1. The school of ads that bothers me.
So there's this particular school of advertising where the use of the advertised product yields bad results for the consumer. I don't understand how this form of advertisement is intended to work.
A current example is the Taco Bell ad making the rounds this week, wherein a young man brings home some grilled meat product to entertain his special lady, and the smell of the grilled meat entices everyone in a three-block radius to invite themselves over. I don't know about you, but here's what I take from this: do not buy this grilled meat product from Taco Bell. I do not want my neighbors walking in the front door when I am trying to entertain my special lady; ergo, no Taco Bell grilled meat product.
There is also the Grape Nuts ad where, for one guy out camping, the sound of the chewing of his Grape Nuts drowns out the sound of his wife being mauled by a bear. Again, I'm not seeing the advantage.
2. A more subtle variation
There is the AOL ad where the dorky guy is walking around AOL headquarters telling some AOL flunky how great AOL is to him, so effusively that it seems he's playing for the flunky's pants, and meanwhile all hell is breaking loose like AOL doesn't even consider doing basic building maintenance. This is also bad.
I had another one coming, but it has just escaped me.
UPDATE 10/13: I remembered what had escaped me. Just what in the crap does Campbell's Soup mean with that "possibilities" song? What possibilities? It's SOUP!
Soup presents no possibilities.
Posted by FLOG at October 12, 2005 12:52 AMThe Beast ads where "men should act like men and beer should taste like beer" where the guys get crushed by giant cans of that shit?
Posted by: Timothy at October 12, 2005 5:19 AMYep, that's questionable. I could do without my consumer goods violently policing my behavior. Which is why I'm glad I gave up the Beast years ago.
(And if you are Beast, don't go saying "beer should taste like beer.")
Posted by: FLOG at October 12, 2005 11:53 PMAs to the commercials where bad things happen to the consumer, there's also the ones for (I think) LG appliances. The couple has people over for dinner and whatnot, and all the guests want to do is ooh and aah at the hosts' new washer/dryer set. Way to ruin a party, LG.
I despise the "Poss-i-bil-i-teee-heee-hee-ees" Campbell song. It is nowhere near the Jinglicious genius that is the Charmin Ultra jingle ("It's more absorbent than the regular rippled brand, for sure!"). Also of note is the new jingle for Charmin's new (ugh) wet wipey things (ugh again). ("It's a cleaner clean you can get behind!")
Posted by: vague at October 13, 2005 10:18 AM