TV commercials
If a TV commercial can scare you, they can get you to buy their product, and don't think they don't know it. If you're suddenly frightened into believing that you smell, or you're somehow hideously unattractive or uncool unless you have their product, that's one scare tactic. And then there are the less subtle ones -- ads where people claim your life or your property is at risk, but they can save you, if you just fork over the purchase money.
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The use of kids in TV commercials is always a controversial topic. Some viewers are sucked in by their cuteness, others find them annoying as all get-out. And so we don't start a fight between the parents and the child-free, here, I'd like to say that I'm a parent, but that doesn't mean I find every use of a kid in a commercial to be brilliant.
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I'd divide ads that use music into three categories. Some dig up an old familiar song from our past, counting on the nostalgia value to make us associate good things with their product. Some pick a catchy modern tune which viewers may or may not have heard before, thinking it'll hit the right notes. And others make up a jingle specifically for their product.
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Animal ads are always a popular topic of discussion in our commercial contest. The right cute pooch or cuddly kitten can sell a product, or at least give you warm fuzzy feelings about a brand name, and advertisers know it.
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We've discussed song lyrics that just don't make any sense, but what about commercials that are equally confusing? A good commercial is like a mini-movie, with characters, a plot, and a storyline that at least makes a tiny bit of sense. But some commercials are like a really terrible B-movie that only runs late at night in between infomercials. In other words, they are completely insane.
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We've been hashing out commercials for two months now, and it's time for a vote. The contest isn't over, and the vote isn't the final word on who will take this year's best and worst ad honors, but it'll definitely help narrow things down.
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We've been rehashing and reviewing the crop of current commercials, but let's do the time warp. Thanks to You Tube, it's easier than ever to watch old commercials, and it can be a blast.
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He's baaaack. The little monster who manhandles a cartoon toenail like he's sliding up a garage door has a new ad.
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Companies love to sign up a big star to promote their products. Yet so many of the celeb-product pairings are ridiculous.
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We're halfway through our commercial contest, so let's look at some of the ads that have been repeatedly mentioned as contenders. That Prius ad is still high among your favorites, as are the Evian skating babies. But over on the worst side, there's a yogurt-sucking blonde and a bicycling woman with Sasquatch-like armpit hair.
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