War flashbacks to now include midroll ads
There has never been war without trauma. Throughout history, countless soldiers have been kept awake by memories of senseless violence. Many combat veterans cannot hear fireworks or smell burning rubber without recalling the horrors of war. While many people see this as a tragedy, America’s leading advertising firms see it instead as potential for new business opportunities. Now, neuroscientists and marketers are finding ways to take advantage of the ad space created by these veterans’ grief stricken war memories.
Take Cody Daniels: He served two tours in Afghanistan and now suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. Several weeks ago, the sounds from his son’s Call of Duty game triggered a flashback of a friend getting injured in combat. “I have this memory a lot,” said Daniels, “so I usually know what to expect. This time was different, though. Right as my buddy was telling me he couldn’t feel his leg, the desert disappeared and I was standing in some lady’s kitchen. She was holding a detergent container.” After hearing a paid actress extol the cleaning power of Cascade Platinum Plus®, Daniels returned to the memory of his comrade’s brutal gunshot wound with no further interruption.
Human rights activists have criticized this marketing tactic, calling it “ghoulish” and “deeply inappropriate”. Its creator, ad executive Lance Gladwell, begs to disagree. According to Gladwell, “I don’t see the issue with it. It distracts them from the flashback, so it’s basically the cure to PTSD. I should be awarded a Nobel Prize.”
At the time of writing, brainwave ad technology has not yet been implemented on a larger scale, but it is developing quickly. Almost as quickly as Cascade Platinum Plus® washes away even the toughest stains!