad, your guess is just one possible option and 2) whatever good thing they meant to say is not said NOR implied by the ad itself but purely from a certain type of reader.
You're absolutely right. But that doesn't matter. Those that are affected by cancel that are looking for solutions will call, and that is all the advertiser cares about. This ad is totally there to emotionally drive someone.
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The bottom line is, it does not convey a defeat of cancer when you read it quickly. And you can't tell what is intended, even after long discussion.
I believe that there is every reason to believe that they are advertising that they are moving beyond cancer to treating other things.
What you think that ad implies is completely arbitrary and even less supported by the ad itself than what I think it could also mean.
End of the day, you do not know what the ad was meant to say and are guessing.
But more importantly, a casual glance at the ad does not leave someone walking by the sign with a sense of cancer being defeated. A quick read you don't even see thew word cancer. You just see the words that the guy is "coming for you".
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@Dashrender said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
To me, their intention is to say something to the effect that they defeat cancer, that they remove it from you, the patient.
But they specifically made the ad say the opposite. You are bringing in what you "feel they meant to say or would want to say" into the equation rather than reading what has been put on the ad itself.
This is the same way that marketers get people to think that they've said all kinds of things about products that they have not. Getting the customer to "guess what we meant" and then think that they said it and stand by the statement is a marketing trick we've talked about before.
And yes, I understand that the ad surely is not meant to say something bad. But 1) Im not 100% sure what they are trying to say and cannot determine it completely from the ad, your guess is just one possible option and 2) whatever good thing they meant to say is not said NOR implied by the ad itself but purely from a certain type of reader.
You're absolutely right. But that doesn't matter. Those that are affected by cancel that are looking for solutions will call, and that is all the advertiser cares about. This ad is totally there to emotionally drive someone.
Will they? It seems clear that that's not who they are marketing to. Do people with cancer call random hospital ads? Do they call ones that aren't clear that they 1) treat cancer anymore or 2) focus on it like they used to?
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And, if the doctors there can't figure out that this is a crazy ad, why would you want them treating you?
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Clearly this is a bad grammatical ad. But I think you're reading way to much into it.
Also, those that I've known that have cancer that are searching for answers will call anyone and everyone that they even think could possibly provide a solution... so yes I do think they will get calls.
As for the Drs at the hospital. They don't write or even approve these ads. Some ad agency writes them.. and some board or CEO approves them. Now you personally may feel that this ad shows a systemic problem with that facility, and that's completely up to you (and the people on 9gag).
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@Dashrender said:
Clearly this is a bad grammatical ad. But I think you're reading way to much into it.
See, that's what I feel you are doing. All I know is that the ad says nothing and you are working off of what you feel they would want you to know but not what the ad says. I'm reading nothing into it, that's the point. Getting anything from it means you have to read into it and add your own opinion rather than reading what the ad says itself.
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@Dashrender said:
Also, those that I've known that have cancer that are searching for answers will call anyone and everyone that they even think could possibly provide a solution... so yes I do think they will get calls.
But do they want calls? You are reading into it to feel that way. It's a reasonable option, but we don't know that for sure from the ad. And having gone through my mother having cancer, this would have done literally nothing. If a place was well known for cancer she would have gone on reputation, not chosen to call based solely on reading into the inability to write ad copy. That might be the worst reason for calling a medical facility ever. If I had a disease I'd want to know what medical professionals thought was a good facility and what had a good track record. That a cancer facility even needs to advertise should be cause for serious concern about it.
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Do these two lines say the exact same thing do you?
