There was a time when “algorithm” wasn't a commonly used and an almost universally understood word:
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Nobody wants to be defined and identified by an algorithm which inundates your online experience with advertisements. For example, many people reading Kos eschew Google search and use DuckDuckGo to avoid targeted online advertising.
I have to hand it to whoever decided to use the word algorithm in this online ad. I saw it while reading The U.S. May Never Hit the Herd Immunity Threshold. That’s OK in The New York Times. (You can read this without a subscription if you haven’t used up your free articles.)
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Why place this ad on an article about the pandemic? I think this was a deliberate and smart decision. People are worn out from the pandemic. The story’s title is both pessimistic and optimistic. Why would someone who is suffering from pandemic fatigue consider buying a brand new expensive and fancy car?
The copy in the ad is carefully crafted.
The first part is standard. It appeals to people who want to to provoke a reaction and to demonstrate that they have arrived not merely at the other side of the pandemic but at a special place in life. The use of the word “blur” conveys speed. You can have a family crossover* and a speedy coupe if you buy this car. The two words that I think relate to the pandemic the most directly are “confident” and “futuristic” because they tell you that driving this car is exactly what you not only want, but it is what you need as you embark on your post-pandemic life.
The other day I was visiting a friend and driving on the expressway where the speed limit was 65. The average speed of cars with moderate traffic was 85. I thought that this was due to pent up Covid frustration. Driving fast would be one way to let off some steam.
I ended up behind a truck doing a mere 10 mph over the speed limit for trucks which is 55. I happen to have a car with a gas guzzling V-8 which will do 140 mph. I tried going this fast once when I drove from Massachusetts to Oregon at 5 AM when there was no traffic on a section of widely divided highway on I-80 and have to say it was exhilarating. I admit that I was sorely tempted to find a break in the traffic and gun it and pass the truck in the mere couple of seconds it would take to hit 100 mph and zoom ahead of the truck.
Then I saw an article on a local news website: Law enforcement seeing an increased amount of drivers speeding. In the last week of March, Portland Police stopped 4 drivers going 100 miles an hour over the speed limit. The police attributed this to lighter traffic. I think while this may be a factor, I also think it has to do with the same reaction to having one’s life restricted by Covid restrictions. You can be in the midst of a pandemic and taking all the precautions to avoid contracting or transmitting it, but the only place outside your home you are safe is in your car.”What
Combine this with the impulse to say f-you to the virus is to put the pedal to the metal and you can feel at least some control over your life.
Advertisers have always tried to send you the message that you will not only live life better if you buy their product but that you will be break out of the pack and be special. Infiniti is telling you that having survived the pandemic this is the time to break out of the algorithms that try to define yon and spend upwards of $46,000 for a new car.
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* Even the name crossover was a smart advertising term because although it was coined to describe vehicles that combined characteristics of family oriented SUV’s and regular cars it also suggested that buying one enabled you to cross over to a new better way of living. See “What is a Crossover” form cars.com.
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I avoid driving on expressways because I don't want to drive at highway speeds.
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