My wife and I made the horrible mistake of arriving early at the movie theater on Saturday night. As a consequence, we were subjected to ads on the big screen. One of the ads was for C2 - Coke’s new low-carb cola. In the ad, among other activities, a passel of supermarket employees was throwing vegetables in the air and all over the floor, and two executives were playing in an open fire hydrant in $1000 suits.
I said to my wife, “Man, those supermarket people are going to get fired. And those suits are going to be a bitch to dry clean. Looks like it’s better not to drink C2.”
A few months back, a car company was running ads in which the engine of the car was such a “monster” that it escaped from under the hood and started attacking the owner’s wife (she was able to defend herself with a broom and force the engine back into the car). The message I got from the ad was “buy our car and your family will be in jeopardy.” While tempted ( ;)) , I figure it is best to buy a different car.
I just don’t understand why companies would make stuff that would make you lose your job or that will attack your spouse. I’m glad that these manufacturers were honest enough to advertise the dangers of their products, but wouldn’t it be better if they just made safer products?
It made me feel carefree, in that I don’t care if it’s free, I’m never drinking that crap again.
I thought it was funny that one of their commercials for C2 featured Queen’s “I Want to be Free”, which is all about coming out of the closet. So maybe they want to let you know that C2 turns you gay.
I have a similar reaction to many commercials on television. Granted, people behaving stupidly can appear amusing, but so often the message to me is “Stupid people use this product.” It has a turn-off effect on me. However, it has made watching commercials more fun. I now concentrate on the negative side of the product endorsement.
They were giving away free cans of Crap2 the last time I was at a Detroit Tigers game. I’m still straight, and any carefree sensation it produced was not strong enough to make me overlook the fact that it was pouring rain. (I left after an hour or so of rain delay, with no end in sight.) I’m pretty sure that I would have avoided doing anything that would endanger my job.
If Diet Dr. Pepper makes you gay, does Diet Dr. Pepper & Cpt. Morgans make you a butt pirate? Not that there is anything wrong with that… you know, just curious.
I guess I better pick up regular Dr. Pepper the next time. You know, just in case.
That’s my *favorite * cheap, easy drink. And I’m only like half gay, and happily, monogamously married to a man. Maybe adding the Captain Morgan’s slides you back a few on the Kinsey scale.
You know what, after looking at my bottle a bit more carefully the Captain is wearing a frilly shirt, fancy boots with buckles and a cloak. And it’s all color-coordinated. My Og, I think that Captain Morgan may be in the closet. :eek:
Yeah, but seriously, I’m a big fan of rum in general, but especially Capt. Morgan. I have 5 bottles of rum and 3 of them are Capt. But don’t tell my wife!
There’s an advert for Pepsi Max where a bunch of morons throw all the garbage out of a giant dumpster bin-on-wheels, then jump in and ride the dumpster wildly down a hill and eventually off a jetty into the sea, where they start paddling.
I honestly believe this one’s at the top of the queue for ‘buy our product only if you’re a suicidal idiot who takes pleasure in risking other people’s lives too’.
Another disturbing ad I’ve seen recently is for Nextel (or some such mobile phone company). To the tune of “Born Free,” (i) a construction worker abandons his bulldozer, which crashes into a parked car, (ii) a dentist walks away from his patient who is still in the chair, and (iii) a rather obese gentleman rips off his shirt in public. All of these individuals are driven to such irresponsible behavior by the prospect of making free telephone calls on Friday.
The danger is clear and present - free phone calls on Friday could lead to the breakdown of social order. Not only should Nextel resume charging for calls on Friday, but I think legislation is in order.
Then there are the ads that seem to target the jerk demographic? Granted, from my experience, it seems like a big demographic, but it’s stil jarring to see those commercials. At least I know what not to consume if I don’t want to look like a jerk!
Some examples:
The “Happy Jack” Hummer H2 commercial where the preteen boy makes a soapbox derby racer shaped like a Hummer and then proceeds to grossly violate race rules by going off course. Then, he looks back over his shoulder with a huge self-satisfied jerk look on his face–a look which is strangely devoid of pleasure or happiness at having won the race. Message: Hummer drivers are cold, selfish, cheating jerks. This commercial is even more sucky because it uses a Who song I liked.
The current crop of IBM thinkpad commericals starring the Business Jerk Guy. You know, the ones where he’s always talking on his cellphone about how much the company loves him because he’s got a tiny little laptop and a freakin’ leather case. I hate him just for the slimy smile on his weasel face.
There was a crop of Mitsubishi commercials a couple of years back that used a group of people all singing along to the same song (that Barenaked Ladies thing, IIRC). They were supposed to look “young and hip”, but they came off looking like coked-up jerks. So I sez to myself “If you want to be a jerk, buy a Mitsubishi.”
Has anybody seen the new Washington Mutual’s “We Charge up the Wazoo” ad? I suspect if I watched it in it’s unmuted state the message would be different, but I prefer the truthfulness of the silent version.
