June 2007 - Posts
The Wall Street Journal had one of those so-weird-it-almost-can't-be-real stories a week ago. It's about how some parents are now paying hundreds of dollars to "name consultants" to help them name their babies.
I am thisclose to thinking the story is a late April Fool's Day hoax, because...what? How hard is it to come up with a baby name? CONTINUED >>
Using music in TV ads makes lots of sense: If we love the song, companies figure, we may associate it with their product, and transfer some of that lovin' feeling on over into our purchases. And yes, sometimes a great musical choice can make an otherwise ordinary commercial memorable. And other times, oh, other times...
CONTINUED >>
"The Sopranos" finale seems so long ago, but if you remember the controversy about the final scene, you may want to read the latest bit in the "Nikki Leotardo" saga. "Nikki" was supposedly Phil's nephew and also supposedly appeared in the final scene, but now a random viewer is fessing up: He invented Nikki just to fool with us all.
CONTINUED >>
What's up with Starburst's Little Lord Fauntleroy and his lame dance? How about the guys standing around in the forest kicking trees? Does the texting girl and her BFF Jill make you LOL or have you thinking 'WTH'? And can anyone resist those puppies at summer camp? Here's a quick look at some of the most-mentioned commercials on the first day of our commercial contest.
CONTINUED >>
Are you ready for some TV commercial bashing? And some praise, of course (although it's often much more fun to dis the horrible ads than applaud the good ones).
Here's the deal: We've run the Test Pattern TV commercial contest for three summers now. I bring up topics and mention certain ads, but now that Test Pattern is in the new comment-friendly format, you're just as much a part of the game as I am. Post about your favorite and least favorite ads in the blog comments, and suggest topics that we can riff on. In the past, popular topics have included music in ads, humor that goes wrong, the tricky world of creating ads for intimate products, sexism in ads, animals in ads, local and regional commercials, car ads, fast-food ads, favorite and least favorite corporate mascots, and more. I'll read the comments regularly and elevate popular and hot topics to the main blog entries.
Only a couple ground rules, which will surely be ignored by some anyway. CONTINUED >>
Test Pattern will return on June 26, with the beginning of the summer TV commercial contest.
Can you stand one more "Sopranos" post? This one's just rounding up odds and ends and funny links relating to the still-controversial finale Sunday night. Then let's leave the "Sopranos" to rest -- or eat onion rings for all eternity, whatever -- in peace.
I'm out of the office next week, but when I get back, let's get that TV commercial contest started. Start noticing the really good and the really bad ads now, so we can discuss starting June 26. CONTINUED >>
The comments on my first 'Sopranos' finale post are just getting too long to wade through, so let's start a new post. And let's delve more into the scene that everyone's talking about, the final scene at Holsten's, the characters who populated the diner, and the Journey song that ended the show.
CONTINUED >>
SPOILER WARNING: If you haven't yet watched the series finale of "The Sopranos," do not click through. If you did, and if you're wondering if your satellite or cable went out in the last minute of the show, click on through and discuss with us.
CONTINUED >>
It's official: After being pressured by fans, who sent 50,000 pounds of peanuts to its New York office, CBS has brought back "Jericho," the America-after-the-bombs drama that the network had earlier canceled.
CONTINUED >>
Warning: Stop reading now if you haven't seen last night's "Sopranos" episode, or if you don't want to hear any speculation and possible spoilers about what the finale may bring.
CONTINUED >>
Welcome to our first Multi-link Monday of June! With summer in sight, it's even easier to use these distracting time-waster sites to keep from working. I won't tell your boss if you don't tell mine.
• I saw this site mentioned in Rolling Stone and had to check it out: Fast food: Ads vs. Reality shows both a photo of a fast-food item as seen in the restaurant's ads, and contrasts it with the real-life smushed and smaller burger (or whatever) that you're actually served when you go there. Some of them are not that far off (the Subway sub looks pretty similar to its ad) and some are pretty humorous (the Arby's roast beef and cheddar looks like it was run over in the drive-thru).
• We all know about Jump the Shark, but what about just plain sharks, jumping? These photos are pretty amazing. (Thanks to Mark for the link!)
• Most disturbing Halloween costume EVER.
• This baby panda is absolutely freakish looking when he's first born, but he sure gets cute after a while. (Via Metafilter.)
• Reader-submitted link, from Joy: "If you are celeb-obsessed and ever wondered what your favorite stars would look like morphed together, MorphThing.com is the coolest site. You can even use your own photos and morph them with your friend or other stars. It's a cool way to waste an hour!"
