TV Tuesday

Week 16 - Commercials

Companies pay billions and billions of dollars each year to drop commercials into our favorite programs in hopes of influencing our shopping habits, getting us to buy things, and toot their own horns. As long as people still have money to spend they'll keep giving us ideas on how to spend it. So this week let's take a closer look at the entity we call commercials.

1. Commercials: Annoying disruption or Interesting Advertisement?

Both, but the description says it all. If it's interesting, generally it's not annoying. If it's annoying, it's not interesting. I read recently about an ad (I haven't seen it yet) for Ball Park Franks that promotes their "girthiness"...*hmm--make up your own joke*...and that's not interesting, it's annoying. Old Navy ads? Annoying. Nike ads? Interesting, usually. Just depends on what they put into them.

2. Is there a commercial that instantly has you reaching for the remote to mute it?

The new Pepto Bismol commercial with a variety of people in an office singing about their various gastrointestinal ailments - the worst commercial I've ever seen, probably.

3. Jingles are one of the most useful tools in commercials, what's your favorite (or least favorite if you prefer)?

One of my favorites has always been the old "You Deserve a Break Today" from McDonalds back in the...what, 60's? 70's? The one with all the male McDonalds employees in their old-style paper hats dancing and singing all over the counters in the restaurant. There were a couple of well-known modern actors in that commercial: John Amos from Good Times and another whose name escapes me at the moment. It'll come to me...

~Bonus~ Has a commercial actually ever influenced something you've done or bought?

Other than alert me that a new restaurant or product actually exists and I might want to check it out, probably not.