Commercials taking over me

[Ladyazh]

Have you seen this commercial where one guy said how good thais ice tea was and another guy says
-Why is it ice T?
-???
-I mean why 'T'?
-???
-I mean out of 48 letters in alphabet why 'T' and not 'M' for an example?
...
I was rolling on a floor. I though it was hillarious. Am I alone? I have a few favorite commercials and i am finding myself more often then before talking about commercials to people. Should I go for a check up?

 

[rjoubert]

While I have not seen that commercial, I can certainly appreciate the humor in many commercials these days. With the Superbowl coming up early next month, there are going to be many new commercials making their debut, at least here in the US...I can't wait!

Personally, I've found that Budweiser does a great job with their commercials. There is one particular spot on TV now that shows two teams of horses standing around a football, waiting for a zebra to finish watching an instant replay.

There are also a slew of commercials for Mastercard with Peyton Manning (Quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts) that are very good.

Then there are the commercials for one of the job search websites where there is one guy working with a bunch of monkeys. Most of those are very funny.

 

[AlexCuse]

My favorite commercials are the ones for Geico with the cavemen.

First, it was the one where Geico exec takes the cavemen out for dinner to apologize. He says something like "Sorry, we had no idea you guys were still around". Then they order dinner.

Caveman 1: "I'll have the roast duck with the mango salsa"
Caveman 2: "I don't have much of an appetite, thanks"

Lately, my favorite is the one where he is interviewed by Fox News type people, and they talk about how stupid he is. It goes something lke this:

Caveman 2: "...Inventing the wheel, discovering fire, laying the groundwork for all civilization. You're right, sorry we couldn't get that to you sooner."
Lady Interviewer: "Sounds like somebody woke up on the wrong side of the rock today"

If anyone has not seen these, I will track them down on you tube for you. They are a riot.

Alex

Ignorance of certain subjects is a great part of wisdom

 

[Ladyazh]

I have another one about Holiday hawk for Sierra Mist Cranberry soda. I actually bought the soda and all I drink is a tap water and seltzer. When i saw it I've yelled across Giant (supermarket) "Look it is a Holiday Hawk soda"!!!
My friend said I am a sucker...but nothing will make me buy "I can't believe it's not butter" - I am repaulsed by their commercials.

 

[Welshbird]

Ladyazh: There was an excellent sketch in a UK sitcom (The Vicar of Dibley) about that very product, and iit was read by the dappiest person in the series. It went like this:

Well I have this tub of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. And I have this tub of something that the label fell off, but I think it's I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. But the problem is, I don't think I believe that the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter isn't butter; and I don't think I believe that the thing that I think is I Can't Believe It's Not Butter isn't butter. I do believe that the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and the thing that I think might be I Can't Believe It's Not Butter might actually be butter.

Classic....

Fee

The question should be [red]Is it worth trying to do?[/red] not [blue] Can it be done?[/blue]

 

[gbaughma]

I mean out of 48 letters in alphabet why 'T' and not 'M' for an example?

48 letters? (Looks for the other 22 he's missing.....)



Just my 2¢

"What the captain doesn't realize is that we've secretly exchanged his dilithium crystals for new Folger's Crystals." -- My Sister
--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[KornGeek]

My personal favorite that I've seen recently is for Captain Morgan rum. A guy is in a bar and gets a call from his wife/girlfriend/fiancee. Apparantly, he was supposed to attend her cousin's wedding and played sick. She hears the background noise and asks if he's at a bar. He claims it's the TV. The various people around the bar each take turns doing sound bites to make it sound like he is channel surfing. I realize that it loses a lot in the retelling, but it is hysterical.

More and more lately, I find myself stopping to watch commercials that are just plain funny. I think the advertising agencies have had to step it up a notch to get people to stop skipping through the commercials on digitally recorded or delayed broadcasts. (Just my personal theory, not based on any hard evidence.)

 

[SantaMufasa]

At our house, we roll on the floor every time the Geico Insurance Gecko starts talking, because the Gecko's voice, speech patterns, and British accent are absolutely identical to those of a twit friend of ours from Newcastle-under-Lyme/Stoke-on-Trent.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]

 

[AnotherHiggins]

My friend said I am a sucker

I kid with my friends that I am a "bi*ch for marketing", meaning that I'll buy things that are marketed well.

But the fact is that I'm just very aware of marketing. I know that all the impulse purchases with high markups are gathered in the checkout lines, and I never buy any of that crap. I also won't buy something just because of marketing - and I hate the typical "slick" marketing that you see all too often.

