Just in case it still isn’t clear: There are two (2) different commercials. One with Powerhouse, the other with Brazil.
My favorite example of a peculiar commercial song choice is that for years, the ads for Philadelphia Cream Cheese used the opening of “New York, New York”. Meanwhile, the product itself is made in Chicago.
:smack: Next time read more carefully. Sorry.
I don’t have anything to add other than the fact that I’m glad that so many other people find the commercials creepy like I do. Thanks to the film link for the garden shop one I can’t help but associate Visa with getting a lobotomy.
Harley-Davidson is running a commercial right now that begins by saying “We believe in going our own way”, while showing a bunch of riders all dressed the same, riding the same bikes, and heading the same direction together as a group. Because nothing says wild rebel like following the herd.
The commercial continues with something to the effect of “we believe you don’t have to work for The Man to pay for your ride” and then continues by mentioning the fantastic dealer financing options available. Aren’t financing departments run by bankers, accountants, and the like? In other words, the very “Man” you shouldn’t be working for?
The Verve’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony” was used in a bank commercial in, I believe, New Zealand.
So not true. Working a register is a major part of my job, and it’s amazing just what kind of ordeal people can turn cash purchases into.
Me: “That’ll be $7.36 please.”
Customer, who clearly did not expect to have to pay for her order, digs through purse for a couple of minutes and hands me a $5.
Me: “$7.36, ma’am.”
Customer digs through purse again and hands me $3 more.
Customer: “WAIT! Hang on! I think I have 35 cents.”
Me: “36, ma’am.”
Customer: “Ah, nevermind, just use that.”
While I ring out the purchase, Customer starts digging through the purse again. After I’ve already started counting out her change:
Customer: "WAIT! Here it is! 35 cents! And I just remembered I do have a Rewards Card – is it too late to use it?
This probably shouldn’t count since I don’t actually believe it, but I’ve read in multiple trivia books that the US Navy considered using The Village People’s song “In The Navy” as a recruiting pitch until they found out what it was about.
I guess it also shouldn’t count because they never actually used it, but there you go anyway.
The spot I’m thinking of was, I believe, a PSA promoting college football in general. The producers of the spot clearly thought some marching band music was in order, but the piece they chose was the Liberty Bell March, otherwise known as the Monty Python theme. That’s the only thing I could think about then I heard it.
I’ve always found that using cash is faster than a card, plus the cashiers seem to be very happy to get some more change in their till.
Well, it definitely would’ve been a renunciation of conformity, that’s for sure.
He mentions the lunch-line commercial, as an example of the kind of commercial he’s talking about, but in the rest of the post he is talking specifically about the garden one, which has the song ‘Brazil’, not the song ‘Powerhouse.’
And the irony the OP mentions was picked up on by my wife and I as well. However I want to set aside a few minutes sometime to think about whether the irony is intentional or not.
-FrL-
It can be and should be. It’s the idiots who can’t figure out how to use it that slow the process down. (That’s a minority of cash customers that I’ve seen, to be fair.)
I’m not. I’m lucky to work for a store that’s conscientious about keeping plenty rolls of coins in each register, and if someone’s giving me exact change that’s a sign that they don’t plan to tip.
Agreed, that’s a strange vignette Bryan Ekers. What do you mean?
Reagan used Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” as an advertisement for himself while running for President. I assume he never used the part about ending up like a dog that’s been beat too much.
Reminds me of a jeans commercial I saw once. Started out with a bunch of people all roughly the same age in the exact same clothing walking somewhere. As they go along more and more people pop up and join the group as the voice over speaks “Be an individual, express yourself, show the world you’re your own person etc etc” meanwhile the mass got more and more indistinguishable until they were just just a huge jeans colored blob heading one way across a bridge.
Yeah they might has well have said “Join the mass mind, don’t think just go with the latest trend, be our sheep, walk with the group already don’t dare go off to your own direction!”
For some reason it just reminded me of various stereotypical anti-capitalist propaganda where the flashing of money (or in this case, a small green plastic card) will demand instant servitude and obedience. Coupled with me saying “Hey, that’s Robin Curtis, I really like her… what’s she doing? Ewwwww…” it left a lasting impression.
Only for a short time before Springsteen made him stop.
Chumbawamba is a band with an anti-capitalist bent, but they allowed General Motors to use their song Tubthumping in one of its ads, and promptly donated the proceeds to organizations devoted to exposing corporate malfeasance.
I pay cash 90% of the time. I’d thought of a pit thread aout how stupid these commercials are but didn’t have enough grrrr to really worry about it.
Card verification has really sped up in the last few years, and some new decision was apparently handed down from the Credit Card Gods that no signature is required for small purchases in most places. This really has sped up CC transactions for me; it literally is just swipe and go, and is faster than cash. Debit transactions are still irritatingly slow, though.