YouTube here, but if you clicked on this thread, you probably know the ones I am talking about: - YouTube
Claire Forlani, is indeed beautiful - but she is English. Given how aggressively she is throwin’ down a Scottish Brogue - does it work for you? Near as I can tell, she does a decent accent - but the commercial is portraying a Scottish woman as a strong-willed, sexy, no-nonsense Man’s-Man kind of woman - cool, but she’s English.
Do you give a shite about it?
I’m Scottish and that’s painful - she really overdoes rolling the Rs and her pronunciation of ‘benefits’ is very weird. But this ad wouldn’t go out in Scotland as is, since whisky is never sold as “Scotch” in Scotland. I really don’t understand the last bit - I can’t make out what she says, not least because it’s in a faux Irish accent. Whether it’s actually meant to sound like a Scottish accent, or it’s meant to sound like a Scottish person doing a bad Irish accent, I have no idea.
However my biggest gripe here, and I know you meant absolutely no offence by it, WordMan, is the phrase “Scottish brogue”. I don’t know about others, but I really freaking hate the phrase “Scottish brogue”. I speak with an accent, like every single other person on the planet, not a “brogue”.
About the ad: interesting, and yes, the word “benefits” stood out to my ear, too.
About the word “brogue”: yeah, I think I blew it. Brogue is used to describe some Irish accents, whereas a Scottish accent is sometimes referred to as a “burr.” But I think you are frustrated with naming the accent as anything other than “an accent” not my mistake? I thought it was common, and not insulting, to refer to Irish brogues, Scottish burrs, a Liverpudlian Scouse, etc., similar in the US to refer to a Southern drawl. Thanks for not taking offense but instead seeking to fight my ignorance.
Yes, I wouldn’t like either “burr” or “brogue” for what to me is just “accent”. As far as I know Scouse is actually an adjective meaning Liverpudlian - people talk about a “Scouse accent” all the time in Britain.
Edit - I think both “burr” and “brogue” meaning accent are rare to the point of not existing in common parlance in Britain. Burrs are bits of plants that stick to you and brogues are shoes.
Brogues are shoes 
and her accent was atrocious
I did not realize that was Claire Forlani. I never could stand her but I find her somewhat appealing in those ads. Don’t know if it’s the accent or if she’s just gotten better looking with age. I also have no idea what this ad is trying to convey, or if we’re supposed to recognize her. If so, why the phony accent? If not, why not just get a Scottish actress?
I think the joke might be that drinking scotch makes you feel or want to be Scottish; Lord knows, I always end up singing “O Flower of Scotland” after I’ve had a few. (I’m also an honorary member of Clan Macalester.)
Okay; I didn’t say it was a good joke, but it’s the only thing that makes any sense to me.
What she says at the end is “Oh, go back to bed, Angus, darling.” If there’s any significance to this, it’s beyond me.
Ah - hence the OP. Welcome to my confusion.
Maybe they couldn’t find a Scottish woman who spoke cartoonish enough. The Scots I call are losing their accents, though it is now pleasant and easily understood. The Welsh and the Northern Irish talk all normal-like. But the English? One woman from Warwickshire gave up trying to give me a phone number today and I couldn’t understand a word out of a man from Halifax last week. Then there was the guy with a London accent who complained about our customer service people, calling them “bloody Indians who can’t speak proper English,” which wouldn’t have been so funny if he hadn’t a name, first and last, which is Mumbai’s equivalent to John Smith. And if our customer service people weren’t in the Philippines.
All of this is summed up in: My Fair Lady "Why Can't the English Learn to Speak" - YouTube
I don’t even think they are going for cartoonish. I think they are going for a bad Sean Connery impression–like the kind on Jeopardy. I’ve never heard a Scottish woman sound like that.
Maybe they did consider a known Scottish actress but whoever they asked turned them down. Off-hand, the first one that comes to mind is Kelly MacDonald. However, I doubt she’d do an ad for liquor and doesn’t look like she’d fit the image the ad’s trying to convey.
Karen Gillan on Craig Kilbourn’s Late Late Show should give a fair idea of what Scots really sound like (she is from Inverness, way up north).
That’s like saying John Lennon gives you an idea what English in England sounds like. Or Russell Brand.
Hint: it doesn’t.
I don’t have a comment about the accent, but every time I see those commercials, instead of thinking “I could go for some Scotch right now,” I think, “Jeez, Lady, why are you so mad at me? What did I ever do to you?”
(…Though I often do think “I could go for some Scotch right now,” it’s independent of the ads.)
Is this the one with the lady talking all intensely then starts cackling and run off? Because that commercial gives me the impression of Scottish women are crazy and have a scary laugh.
The commercial wouldve made more sense if the bottle was empty during her little spazout.
Well, now I know what to buy when I want to SERIOUSLY get drunk.
The first time I saw this commercial, I swore the words at the end said “the drinking MOM’s scotch”. I thought, ??? - an underground market!
That should be “Craig *Ferguson’s *Late Late Show.” I love the show, but I’m *in *love with Karen Gillan.
Hey, he’d just like to see more of Karen Gillan on his TV…
WTF did I just watch?
She sounded Irish to me.
why did he pour away the coconut juice? that’s the best part!
anyways, i don’t know how “genuine” her accent is, but Kelly MacDonald’s accent sounds very nice while still being very easy to understand.