current | archives | profile | notes | contact | rings | host |
Asinine advertisers strike again! January 16, 2002 ~ 3:21 p.m. Three observations I made about the television/advertising industry at work today, all of them involving the apparent location of craniums up colons: During one particular ad break�recorded at 3:15 a.m., curiously enough�one commercial was for a pregnancy test. The very next commercial was for a CD-ROM that teaches the alphabet and basic math to preschoolers. Gotta love that subtlety in advertising. Was this an indirect comment on the reliability of pregnancy tests in Britain? I can come to two conclusions on this�if I were a British female worried about being pregnant, I would avoid the pregnancy test that I saw advertised unless I was pretty sure I wanted preschool children in my future. And if I were the makers of the pregnancy test, I would be mad as hell at the advertising for their carelessness in the sequencing of this particular ad break. As I am neither of these, I can say it was good for a few deep, prolonged laughs. The topic of carelessness brings me to my next example. An advertisement for a diarrhea medicine shows a lady running into a caf� in desperation to use the facility�s bathroom. The ladies room, it so happens, is closed for repairs. The next shot is a close-up of chocolate cake and a squirt of hot water from a cappuccino machine. Um ... thanks, guys. I think you�ve cured me of my sweet tooth. The presentation of a squishy brown substance and the squirt of liquid is obviously an attempt at humor here. But in some instances, particularly this one, I would prefer tact. However, the highlight of the evening, the pi�ce de resistance as it were, was the following helpful guide to early morning programming on Channel 5: �And now, live on Five, four straight hours of sport, starting with NFL ice hockey.� Say what? That�ll certainly add an interesting twist to the AFC/NFC playoffs, I must say. But just as I was wondering whether the power play would replace the field goal, I concluded that the announcer simply made a mistake. He meant NHL Ice Hockey. What else? Much as would love to witness a fifty-yard fast break, alas, it was not to be. I must go now. My tension headache has returned. � M.E.M.
Copyright � 2001-2007 by M.E. Manning. All material is written by me, unless explicitly stated otherwise by use of footnotes or bylines. Do not copy or redistribute without my permission.
AMERICA FOR TRUE AMERICANS!
|