from the bigdumbHoosier Archive - 12.05.2000
Odd Ads
The great American economy is fueled by consumerism, and every bigdumbHoosier (or bigdumbTarHeel for that matter) relies on his daily brain rot session with the tv to keep up to date on what we can't live without. In the early, some might say innocent, days of television a catchy jingle like the one immortalized by Alka Seltzer seemed to do the trick but lately things have gotten a bit weird.
At the cutting edge of new-ads are the many now being run for prescription medications. Sure it's great to be a bit more informed about what's coming on the market for all those little aches and pains, but these ads get really interesting when it comes to the disclaimers. When the voice over says (in that earnest and chipper way) 'if you've you have advanced HIV or a kidney transplant, tell your doctor.'
Ummm, gee, I hope my doctor will tell me about that sort of stuff. I'd hate to find out about it while alone in a hotel room in some nameless city. Of course, this is just a weak second place to the legendary Xenical spot that advised you to expect "gas, with oily discharge". I gotta' get me some of that ma!
And then there's those TiVO ads. You've seen them - some guy driving the wrong way on a freeway on ramp, causing pile-ups and the like. It's attention getting alright. But what's the message, exactly? If you're a menace to society you'll like this product? A friend of mine commented, "well, if the message is that all you morons out there will want to get this" then they ought to make a pile of money.
Okay, just one more - those Holiday Inn ads with the dysfunctional family. Now, if they were a new series on Fox network they might be kind of fun. But does Holiday Inn really want you to associate these annoying 'FIP' types with their sleeperies? Like you don't already.
