WTF is with those Bertolli commercials?
Bertolli
I admit it … I skip commercials. Whew! Man, is that a load off. Tonight, though, I did the unthinkable and actually watched a show live and through all of the commercials. I know!
As I was watching How I Met Your Mother tonight, wasn’t I surprised to see Lara Spencer of The Insider pop up during a commercial break to tell us what she thought of the episode and how it related to throwing some pasta and sauce in a crock. Have you seen these? Do we really care how the show can be compared to a bowl of noodles and red sauce? What the hell?
Brooke Shields examines the Routan Boom
www.vw.com
I just love it when ads are odd. Not so odd that you don’t know what’s being sold, mind you. But odd enough that the first couple of half-assed times you’re watching a commercial, you have no idea what’s going on, but are intrigued enough to pay attention the next time it comes on. Then, when you finally watch the commercial in full-assed fashion, you’re amazed, fascinated, or repulsed. But by that time, you’re hooked.
That’s what happened when I saw VW’s new Routan campaign the first few times. In it, Brooke Shields talks in somber tones about how people are having babies just to “get German engineering.” The couple standing by the new VW minivan would bellow back “We wanted to have kids anyway!” or something else that completely refutes what Brooke was saying. I was wondering what the hell Brooke was getting at; is it just another quirky VW ad? Sure, but one with a theme. Video after the jump.
Five old TV commercials which creep me out
YouTube
Now, there have been a lot of bad television commercials and horrid ad campaigns over the years. Right now in my area there’s a commercial for Friendly’s restaurants that I hate with a passion enough to make me vow to never step foot in the chain again. Of course, I don’t think there are any near me and I haven’t seen one since circa 1993 or so, but that’s beside the point. But I’m talking really old classic TV commercials here and not ones that are just annoying. I’m talking creeping me out. Read on past the jump where I expose my phobias and five old TV commercials.
Five anti-drug videos that are much, MUCH better to view when you’re high
iStockPhoto
There’s a divide in this country between those who believe pot is an innocuous party drug that makes everything hilarious (and even the worst fast food taste like angels’ tears), and the people on the other side who are old and boring.
Maybe that’s not fair, but let’s be honest: everybody knows that pot is a (relatively) harmless diversion drug. Certainly, when you compare it to legal drugs like alcohol or nicotine, pot is the 98-pound weakling at the mind-altering pharmacy party.
So that’s why it’s so hilarious to watch the government spend millions of dollars, desperately trying to sell kids on the idea that pot is a dangerous destroyer of identity and ambition. What’s even more hilarious is that in order to get the message out, they felt the need to create a series of “hip” ads to “grab” the attention of teenage pot users.
The central irony of this is that instead of creating a compelling argument why kids shouldn’t be smoking pot, they, instead, created a series of commercials that are completely awesome to watch when you’re high.
Should ads asking people to join the armed forces have warnings on them?
US Army
Listen, before you start emailing this article to your friends as another example of the liberal media’s crusade to destroy America (does a blog even count as “liberal media”?), please understand that I’m not being willfully obtuse with this question to make a larger point. This is an actual question that occurred to me last night and I thought it would make a compelling discussion topic. Please note: I’m not some Boris Badenov crypto-communist hoping that by merely asking the question, I’ll be able to undermine the American military machine. I support the troops as much as anybody who isn’t Lee Greenwood.
All that being said, last night I was watching Monday Night Football when one of those “Army Strong” ads aired. It was typical of the series: it stressed the pride and discipline necessary to be a US soldier and how joining the army would make you a better person (a video follows after the jump). These are all ideas that anybody would agree with: there is no higher form of service to your country than being a soldier. They’ve earned that pride.
The commercial showed lots of training. It showed lots of saluting. It showed lots of well-built young men and women standing tall in their uniforms. You know what it didn’t show? Fighting. No fighting whatsoever. I couldn’t help but think this was some false advertising…
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