February 28, 2008
Commercials
Written by RobynDeHart in Jaunty PostNormally I’m a muter. Meaning I turn the volume off during commercials. I’m offended by the fact that the TV gets louder during them. But every once in a while I’ll catch one or two that give me a chuckle and while they still don’t accomplish their goal (ie. getting me to buy their product) I enjoy them.
Sonic. I like all of them, but my favorite people is the married couple. They always crack me up.
Jimmy Dean Sausage. I don’t know why, but for whatever reason I like that big sun and all his weather/sky counterparts. I just think the concept is so clever.
There’s one on cable that always makes me chuckle and I think it’s for a diet pill, but frankly I’m not even sure. But it’s these two pencil drawing people - a man and a woman and she’s talking about how when her husband gives up sodas he loses a ton of weight and so his drawing gets smaller and it goes on from there highlighting the difference between how men and women lose weight - it’s clever.
Tide. I love the new one that debuted during the superbowl with the talking stain. Brilliant.
Blockbuster. They had some that ran a few summers ago that were so funny, but not so much anymore. I just remember there was this woman who was pulling her garden hose and she yanked it so hard it knocked the BBQ pit into the swimming pool. HA!
And then there are the ones that make me hunt for the remote to turn them down as quickly as possible. Like all the Capital One ads - who thought those were a good idea? They’re just annoying. Or anything with Billy Mays, that man talks SO LOUD! I don’t want any of his products. Why do ad people think if they scream at us it will make us run to the store to buy something? And how do you like the new diet pill ad that has the “and we couldn’t say it on TV if it wasn’t true” disclaimer like that’s some kind of official rule.
Frankly I think the best part of most commercials is trying to figure out which actor they’ve hired to do the voice over. Donald Sutherland has been selling orange juice for years. Tom Selleck is doing one now and I can’t remember what it is. George Clooney has done beer commercials. But are they really effective in accomplishing their goals? Not so much at our house. How about yours? And which commercials do you like?
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Margo Maguire Says:
Oh yeah - I use the mute button every time. And you know what *really* annoys me is commercials on internet news. And they don’t let you fast-forward through them!
Solveig Says:
I can agree with this. I mute the TV or change a channel during commercials. I can not relate to those commercials you have in the US but I can assure you Icelandic commercials are just as stupid. One that is playing on the tube these days and I DOUBLE HATE is from a bank where people are practically singing a happy song and dancing all over the place to express how wonderful they think money is. It just makes me want to vomit it is so vulgar. I think I see commercials that I actually like less than once a year.
P.S. Love your books, am a huge fan, cant wait for your next one!!! Please let it be soon.
Warmest from snowy Iceland
smile0303 Says:
The diet one with the woman and the man is for the diet pill Alli. That commercial cracks me up.
Fedora Says:
Robyn, we’ve got TiVo and I’m sure advertisers hate people like us–we basically skip almost all commercials except possibly during the Super Bowl… And honestly most of those weren’t worth seeing either!
Shirley Karr Says:
Yeah, I could do without Billy Mays, too. And that couple entertaining friends in their kitchen, preparing everything in mere seconds with the Magic Bullet.
Shana Galen Says:
I like the Sonic commercials, too. I don’t watch much TV, so I haven’t seen the others and don’t have a favorite. Those Sonic ones with the married couple are great. Really, all of the Sonic ones are funny.
JackieToo Says:
I’ve worked in advertising and all they really want you to do is remember their names. If you do, the ads worked. If not, back to the drawing board.
I like the Sonic ads, too. The one that is about a diet pill that says “And we couldn’t say it on TV if it wasn’t true” really irritates me. Who do they think they’re kidding? :Þ (And I don’t remember their name! LOL)
brownone Says:
My favorites are for Nationwide Insurance. They always crack me up. They did one with Fabio a while back where he’s hocking his shampoo and rowing in a gondola. He goes under the bridge he comes out all old and leather faced and gross. It cracks me up every time I see it!