Radio ad subjects as an economic measure

[The Tim]

I was listening to AM radio on my way in to work this morning and they played an ad for the . The bit talked about the "world's elite" storing non-hybrid seeds "in the arctic," an oblique reference to the , and then launched into a bunch of collapse of society scare talk.

They talked about how seeds make an even better bartering currency than gold, how the product they're selling has enough seed to plant a full acre "crisis garden," etc.

During the heyday of the bubble, the radio was littered with ads for sleazy mortgage shops and get rich quick scams. Over the last year or so it seems to have transitioned into more of the financial crisis type of ads: credit consolidation, IRS intermediation, bankruptcy counseling, etc.

I wonder if this seed bank thing is a signal of the next phase in radio ads. Is the economy really getting that bad that something like this Survival Seed Bank makes sense to advertise on the radio?

What radio ad trends have you noticed lately that might be somewhat of an economic indicator?

[rose-colored-coolaid]

I've posted before about how I love using radio ads as indicators. They are useful because they are sufficiently cheap that new ads can be put on by just about anyone but they are just expensive enough that only people who think they'll actually make a buck use them.

So, in that light, I find this hilarious. Especially the use of scientific seed banks as justification. As if the academics planning those are worried about an apocalypse and are planning ahead by keeping special reserves in the tundra.

I wonder if any other products could use similar advertising. "Forget gold, in the 1300s, peppercorns imported from the orient were more valuable! Buy our apocalypse pepper survival box!!!"