Ad annoyeds: Mediocrity on parade

Maybe it was the ad for the automaker currently on the verge of bankruptcy, promising that it would be around "Always." Or maybe it was the umpteenth appearance of a commercial for the undistinguished cell phone company claiming to enjoy a special exemption from dropped calls. Or maybe it was the beer ads. Or perhaps it was the new campaign from the software company that has driven more of my colleagues mad with its spaghetti-coding nightmares than any other. You know, the one that says its products are "people-ready."

But boy, it sure seems like the NCAA Final Four tournament is supported these days by the marketing budgets of bloated corporations. Cynics might say (though I won't) that the less remarkable these companies' products are, the more they have to spend on eye-popping ad campaigns. Who knows -- maybe marketing dollars are keeping this whole country propped up.

Well, how companies spend their money is one thing. How they spend mine is another. Which brings us to another major advertiser during this tournament, at least on the local level: the Save Our Stadiums committee, a group of deep-pocketed folks who have outspent the opposition, like, 2,000-to-1 to get a sales tax passed in Tuesday's election that would fund renovations to the two local stadiums and the installation of a rolling roof.  Total cost: around a billion dollars when it's all said and done.

I can summarize the debate for you in about 30 seconds, because that's about as sophisticated as the two sides let it become. Tax passes, we have safety and security until our grandchildren are grown, all for about the cost of a cup of coffee a month, and the fatcat team owners sit pretty. Tax fails, the teams will bolt town in about a week and a half and you'll be sorry, but if they don't, maybe we'll have a downtown ballpark.

Mrs. TV Barn and I have spent some time thinking about this. I read the newspaper stories and  listened to sports-talk radio. But what convinced me was a debate that aired on public TV last week. The program was incredibly un-enlightening. And I realized, it's one thing to have arguments that can be summarized in a TV ad. It's another thing when that's your entire justification for taxing me until I'm 60.

So I've decided to call the owners' bluff. And if the tax fails? Yes, there's the chance the Chiefs will move to San Antonio. But as almost anyone who has moved to Kansas City knows, you're not likely to find as good a life anywhere else.

Hey, someone should make a marketing campaign out of that. Then again, why spend money to tell people something they already know?