Proving that people can cause controversy about nearly everything, Joe Boxer's new holiday commercial for Kmart (which I didn't even realize was still around, since they all have gone out of business around here) has been causing people to get, well, up in...arms.
Conservative groups have decried the commercial, and have asked Kmart to pull it from circulation. Some on social media have called the commercial "a paean to pedophilia," because apparently "Joe Boxer isn't worn by anyone over 15 years old, so they must be targeting young men."
Seriously. It's a commercial for boxer shorts, people. Merry freaking Christmas, everyone.
If you're like me and struggling to make it through the rest of the week (where's my four-day weekend?), maybe this GEICO commercial can bust through your doldrums, even briefly. Don't make me get the cavemen...
Don't know if you heard about all the hubbub surrounding a commercial for Cheerios featuring a mixed race family, which received an inordinate amount of backlash on YouTube, so bad that the comments section needed to be closed.
What is wrong with people in our world in 2013? Prior to the closure, the comment section had been filled "with references to Nazis, 'troglodytes' and 'racial genocide,'" according to Adweek. Commenters on the cereal's Facebook page also said they found the commercial "disgusting" and that it made them "want to vomit." Other hateful commenters expressed shock that a black father would stay with his family. Seriously.
In case you hadn't seen it, here's the original commercial, called "Just Checking."
A comedian has developed a spoof of the original commercial sure to get the haters' tongues wagging. (I mean, One Million Moms—or the one mom sending out a million protest emails—is busy concentrating all their hatred on Kraft's new "Let's Get Zesty" campaign, but they'll catch on eventually.)
Here's the spoof:
Bravo to General Mills for standing firm in the face of ridiculous ignorance and hatred. Now, let's all go have a bowl of Cheerios.
However, when I saw this GEICO ad on Facebook recently, it actually cracked me up. Shouldn't we all want to be this happy? (I do know I'd be throwing a temper tantrum if I were behind him in line, but maybe he'd make some crescent rolls afterward...)
Just a random thought for a sleep-deprived Wednesday.
You know, I can't remember the last time I was pleased about both teams playing in the Super Bowl, or when the game turned out to be such a nail-biter that I was utterly hooked from start to finish, less the 35-minute pause for the ridiculous power outage in the Superdome. (Of course, watching the game on our friends' 110-inch television while sitting in a recliner didn't hurt matters any either.) While it was great to see the Baltimore Ravens end up the victors, who knew what could have happened if the refs had made the call Jim Harbaugh thought they should?
Some years the Super Bowl is known for terrific commercials and some years you find yourself wondering, "Is this what these companies are paying millions of dollars for?" While I don't understand the point of showing all the commercials before the game (and I avoided watching any of them until they showed two at the movies yesterday morning), I enjoyed a number of the commercials I saw yesterday. Among my favorites:
OREO's "Whisper Fight" made me laugh...and made me crave the cookies. (And isn't that what good advertising is supposed to do?)
Doritos again this year brought the funny with this lesson to never trust a goat.
I loved Tide's "Big Stain" commercial, and kudos for predicting the overall outcome of the game.
Even though I saw this ad at the movies earlier in the day, I still enjoyed Taco Bell's take on Fun.'s We Are Young.
As for the tearjerkers, Budwiser's Clydesdale commercial (set to Fleetwood Mac's Landslide) made me pretend I had something in my eye.
And Jeep's Oprah-narrated "Whole Again" ad saluted the men and women who defend our country. A beautiful job.
I also enjoyed Kia's two ads, as well as M&M's take on Meatloaf's I Would Do Anything for Love and Dorito's "Fashionista Daddy" spot. Ram Trucks' ad, which used Paul Harvey's 1970 speech "So God Made a Farmer" was emotional, but it ran a bit too long for me and I didn't feel as if it actually marketed its product. And once again, the folks at GoDaddy.com baffled and disgusted me with their ad, which had model Bar Rafaeli making out with a "nerd." Clearly the company is making enough money to pay for these ads, but I just don't get it.
