DRF Advertisement

[JustRalph]

Anybody notice this ad on DRF.com

Anybody see a difference in this one? Looks like they are changing the way they try to appeal to Online Players. I can only presume that they think that all of their potential customers are male. I realize this is an ad for a betting service, but it is the first one I have seen that has taken this tact. It will probably work.

Marc at DRF? any comments on this one? do you have any info on how many women buy the DRF. Just wondered.

http://tote.drf.com/banner_ads/betbet_040803_180x150_b.gif

:cool:

[PaceAdvantage]

I actually saw a slightly different one than that on the DRF site the other day....the only difference was they had a different woman....I think she was wearing a bathing suit....LOL



==PA

[andicap]

So are people leering at the horse or the babe?


;)

[sq764]

Oh there is a horse there too?? :-)

[Marc At DRF]

Our audience is over 90% male.

[Fastracehorse]

It is very rewarding.

LOL.

fffastt

[Observer]

Originally posted by Marc At DRF
Our audience is over 90% male.

So make sure to go out of your way to make women feel welcome.

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[stgeorge]

Originally posted by Marc At DRF
Our audience is over 90% male.

Yeah, but what's the percentage of idiots who would click on an ad like this because of a picture of a pretty girl?

[Marc At DRF]

You see ads with pretty girls on them all the time on DRF, right?

And elsewhere on Sports sites (primarily male audiences), too, right?

And on every single beer ad on TV, that's run during sports telecasts, right?

These are paid ads. And they've been running them with pretty girls on them for a long time.

So what conclusion might you draw about the success rate of these ads?

[Observer]

Originally posted by Marc At DRF
So what conclusion might you draw about the success rate of these ads?

Excuse me, but I'm no dummy .. I understand how things work .. my point simply was:

An entire market out there is primarily untapped. Hmm .. keep advertising to the people already in the game, or try to drum up new interest in the game?? In the long run, where could the biggest success rate come from??

I'm not looking for an answer, I'm just simply posting my thoughts. And to put a spin on this from my perspective .. ads like that make it as though men are so shallow that the only reason they'll go for a product is because there is a woman involved.

[Marc At DRF]

Not in any way defending the ads' content, merely noting that if you look at the proliferation of this sort of advertising throughout the world, clearly, it works.

If it ain't broke, they're not gonna fix it...

[cj]

I doubt anyone could find the add offensive...it's definitely not pornography. Why rip the DRF? They are selling space and certainly didn't create the add. I see much worse on the internet every day, and I'm not talking porn!

CJ

[Marc At DRF]

Personally, I find these ads at least a little annoying but the ones being run are not over the line, as it is judged here. If I was doing the judging, I don't think I'd change anything. It's one of those things you roll your eyes about, but it's a reality in our culture.

The main point I was trying to make is that it some level these ads do indeed reflect the customers. These companies run them incessantly because the ads WORK incessantly.

[PaceAdvantage]

I'd like to weigh in here with my opinion:

I think the ad is silly.

I think it objectifies women yet again....I think it reinforces the stereotypical "men are so shallow" that they need to resort to this type of advertisment as a way to attract their "core customer".

I also am surprised the DRF allowed this type of advertising to appear on their home page. This is the type of ad I expect to see in my e-mail inbox from some shady off-shore bookie.

I know the DRF, being the horse racing powerhouse that they are, could have easily told this particular vendor that they would not accept the ad unless it was changed. And I'm sure this vendor would have bent over backwards to appease the DRF and retain their front page advertising....

If I'm wrong, so be it, but this is my opinon....


==PA

[Marc At DRF]

Basically, our ad guy has tried to discourage this sort of stuff, but the advertisers say the response is great and they don't want to change it. End of argument from our ad guy, end of argument from the company, period. If they weren't helping the bottom line as much as they were, these ads would indeed not be accepted.

I don't think anyone who works here likes these ads on the homepage, but we put up with them.

[PaceAdvantage]

Understood. BTW, I just went to the DRF site, and I don't notice this ad anywhere.....is it rotating in and out??

[Marc At DRF]

Rotating, yeah.

[Observer]

Wow, it's funny how defensive this thread has become ... and instead of talking racing .. here we are going round and round over some silly ads because of some photos .. and while they are not porn .. there is no doubt the idea the photo is trying to convey .. otherwise why is there so much interest in it .. finding photos such as those to be innocent is naive .. in our daily newspapers we see photos just like those in advertisements for strip clubs.

What's wrong with business and society is the idea that if something is working, despite how people feel about it .. it is tolerated .. such is the case as stated by Marc, who claimed he doubted that those working at the DRF like those ads on the homepage, but they put up with them. Talk about being complacent and letting integrity take a beating.

