Sunday, June 21, 2015
Listerine demonstrates a trend which really needs to stop now
The trend being "commercials disguised as serials." We all know the drill- since people tend to zone out during ads which all basically look the same, more and more companies are trying to con us into paying attention by pretending that they are showing us a trailer for a wacky comedy or drama, nailing us with the "haha this is just a commercial, sucker" at the very end. It works really well- if you are intensely stupid, as 99 percent of YouTube viewers seem to be.
For anyone with even a modicum of intelligence, that these are advertisements becomes obvious within three or four seconds. But we aren't the intended audience, clearly.
Instead, the people these are aimed at are incredibly easily-deceived, slack-jawed morons who will not only be taken in by the "storyline," but will also fail to be insulted by the deception and will think it's cool that a company went to the "trouble" to produce something so "witty." Believe it or not, there are plenty of them. Check out the comments.
Personally, I blame that Taster's Choice series of commercials back in the 1980s featuring a budding romance between a woman and her next door neighbor who dropped in for coffee one day, was treated to horrible instant junk, and yet was so enamored that he kept coming back for more. Or maybe she was the one who dropped in- I don't remember. But it was the first set of commercials with a storyline that I remember, so I'll blame them for our current situation.
Meanwhile, I don't care about this ugly woman or her ugly, stupid family or why she thinks she needs to make sure they have clean breath (they all look perfectly old enough- I won't use the term "capable," because check out their behavior, ugh- to decide what to do about their oral hygiene, geesh is mom going to check their butts for bits of toilet paper like the cartoon bear in the Charmin commercials next?) I'm just going to let Listerine know that I don't appreciate the effort they put into this, at all, and I don't care what "happens next" with "The Franklins." So please, stop this "series" and get back to just telling us how that stinging sensation proves your product is working, ok? That was much better and probably didn't cost you nearly as much money anyway.
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Yeah, this one adds insult to injury, by implying that it's Mom's responsibility to save her entire family from their various oral offenses. They can't possibly be expected to do something like brush their teeth or buy their own mouthwash or anything like that. No, it is up to Mom to play the superhero and save them from themselves by...buying Listerine. One can only assume she also has to open their mouths and pour it in, although I suspect that would cause them to gag rather than gargle. Of course, if I were her, I'd be tempted to just do it and let the chips fall where they may. Maybe next time the idiots will take care of their own mouths.
ReplyDeleteAnd now I need to come back here and vent. This was one of the approximately 1,724 commercials I was forced to watch the other day IN THE MOVIE THEATER BEFORE A MOVIE. I HATE being subjected to commercials before movies anyway, and to be subjected to this one just made it all worse.
ReplyDeleteCommercials before movies are an absolute crime. You pay $10 or more to see a movie, have the gall to show up in plenty of time for the previews- and are treated to one crappy ad after another? To hell with that. I swear they are one step away from inserting ads into the movies themselves- oh wait, they already do that with ubiquitous "product placement."
DeleteI always refuse to buy the products shown, just on principle.
ReplyDeleteBy visiting the dentist for a dental cleaning and checkup regularly, you can ensure good oral hygiene and protect your teeth and remove any plaque that has hardened and become too tough to remove through brushing. goodsamdental.org
ReplyDelete