Oh, and how cool was the brief Destiny's Child reunion? Thought that was the best part of the halftime show. And in honor of the night the lights went out in the Superdome, here's a classic clip from Designing Women. There was no one quite like Dixie Carter.
As a true child of the 80s and someone so obsessed with pop culture that the 90s were still kinda fun, I've seen a few things lately that have taken me back down memory lane.
First of all, ready to feel old? Soleil Moon Frye (aka Punky Brewster) turned 36 the other day. (Interestingly enough, I didn't realize that the differential between our ages was only seven years, as when she was on television she seemed much, much younger than me.) To celebrate her birthday, she threw herself an "80s prom" bash, with her guests decked out in their finest 80s wear.
Soleil herself sported a vintage 80s prom gown. (Ok, friends, I'm looking through all my prom pictures because I know someone wore the same dress to one of our proms...)
She had the "most epic cake ever" (her words), decorated with pictures from her favorite 80s movies, and Rubik's Cube cupcakes.
But if you ask me, the highlight of the party was the entertainment: Debbie Gibson, who performed several of her hit songs for the guests. You know you know 'em all, including Shake Your Love, Lost in Your Eyes, and Only in My Dreams. How awesome would that be?
Take note: my next birthday is 12/12/12, and I'd love Debbie Gibson to sing for me!
Moving on to the 90s, have you seen the latest Old Navy commercial, featuring some of your favorites from Beverly Hills 90210 (the original, not the remake)? No, Shannen Doherty isn't there.
Once again, Kelly has to choose: Dylan or Brandon? Such a tough decision. Peach Pit, anyone? (Donna Martin graduates!!)
In general, I don't watch a lot of television, but this is the time of year when I tend to change the channel or turn the television off more times than not. I know I'm not alone in this assertion: political advertising drives me absolutely crazy.
With this being a presidential election year, campaign commercials will hit their zenith, because we'll have ads for presidential, congressional, and senatorial candidates. And here in Virginia, our gubernatorial election is held on an off year, so we get campaign commercials three out of every four years. And that's far too many smarmy voiceovers, instances of feigned outrage, and unfounded accusations for me to handle.
Neither party is blameless. Only in America can you negatively attack your opponent for their negative attacks on you. The more money we allow supposed "special interest groups" and SuperPACs to spend, the more commercials we'll continue to be subjected to.
Is there anything to really be learned from political advertising in this day and age?
Sadly, there are people in our world who don't have the exposure to other forms of news, who lack the ability, or the resources from which to draw their own opinions about a candidate or an issue. And these are the people to whom political commercials are directed. These are the people who believe what they hear, and vote accordingly.
Doesn't that frighten you?
Aren't you angered in the slightest when you hear an advertisement that alleges utter falsehoods, or buries the tiniest shred of truth in the midst of lies?
Can't we do better? Can't we call on our politicians and those within our political system and demand that, if they won't respect each other, they'll at least respect us and our intelligence? The more divided our world becomes ideologically, the worse this will become.
That's what I hope for. And I won't change the channel if I see it.
I've seen a lot of really memorable television commercials through the years. Some are uproariously funny, some make me cry (and I'm not ashamed to admit it), and some actually make me think.
Then there are the absurd commercials, the ones I cannot believe an advertising agency was paid to create, much less put on television. Take Charmin, for example. I don't know about you, but while I certainly understand that bears go to the bathroom, I don't need that visual in my head when I reach for toilet paper.
And I can say without hesitation, I don't need this visual:
But as disturbing as the Charmin-loving bears are, I am even more disturbed by this latest advertisement for the "Cottonelle Care Routine," namely toilet paper plus personal wipes.
Who thought this would make a good advertisement? I may have a lot of weird things rolling around in my brain, but I can assure you that assigning a name to toilet paper and personal wipes isn't one of them. And do you really want to know what other people name their routine?
Bring back Mr. Whipple, please. What commercials annoy you or make you uncomfortable?