But I figure that as long as I have to endure marketing, I want to reward good marketing to try to steer other products to also employ good marketing. If the commercials for a given product are really well done, or the packaging is just fantastic, then I might buy the product to try to influence the market of, er, marketing.

Similarly, I try to influence grocery stores using their "customer loyalty" cards. Years ago when I went to NC State there was a new Harris Teeter nearby. (It was huge by the standards of the day - we called it the Taj MaTeeter.) That was the first grocery store I ever saw give out these cards - they call them VIC cards (for Very Important Customer). Basically, there are various items throughout the store that sell for a discount if you present your VIC card at checkout. The cards are free - you just fill out an application form and they hand you a card. (I wonder if anyone's application has ever been denied? Wouldn't that be embarrassing? "I'm sorry sir, but you're just not what we're looking for in a VIC." But I digress....)

I knew that they weren't doing this out of altruism. They (and now just about all grocery stores - in the US, anyway) draw you in with loss leaders that you only get if you register for a card. Then they use the registration information to gather buying trends of their customers by location. When they opened, they didn't have much of a beer selection. So I made sure to buy good beer with every single purchase I made using my VIC card. If I ran in for milk, I would either not use my VIC card or, if the milk was on sale for VIC members, I would buy some beer along with the milk. (The beer always managed to get consumed by someone.)

By the time I moved, they had a huge, beautiful beer aisle with tons of microbrews and imports. Granted, the store was near a college campus, so I'm under no illusion that I was working alone in my beer crusade. But still, just because you buy a product, the marketing for which you love, doesn't necessarily make you a sucker.

Alex: I love the caveman commercials, too. But I'm not ready to buy insurance based on good advertising.

Greg: I was wondering about those extra letters as well!

[tt]_____
[blue]-John[/blue][/tt]
[tab][red]The plural of anecdote is not data[/red]

Help us help you. Please read FAQ181-2886 before posting.

 

[mjldba]

If you have not seen the "Trunk Monkey" commercials, you're depriving yourself of a good laugh. These are the same monkeys that do the office commercials.

Trunk Monkey relates to the OnStar option in some cars and, considering it's just a local (don't remember where) car dealer advertising campaign, it's a scream.

http://www.trunkmonkey.com

or

http://www.trunkmonkeyad.com

 

[SantaMufasa]

Actually, MJ, the "Trunk Monkey" campaign is national with references to local dealers dubbed in.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]

 

[mjldba]

thanks for the correction Santa, I though they were far too creative for local ad agency talent.

I was not aware the campaign was national because I've never seen them on any DISH channel whether local or network.

 

[Ladyazh]

willif...NO!!! You've GOT to be pulling me leg!

48 letters? Yes that's what he said. I think it shows that guy is dumber then we thought originally when he didn't know word 'tea'.

I can NEVER understand Geico and I LOVE their commercials BUT I would NEVER buy their insurance. Just do not believe in a word they are saying...

'Trunk Monkey' IS a National I think.

 

[mjldba]

I find the annoying GEICO geeko lizard only slightly less annoying than the Dr. Scholl's "gellin'" commercials.

The forced & contrived "gellin'"rhymes make me stab at the mute button furiously.

 

[SantaMufasa]

How about the ultra-annoying,

Head-On...Apply directly to the forehead.
Head-On...Apply directly to the forehead.
Head-On...Apply directly to the forehead.
Head-On...Apply directly to the forehead.
Head-On...Apply directly to the forehead.
...

That's where my remote is a life saver!

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]

 

[IknowMe]

My vote for most annoying has to go to Volkswagon's Dr. Z.


Wow, I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time.
I think I've forgotten this before.

 

[gbaughma]

Yeah..... not to mention the Volkswagon science dude flashing gang symbols all over the place.... Good GRIEF. First time I saw that, my jaw dropped...

(Now, while some may argue that they're just making the "VW" symbol with their hands, I'm sure that Viceroy's and West Side are having a BALL with that one.....)



Just my 2¢

"What the captain doesn't realize is that we've secretly exchanged his dilithium crystals for new Folger's Crystals." -- My Sister
--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[flapeyre]

Ahem - Dr. Z is with Daimler-Chrysler, not VW...

Tibi gratias agimus quod nihil fumas.

 

[KenCunningham]

As for the VW commercials, I blame The Beastie Boys a long time ago! We actually had our Honda badge stolen as a result of their stupidity. Flippin' annoying.

I don't mind people who aren't what they seem. I just wish they'd make their mind up.

 

[rjoubert]

While I agree that the Head-On commercials are extremely annoying, at least they know it. Have you seen the new ones? The commercial starts out as usual, then it freezes and someone steps in and complains about how they hate the commercials for Head-On, but they love the product.