To buy or not to buy

A product spokesman's job is get people to buy the product. I never understand why some companies chose a spokesman that turns off the public. Two commercials come to mind locally. The first features the owner of a national (regional?) chain of jewelry stores. His monotone delivery has not improved in decades of practice.  Even if I happened to be in the market to buy some diamond jewelry, his "no middleman" commercials are so uninspiring I would shop elsewhere.

The one local commercial campaign that bugs me to no end airs constantly on every local radio station. It features two women who represent an auto dealership. One has a voice that sends shivers up my spine like fingernails on a chalkboard, the second voice is akin to rubbing balloons or squeaking Styrofoam. The ads are like listening to Marge Simpson's sisters trying to get me to buy a Chevy. I can stand only seconds of their inane banter before I change the station.

I am not alone in my hatred for this marketing duo. A rough survey of relatives and friends showed every single person shared my hatred of these radio spots. I once heard a guy in an adjoining booth at a restaurant echo my sentiments (anecdote -- almost as good as data). These women have annoyed me to the point that I wouldn't ever buy a car at that dealership. I would willingly pay thousands more for a car, secure in the knowledge that the profits from selling me a car will never be used to pay those bitches on the radio.

Isn't the role of a spokesperson to get us into the store, not turn us away?  Don't the ad agencies do a focus group, or take a poll to see how the public responds to a given ad campaign? After years on the radio these businesses must have gotten some feedback.