I'm too stupid to understand the Dark Fire

[RudyH]

Gibson is maintaining it's role as the world leader in producing obfuscated ad copy in its new ads for the Dark Fire. I have a lot of difficulty even understanding why it's worth consideration. The Robot was the same way. The ads said nothing, and I eventually learned about it from a demo on youtube.

[TheLiveSoundGuy]

Ah but there's the rub.

You remembered the ad!

 

Not for what it said, but for what it didn't say.

 

ATTN: Advertising Dept.

 

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

[RudyH]

I would have remembered the ad regardless of its copy because it's a new release. Ads really need to sell the sizzle and not the steak, as they say. Gibson ads don't do that for me. They give me an immediate bad impression of their products, and that impression lingers to the point where I am reluctant to buy anything from them. It was only through actual use of one of their guitars that I liked it and wanted one for myself.

 

When my son and I were first considering guitars, we looked at Gibson but largely because of their catalog, poor explanation of product variations, ad copy, and pricing, we bought Fenders. So in effect, Gibson's advertising helped sell us on Fender products. I'm glad it worked that way. Those Fenders are great.

[AXE®]

If I hadn't been familiar with Gibsons in general, and was new to the guitar shopping place, I probably wouldn't pick a Gibson due to the lack of info provided by the company.

 

Honestly.

[Dynadude]

Gibson catalogs have always been spartan. I couldn't say if that helps or hurts their sales, since I never relied on them for info.

 

First hand is the way to go, and that's probably their goal. They want you in the retail store, not browsing ads and catalogs.

[Thundergod]

You know... who buys a Gibson because of the literature provided by the company? same goes for a Fender Custom shop... (fender gives more info on mex and korean guitars, even on squires than they do on american and custom shop guitars).

 

If you were to buy a ferrari... would you like the ad to say everything about the car, or just show it runing as fast as a car can run?

 

Sorry but I do like those ads and I didnt buy my gibson or my fender because the catalog or ad was full of info... you want info? be glad we have the internet...

[Ian Martin]

+1 to Thunder.

 

Gibsons' reputation proceeds them, they don't need any sort of ad or promotion.

 

HOWEVER, Dark Fire is forging new ground in many ways, and I can see them needing to get it out there to spark interest. They aren't going to sell them by people simple discovering them in the stores...people are going to intentionally seek them out, and they need a good ad campaign to do so.

 

I haven't seen the said ad you speak of, but in the past Gibson has done pretty poorly so we shall see.

[urbs]

I agree with Ian M . Gibsons rep is all they really need , afterall what were our guitar heroes playing , Gibsons and Fenders .

[rocketman]

I must admit I don't pay attention to ads much. I'll wait to check it out in a store...

[daveinspain]

More than adds they are hype...

[ChanMan]

It's just marketing, and marketing is the Devil.

[AXE®]

The Devil

 

[hfdoll]

I never relied on ads, nor catalogues for a guitar purchase. Even before the internet, I made a purchasing decision based on trial and error (Gibson or Fender), by trying out the guitar. Plus the guitar sells itself - ads do not do it for me. I may have stated the obvious here, and if I did - forgive me (I am not good at expressing myself unless I am writing a story of music).