It is clear to me that in trying to defend such ads, the boat was missed in what I was trying to say .. how this game could see a good boost if the female population was targeted .. as this game is so male dominated from all aspects. That kind of advertising, no matter how innocent you guys think it is in your own minds, helps to enforce the idea that this sport is a boys club, despite the handful of women in the stands or in the game.

[Fastracehorse]

I have 3 good female friends on the DRF site - I should ask them how they feel??

fffastt

[Marc At DRF]

Which is why we would never createads ourselves that are sexist, and we have a variety of new fan programs designed to bring women into the game, going as far as co-releasing a book that was a "woman's (introductory) guide to horse racing".

But when it comes to running the business, the company policy is to accept this sort of stuff, because we gotta pay the rent.

If a woman is scared off from racing because of the relatively tame content on DRF.com, I suspect she will be far more scared off by what she sees at most racetracks. If you've seen any Budweiser ads run during the Super Bowl, you'll have to acknowledge that millions of women manage to put up with them and still watch the game.

[Fastracehorse]

<going as far as co-releasing a book that was a "woman's (introductory) guide to horse racing".

fffastt

[Observer]

Originally posted by Marc At DRF
...millions of women manage to put up with them and still watch the game.

That's just it Marc .. women have to "put up with" this stuff to enjoy things that have been male dominated .. so they are in a sense made to feel like they are intruding on guys fun.

And again I point out .. here we are on a racing site .. and instead of talking racing, we're here wasting time and energy on debating some corny ad .. with most guys defending it, and me simply trying to say there is a good market out there going untargeted. As for this "Guide" .. you have to get women interested in even approaching the game before they'll be willing to check out this guide. I'd be curious to know what racetracks you've been to that you think will scare women off .. and no, I don't think that ad is going to scare women off the game .. but I don't think it's a good route to be taking and I certainly don't think it's going to help get women interested in checking this sport out .. but as you proceed to be defensive, I get your drift that DRF needs these ads .. seriously though .. money talks .. and usually the quick buck is loudest.

Oh, and I doubt people are stopping to think whether ads on your site are created by your company or accepted from an outside company .. the bottom line is that it appears on your company's site. The approval of such ads sends a message that your company is okay with that type of advertising, despite how you may protest to the contrary.

[lonestar]

I sort of drifted in here and have been reading this thread.

Observer.... I understand the need for advertising dollars and I understand that you also have some good points.

What do you think would be the best way to attract more women to this game?

[JustRalph]

Originally posted by Marc At DRF
Personally, I find these ads at least a little annoying but the ones being run are not over the line, as it is judged here. If I was doing the judging, I don't think I'd change anything. It's one of those things you roll your eyes about, but it's a reality in our culture.

Right on........I have noticed these type of ads have changed course a little over the last six months or so. That is why I started the thread. I guess most of us notice the change but are so used to it from other areas of our lives..........it is almost seamless. Don't get me wrong I dont' have anything against a good looking women....hell I married one.............:cool:

[Suff]

Originally posted by stgeorge
Yeah, but what's the percentage of idiots who would click on an ad like this because of a picture of a pretty girl?

Guilty.

[Tom]

...the ad that really burns my butt is that one with all the stupid blinking colors and crap from bet.com...while you are trying to download charts that you PAY FOR!!!!!
I understand the need for advertising too, but do you really have to annoy the hell of your PAYING customers?

[Fastracehorse]

<Guilty.

With that amount of honesty you are probably very reliable souce.

LOL - :)

fffastt

[Pace Cap'n]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Tom@HTR
[B]...the ad that really burns my butt is that one with all the stupid blinking colors and crap from bet.com...while you are trying to download charts that you PAY FOR!!!!!
I understand the need for advertising too, but do you really have to annoy the hell of your PAYING customers?

Tom. maybe this will help:

Speed-up Web Browsing by Cutting Animations and Sound
Want to speed up your Web browsing experience? An easy way to do that is to stop Web animations, sounds and video. It takes a while to download these things, so if you're not into watching dancing bears and hopping icons, you can turn them off and get your Web pages a lot faster. Here's how:
1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools menu and then click the Internet Options command.
2. Click on the Advanced tab in the Internet Options dialog box.
3. Scroll down to the Multimedia section and remove the checkmarks from the Play animations in Web pages, Play sounds in Web pages and Play videos in Web pages checkboxes.
4. Click Apply and then click OK. Close all your Internet Explorer windows and then open Internet Explorer.

[Tom]

Thanks.