Sunday, July 27, 2008

Miscellaneous Observations I


Some miscellaneous, unrelated observations…

Have you seen the commercial on television in which a pretty young woman, wearing a red tank top, wanders through a busy city with her arms in the air? This is apparently to demonstrate that she is very confident with her deodorant. Have you also noticed that she is wandering alone? This is because most men are not attracted to women who repeatedly stick their underarms in other people’s faces…

Father Rogue reports to me that Oscar Mayer, who for a number of years has advertised “100% All-Beef Franks, is selling franks that are now “Beefier than Ever.” Hmmm…, they might need some remedial math training over there at OM….

Daughter Rogue and I have decided too begin guitar lessons together. Given our combined musical abilities, this will certainly test the patience of our instructor. Mrs. R says that between my beloved pick-up truck Big Mo, my beloved Golden Retriever Marci, and the guitar thing, I am the walking embodiment of a country music song. Plus I have a spiffy new pair of cowboy boots (re:
Suburban Rogue April 7, 2008).

Here is link to some country music song titles that you may find entertaining:

Country Song Titles

My office has decided to hire some new folks. It’s a good idea; new people can often bring a new energy and fresh ideas to an organization. Apparently the person who put the announcement for the new employees together took this fresh ideas concept to heart. Instead of announcing that Janet would work for Jim, the memo stated “Janet will be under Jim.”

Wow. They must have a lot more fun up on the third floor…

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Commercials

With the Summer Olympics just a few weeks away, I am very concerned about what Madison Avenue has in store for us. You likely don’t recall, but I have been openly critical about some television advertising in the past, and have bestowed the dreaded DUMBASS (Designating Underachievement in Marketing By Advertisers Selling Stuff) Award upon deserving companies all across the land.

Some previous winners include:

Ford Motor Company, for showing that the brakes on their trucks were so strong that they could actually stop an airplane. That’s important because you just never know when you’ll be driving down the road and need to stop an airplane...

Chevrolet, for their inane commercial showing a jogger repeatedly running into a parked car. No “snarky” comment is required here…

Dodge, for showing us that their trucks are so tough that they can withstand a pummeling from a Rockem-Sockem robot. for those of you who aren't old enough to remember, Rockem-Sockem robots are plastic toys from the 1970’s…

This weeks DUMBASS Award medal winners are:

Bronze: Kentucky Fried Chicken has returned their “Whoa, didn’t see that coming” ad to the airwaves. I have to say that I too am often surprised when I bite into a hot wing and it tastes exactly like a hot wing...

Silver: Walmart for their “You can cash your economic stimulus check here, for free!” ad. Hmmmmm, I wonder if my bank knows about this? Wouldn’t that be great if banks started cashing checks for free, just like Walmart? Oh, wait, never mind…

Gold: Subway for using the term “Yum-rocket” to describe their sandwiches. Sounds like a line from a 70's porn movie. Not that that I ever actually saw one of those movies...


Stay tuned dear readers. I'm sure the Olympics will bring us even more ads to lampoon...