TV commercials
Times are tough all over, and even TV commercials reflect that. I'm seeing fewer ads for diamond baubles (annoying "he went to JARED" couples, you are not missed) and more that try to subtly present the message: Hey, we know your wallet is lighter these days, and our product can help.
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Sure, almost anything goes these days on television, but should viewers have to cringe during the commercials, too? Let's discuss the ads that really should get an R-rating. And if this blog post lasts more than four hours, see a doctor.
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Our commercial contest continues, with discussion of those ads that split the audience. Some people love 'em, but others can't lunge for the remote fast enough.
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It's that time again: As summer kicks in, I'm starting up my annual TV commercial contest.
There aren't really many, if any, rules. We hash out the good, the bad and the ugly of recent commercials in posts and comments here, and when we're done, I choose the best and the worst TV commercial of recent months. (Your comments greatly inform the decision, but the final choice ends up being mine alone ... there's just no other way to do it.)
We try to stick to ads that debuted in the last six months, though that's not a hard-and-fast rule. Ads that have won in the past can't win again, and we try not to repeat discussion of them.
Inevitably, people will leave comments about how ignorant we are for chatting about commercials when they don't own a TV and instead sit around reading Dostoyevsky in the original Russian. The words "get a life" will be used. People will introduce this newfangled concept of "TiVo" and suggest we fast-forward every single ad. Others will attack any criticism of a bad ad, saying that the sheer fact that the commercial is remembered means that it did its job. Yes, yes. Heard it all before. I'm sure I'll approve some of those comments anyway -- I do every year -- but I'm hoping they'll be kept to a minimum. I still get a huge kick out of this contest or I wouldn't be continuing the tradition.
After all, just when you think nothing on TV can surprise you, you stumble upon an ad like the one that overwhelmingly won our best-commercial honor last year, the Discovery Channel's lovely "Boom-di-ada" ("I love tornadoes, I love ara-ch-nids, I love hot magma, I love the giant squids!" ) It's a near-perfect ad, and in a world where we can usually find three times as many bad ads as good ones to discuss, it was a much-needed gem.
I cheated last year when it came to the worst-commercial honor, giving it not to one ad, but to a spokesman. BILLY MAYS FOR OXI CLEAN! BILLY MAYS FOR ORANGE GLO! BILLY MAYS FOR SCREAMERS OF THE WORLD, UNITE! Mr. Mays takes that nice happy buzz I had from watching the Discovery Channel ad and STOMPS ON IT AND THEN THROWS IT RIGHT OUT THE WINDOW! But anyway, he can't win again. Or lose again. Whatever.
Here are the other past winners/losers.
2007
2006
2005
2004
And I'll just throw out one topic to get you started: What is up with those new Liberty Mutual ads? I've admitted to loving the ones LM has a new series
The notable thing about these ads is that they're really not in context. You see a snippet of a scene that feels more like a TV drama than an ad. Most memorable for me: Siblings sharing that dad wandered off again and one asks what the other plans to do about it. "What do I plan to do? You're PART OF THIS FAMILY!" screams the woman. (Note: I swear I saw this one, but now there's a tamer one where she says something different.) And here's the kicker: The New York Times says
I guess I should appreciate the ads for being honest and not denying bad times. But not only do they confuse me about what they're selling, I kind of feel like a kid whose mom and dad are fighting and want to go hide under the bed. They feel raw and personal, which is obviously intended. But do they sell the company's products? And even if they do, do they go too far?
Discuss the Marlowes or any other ad that's bugging or thrilling you these days in the comments.
Remember Santa sledding on a Norelco razor? Peter coming home for Christmas and coffee? Why are all the good holiday ads only memories, and now we're stuck with "He went to Jared!"
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Ready to find out our picks for the favorite and least-favorite commercials of the year? Here are some hints: We love the whole world, it's such a brilliant place. Boom-di-ada, boom-di-ada, boom-di-ada, boom-di-ada. And the least-favorite ad? HE JUST CAN'T STOP YELLING! EVER!
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It's your last chance to weigh in on our TV commercial contest! Before you do, let's discuss regional commercials, humor in ads, and commercial actors that we hate for absolutely no real reason. (There's no way that woman in the eyeglass ad is a wildlife photographer, please.)
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We talked earlier about how ad agencies try and play on our love for certain songs, hoping we'll transfer that love to their products. They do the same thing with kids. But just as a proud parent is quick to assume everyone thinks his or her little darling can do no wrong, commercials often make the exact same mistake.
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Let's talk about music in commercials. Not jingles or songs written just for the ads ("five...five dollar...five dollar footloooooong"), but commercials that use well-known songs in the hopes that if we like the song, we'll transfer that feeling to their products.
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Fast-food is ubiquitous, and so are ads for it. We know the food is bad for us, but do the ads have to be equally terrible? Last year, one of the main contenders for our worst-ad award was a bizarre Wendy's commercial involving men in Wendy wigs out in the woods kicking trees. I guess the gist was supposed to be that you shouldn't follow the crowd when choosing your junk food, but what viewers mostly took away from it was that men look really stupid in Wendy wigs. This year, we have some new fast-food ads to chew over. Here are just a few.
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