I didn’t get what you meant by pretty one in the commercial. Are you saying that the blonde girl was prettier and that’s why she got the pony? Because I thought they both had the same level of looks.
Actually, I called the brown-haired girl the ‘not-so-cute’ one. To me, her forehead looks too big, her teeth are a little bucked, and her eyes look a little funny. Not to say she’s ugly – heck, I think Shelly Duvall was cute when she was younger – just that by modern American standards of attractiveness, the blonde is cuter.
Generally perceived as prettier, yes. I watched a series on PBS that looked at the effect of beauty on acceptance and prefefence by society. Most often honors go to blonde, blue eyes, and skinny. Not so much for boys, IIRC.
Being very talented doesen’t hurt. 
Okay, I didn’t get that the pony had anything to do with looks. That’s kind of disturbing if it is–sorry, I tend to find the whole “blonde haired/blue eyed girl=attractive” thing distasteful but then I guess that’s what comes of growing up non white in America…
It’s pretty much universal across cultures. And the preference begins with babies.
There is at least one (old?) thread about the subject somewhere on these boards.
Dude, I think you’re reading waaay too much into this thing. Why can’t it just be Girl 1 and Girl 2? Someone has to be the “actress” who gets the real pony, and someone has to be the one who doesn’t. I get that the commercial upsets you as a parent/grandparent, and that’s your right, but I hardly think they’re trying to make some profound social commentary on how physical appearances play a part in our society.
I didn’y say or imply all that. I simply said that the commercial is mean, and now (further into this discussion) I say that that commercial is a good example of how society does put a premium on beauty.
I have no way of knowing, but I do wonder if the commercial would seem so funny if the roles had been reversed. :dubious:
Plus she’s got a chin the size of Ohio, but I expect she’ll grow into it.
It’s a pretty amusing look of resentment on the little girl’s face when she’s told she can ride the new bike, “just not very far” in the same series of commercials. She looks thoroughly pissed.
The little boy with the cutout cardboard truck: “It’s a piece of junk” just cracks me up.
All in all they’re very effective. I wish they’d come out with more.
No children were annoyed in the making of this post.
So you do buy their product. I’ve always wondered about that. I guess they wouldn’t air those commercials if you folks didn’t respond, huh.
Effective with respect to their ability to clearly convey the message you shouldn’t believe every promise, something that plays especially well with today’s ubiquitous distrust of big banks in general. Effective in that I did stay with the commercial to see what they were representing and do continue to view it with interest each time it comes on.
I might not switch financial institutions because of a commercial but it does get their name out there, Ally, a name I was completely unfamiliar with before.
Hilarious. It got so much of your attention that you started a post on the subject, but it’s “you folks” who are the ones responding.
Bingo.
I think they’re great commercials and effective at communicating, but I’m still with my bank. They did at least get the bank’s name out there and get people to think about whether their bank’s rules and restrictions are annoying and counterproductive.
Are you talking about the pony commercial? The little brown-haired girl’s chin is not at all disproportionate. And I think these allegations of look-ism are silly. The blond girl has a split second of face-time on the screen. The little brown-haired girl (who, aside from some pre-orthodontia teeth, is quite cute) is the star of a very funny commercial.
Is it just me, or does the “grown up” look like Jack Donaghy?
Here’s a good article on the “grown up”, actor R.J. Kelly, on the interview process and how they got the reactions out of the kids. Heh, it mentiones that when asked, some of the kids were scared of the big pony and said no, they’d rather have the plastic one.
Haha. I don’t know if we’ve posted it in this thread but remember the ad with the girl who got a Verizon type phone for Christmas and the one who got a miniature horse and the horse was awful and obnoxious. And the one girl was all, “Does it bite?” “Yeah!”
Im meant respond to the advertiser by buying their product.
Oh, I already said that! Sorry for repeating myself.
Bingo needs to read mangeorge’s whole post.
Is re-posting (quoting myself) a nono?:
“So you do buy their product. I’ve always wondered about that. I guess they wouldn’t air those commercials if you folks didn’t respond, huh.”
Yeah, because advertising folks hate it when people all over the internet are talking about their ads.
You can repeat yourself until you’re blue in the face, but marketing departments looooove to know people are talking about their efforts.