I really like to watch commercials. I know that sounds stupid, but I do. People get paid good money for putting those 30 seconds together. Once I have seen most of them, I would rather not see them again. And if they come on again, which they always do, I feel no obligation to watch.
There doesn’t seem to be any correlation between whether I like the product and whether I like the commercial. I don’t like beer, but I love Budweiser commercials. How can you not love horses and dogs? But the Coors commercial where these guys are climbing all over this frozen mountain to deliver two bottles of Coors is a little flaky. It’s a big bar full of music and people and they deliver two bottles of Coors. I wonder if everybody else is drinking Bud.
The Super Bowl makes for an exciting, but difficult day. I don’t want to miss any of the game, nor the commercials. There is no time for a comfort break. I guess the problem will solve itself when I can watch it all on my wrist.
One commercial that really gets me going is a group of young parents sitting around and someone inquires whether anyone has done anything regarding setting up a college fund for their children. Only one couple has and it’s the Gerber Life College Plan. And, the wife says, “It’s an insurance policy too.” And, I’m thinking, you mean if my child kicks the bucket, I have a pay day? I don’t know. That seems a little cold.
My favorite commercial at the moment has a mother at the mall with her two small children. She stops to tell them that they only have a short time to find Daddy the perfect gift and they really need to focus. She tells her son (age 8 or 9) that he is her rock and asks if she can count on him. He gives her the thumbs up. Then, she turns to her daughter (age 6 or 7) and says, “Sally, look at me. I need you to step it up. We don’t need the petting zoo all over again.” The little girl looks at her mom and says, “I can’t make any promises.” I just love that We can only guess what happened at the petting zoo. The bad news is that while I love the little episode, I don’t remember which smart phone the commercial is trying to sell. And I think that is probably important.
I probably don’t watch shows that advertise Mr. Clean and Tide, so I guess I have to exclude those commercials from my evaluation. I guess I watch TV shows where they are trying to sell beer and cars and Snickers. I like the Snickers’ commercials where famous actors like Robin Williams and Roseanne Barr are out of control. Then after they eat a Snickers Bar they turn into normal people. I loved it when Roseanne Barr got whacked by a big log in the lumber yard. Maybe it’s because I can’t stand Roseanne Barr. Robin Williams is playing a high school football coach and during a time out, he encourages his team to “win the game for Mother Russia.” After eating a Snickers Bar, the real coach returns and sends his charges on to the field for victory (but not for Mother Russia).
I said there was no correlation between whether I liked the product and whether I liked the commercial. But, I guess there is one exception. If you look under the category called “The Fox,” you will find a blog entitled, “Why I Will Never Buy an Audi.” As you will see in the blog, I have nothing against the vehicle, just the executives that run the company. So every time I see an Audi commercial, I can’t observe it impartially. There’s the commercial where the woman with an Audi is getting ready to put diesel in her car and everyone is trying to stop her. One young man yells, “Hey lady, that’s diesel.” She smugly looks at him and says, “I know.” Then she and her male companion (probably an Audi executive) nod at each other, silently saying, “We are surrounded by idiots.” Then, there’s the scene where Santa is ringing the Salvation Army bell outside a department store. An Audi drives by and everyone who sees it, drops their car fob in the collection kettle. Most of the donated fobs have a Mercedes symbol on them. I think the advertising company for Audi is as arrogant as the Audi executives. But, of course, I’m not impartial (and never will be). If someone asked me what I took away from the commercial, I would say that people who drive Mercedes are very generous people.
While getting gas at the Fort Belvoir Exchange, a woman drove her Audi up to the diesel pump. I really tried not to say anything, but my impulses got the best of me. Finally I said, “Hey lady, that’s diesel.” She immediately understood, gave me a pleasant smile and said, “I know.”
Then there’s the erectile dysfunction commercials. They say it may just be a blood flow problem. I agree. I don’t think the blood is getting to the brain. I love what the golf industry has done with this issue. Polara golf (they make golf balls) says that when the ball doesn’t go where you intended it to go, you may have projectile dysfunction. Their ball can correct projectile dysfunction. There was also a golf company who claimed their driver would cure projectile dysfunction. I thought the company was Cobra or Cleveland, but I can’t find anything on it now. And believe me, if you go on the internet and can’t find anything, it causes grave doubt as to whether it ever existed.
Now, we tape a lot of our shows on TV and we fast forward through the commercials. I’m afraid that commercials may go the same way as buggy whips, green eye shades and Blockbuster Video.
Written by PJ Rice at www.ricequips.com