I’m about to expose an embarrassing level of couch potato
right here. When you start to REALLY notice common themes and tropes in TV ads,
you realize just how much TV you actually consume. And it’s disgusting. For me,
at least. I’m embracing it though. Cuz that’s what we do these days, embrace
our flaws. HAHA realityTVamirite??
First and explicitly foremost, can we please
stop using ukulele’s with someone singing a repeated vowel or two as decidedly
unoffensive background music? I haven’t jotted down actual numbers yet, but I
encourage you to make a mental note anytime you see or hear any kind of
commercial (TV or radio) that uses this tired trope. It’s become so overused
it’s expected. I’m thinking 7/10 ads do this. (Also hand claps and “HEY!”s) Who
are these product marketers saying to the production companies “you know, like
a peaceful ukulele strumming with some “ooo”s overtop. You know. You definitely
know what I’m saying Greg, you definitely made that one Prius ad, I’m seeing it
everywhere and LOVING. IT. Do that. It is SO our market. They love that shit
Greg, and I do too. HAHA Greg."
Representation
has become a huge trend in advertising right now, and I’m totally on board with
that. What’s funny to me is the people who choose to be offended by it. Cheerios
aired a commercial with a biracial family, and the comments on the Youtube link
of it were so harsh that General Mills had the comments disabled. Hahahaha
wut???? Who are these people? WHY are these people?! hashtagTrumpVoters. I’ve recently seen a TJ
Maxx ad that uses a down syndrome girl in it. Which is wonderful. Sometimes
these moves can feel a little too in-your-face-and-heavy-handed to me, but I
think my opinion has changed with time, as representation has. THIS IS A GOOD
THING, PEOPLE. When I say heavy handed, the Ikea commercial with the lesbian
couple having a takeout dinner for their anniversary comes to mind. It will
never not feel heavy handed to me, and I’m not quite sure why. Maybe the camera
lingers two seconds too long?? I dunno. There are a few household cleaner type
ads that use dad as the caretaker instead of mom, clearly an attempt at
pleasing feminists, ya? (Side note – I have never seen a mom in a commercial
who WASN’T wearing a button up shirt. This irritates me, as I think pajamas are
a more accurate depiction of the SAHM. The anti-depressant ads have much more realistic
attire for the homemaker mom. Haha I CAN SAY IT. YOU CAN’T SAY IT.) Another
example is the no question plus-sized women used in commercials – same TJ Maxx
ad I’m thinking of. See, I don’t think men really understand representation the
way women do, or marketing towards women in general. As an American Woman, I
struggle in a way that no man ever
has about my looks in general or what is expected of me visually. When my
husband casually mentions Amy Schumer being fat, it really pisses me off. She’s
not fucking fat, she’s like, totally normal. UGH. Anyway. This is veering off
subject, but ladies, I KNOW YOU FEEL ME.
I sincerely applaud University of
Phoenix for having a woman breastfeeding (BARE-BOOB-ED, even!!) her baby at a
diner while she eats and studies in their latest advertising campaign.
Normalize breastfeeding, is all I have to say about that.
According to a
source, advertising for specific medications was once illegal. The fact that it
is now legal baffles me. My well-traveled brother-in-law once told me that
Syrians don’t understand why we Americans are “so sick all the time”. They
cited the abundant airing of medicinal ads as a clear sign of our illness. As
someone who has drunken the Kool-Aid and seen the documentaries American Addict,
The Business of Being Born, and Orgasm, Inc, this enrages me. (I’m also a huge
proponent of out of hospital birthing, DM ME IF INTERESTED.) There is certainly
a trend of natural over unnatural nowadays (magic oil ladies, I’m looking atchu)
when it comes to medicine. Did you know that Humira has two separate
advertisements that cater to two separate problems to treat? No, you didn’t,
cuz you’re not a lazy fatass who watches WAAAAAAY too much TV like I do, but
now you know. This drug is advertised for both rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis!! When Googled, there are
at least three other things this drug treats. That is insane. And what about
the “symptoms include” blurbs in the ads?? They go on forever, and get more and
more absurd. “Do not look at puppies while wearing the color red or eat
tangerines from the northern California area while on this drug.” “ASK YOUR
DOCTOR ABOUT BLAHBLEBLAH TODAY.” I had a dear friend in high school who was in
a band called Symptoms Include Death, and that always amused me. My point is –
go watch American Addict. And if you want to really learn how fucked up the FDA
is, watch Orgasm, Inc too. They WERE on Netflix, and now are not, and I’m gonna
go ahead and say big pharma is to blame for their removals…..humph.
What I’m
REALLY saying here is, I bet you don’t watch as much as TV as I do. And if you
are a stay at home mom with a pension for laziness, maybe you do. Try me. Then
let’s get together and become friends, cuz I am in need for a real life, as if
you couldn’t already tell. HAHAHA RIGHT??? Oyyy.
Now Back To Our Show.....
Now Back To Our Show.....
