Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Watching Commercials with the sound off

Since it "'tis the holiday season" I have been over-exposed the last several weeks to various ads designed to do one thing:

"separate my weakened 'greenbacks' from my already abused wallet"


And for the most part, the ads do their jobs exceedingly well, that is until you turn off the sound.

I've noticed, at least for me, that the more ridiculous the ad is - the less it makes sense without a soothing announcer or spokesperson easing your mind into a false sense that the 30-second reality they present to you could be yours - so long as you buy the crap they are peddling. Or, your fear can be averted so long as you buy the crap they are peddling.

What brought this to mind is the fact that I had my TV on mute, as I often do, and looked up to see a Dirt Devil Broom Vac commercial come on.

Since apparently 'embedding' has been disabled for this commercial I've attached the youtube link.

Basic synopsis: A couple is having a dinner party/couples party at their crib when suddenly, someone knocks over a bowl over M&M or M&M looking balls. A female looks knowingly at her male companion and within seconds, the entire party breaks out in dance with their own personal 'Broom Vac's" complete with choreographed dance moves and smiles on everyone's faces.

Sounds pretty ridiculous right? And it is(in my opinion anyway) but, with the sound on it seems perfectly plausible. try watching that commercial with the sound off though.

Message: If you buy this broom vac, AND there is the 1/100,000 chance that you actually have a situation that requires not just your broom, and not just your vacuum - it will most likely be a situation where you are having a dinner party, people will WANT to help you clean and they will break out into dance as they clean in the process all with a smile on. So buy the silly broom vac already!

Other honorable mentions are 1)Car Commercials that make the road suddenly free of other cars or 2) the annual Lexus X-mas commercial w/ a brand new silver Lexus parked out front: - as if a spouse should not be consulted for a major vehicle purchase and a 'surprise' of a new lease will make them happy. (however, if you have enough money to buy and/or qualify for a loan for a brand new Lexus -your money situations probably isn't that bad) . Finally there's 3) the beer/liquor/clothing/cologne ads that presume if you buy their product - the opposite sex will be making a mad dash your way to seek some form of companionship with you. Axe body spray comes to mind.


I would go on but, I've ventured much past my bedtime.

But if you get a chance, just hit the mute button next time you have a commercial break instead of switching the channel or fast-forwarding your DVR - see if your entertained in other ways.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I actually like the Lexus commercial. Probably because I like surprising people and surprising hubby with a car is something I'd like to do at some point in time. As long as the car had all the options/features he wanted, I can't see him being upset.

D.R. said...

Yeah - I guess you're right - bad example.