All Best Buy commercials are basically the same: An employee who looks like working at Best Buy is the absolute thrill of her life tells us about this time when this person came in without Clue One what they wanted, and Omigd it was so Kewl to be able to hold their hand and guide them to whatever overpriced piece of junk the store was trying to pawn off on customers that week, and gosh you should have seen the smile on the customer's face when they walked out the door, it was priceless and it's the reason Life is Still Worth Living.
The most recent one I've seen uses Mother's Day as an excuse to drown us in Good Customer Service Treacle. "This kid came into the store, looking for something for his Mom for Mother's Day, and he knew he didn't want to get just anything, or a video game, but he didn't have a lot of money to spend, so I showed him this really neat keychain, and he could put images of himself with his mom (aside: raise your hands if you carry around downloadable images of yourself with your mom. Anybody? Anybody?) and his mom would look at it and say 'wow, this kid really loves me!'"
As if we arent' already drowning in sickly syrup already, the commercial ends with the Deleriously Happy Employee gurgling "we all think about our moms." Um, ok. Good "point."
Look, it's not that this commercial is so bad- it really isn't. It's just that I've been in a lot of Best Buy stores over the years, and I've never been approached by anyone who looks like my satisfaction as a customer is the Most Important Thing to Them Ever. More often than not, all the Best Buy employees I encounter in a store are forever jabbering away on their Blackberries (I heard one of them tell the person on the other end- LOUDLY- how bad it sucked to work at Best Buy, don't apply here, the manager is a FUCKTARD and he won't give me Saturday off the MFing MFer....) or playing the video games set up to entice CUSTOMERS to buy the latest Brain-Dead Delay Your Adulthood Pointless Toy being peddled to the thirtysomething crowd. The most I have ever gotten out of a Best Buy employee is "you need anything?" or "finding everything ok?" And that's actually all right- I don't want advice from people who I'm sure know which new cell phone is the Must Have Phone of the Month but who probably can't tell a toaster from a clock radio, anyway.
So how about a little honesty, Best Buy? Let's have a commercial in which an employee rags about how she had to stop texting her BFF for five minutes to help some lame-ass loser pick out
a vacuum, like she knows anything vacuums I mean they are all the same, like, right? And then this idiot even asked about a warranty, and I had to go in the back and get Bob the manager 'cause he's like middle-aged and he knows about shit like that. And then you know what happened, Bob rang up the sale under his code key so I didn't even get credit for the sale even after I stopped texting to help and all, the prick.
I'd appreciate that commercial. Because just once, I'd like to be able to watch a commercial and say to myself "that is so what really happens. I am so there."
Friday, May 8, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
The Lowest Common Denominator: E Trade's Smartass Baby
For some reason, ETrade thought it would be a good idea to present a YouTube-quality commercial featuring a wildly gesturing baby staring into the camera as a bad voice-over feeds us nasty snark about the baby's "golf partner" being unable to follow the rules of investing, or golf, or both, or something.
Look, when you use a baby to sell a product- ANY product, you've totally run out of ideas. You are willing to let some dipshit parents exploit their kids in commercials for products real babies couldn't give a damn about or even begin to understand. But because we are a nation of mouth-breathing knuckle-draggers who think exploding cars and fart jokes are FRICKING AWESOME, E-Trade can shovel out this slop and we'll eat it up and ask for more.
Of course, the "baby" is a total ass, trashing his (father's?) portfolio management skills and golf game, suggesting that if he doesn't get his act together the baby will have to "bail him out" in the future. When the pathetic adult apologizes to this rude creep, the baby responds "read the rule book, Shankasaurus."
Oh, WTF-ever, E-Trade. Some of us who have achieved Upright Status have noticed that babies aren't automatically funny just because they are in commercials using dubbed voices. And some of us who have learned to chew gum and walk at the same time long ago got tired of the "smartass kid disses dad" motif. I hope dad leaves the little brat in the locker room- find your way out of that highchair all by yourself, you know it all little prick.
Actually, "Lowest Common Denominator" is not completely accurate- there's a way E-Trade can sink lower. It can use a chimp. And I suspect those commercials are not that far off.
Look, when you use a baby to sell a product- ANY product, you've totally run out of ideas. You are willing to let some dipshit parents exploit their kids in commercials for products real babies couldn't give a damn about or even begin to understand. But because we are a nation of mouth-breathing knuckle-draggers who think exploding cars and fart jokes are FRICKING AWESOME, E-Trade can shovel out this slop and we'll eat it up and ask for more.
Of course, the "baby" is a total ass, trashing his (father's?) portfolio management skills and golf game, suggesting that if he doesn't get his act together the baby will have to "bail him out" in the future. When the pathetic adult apologizes to this rude creep, the baby responds "read the rule book, Shankasaurus."
Oh, WTF-ever, E-Trade. Some of us who have achieved Upright Status have noticed that babies aren't automatically funny just because they are in commercials using dubbed voices. And some of us who have learned to chew gum and walk at the same time long ago got tired of the "smartass kid disses dad" motif. I hope dad leaves the little brat in the locker room- find your way out of that highchair all by yourself, you know it all little prick.
Actually, "Lowest Common Denominator" is not completely accurate- there's a way E-Trade can sink lower. It can use a chimp. And I suspect those commercials are not that far off.
John Commuta's "Debt to Wealth Program"- and if you order now, you get a free bag of magic beans!
I'm stuck on the Beltway, and I hear another one of these commercials that seems to provide roughly 90 percent of XM Radio's advertising revenue- a commercial that promises to sell you a "system" that will eliminate your debt, no matter how big it is, in roughly the time it takes me to travel from New Hampshire Avenue to Rockville to pick up the bagels:
"I had a thirty-year mortgage, and I make $30,000 a year. Just using the money I make already, I paid off my entire mortgage in a year and a half, and now I own my house free and clear."
Come on! What was your mortgage on, a used piano crate? Even the most MODEST of 30-year mortgages have to start with a balance of half a million dollars or so. In my area, more like $1 million and up. People in this area who make $30 Gs a year don't take out thirty-year mortgages- they have a hard enough time finding an affordable APARTMENT. But we are supposed to believe that John Commuta can manage your finances in such a way that $45,000 in salary paid out over a year and a half can be used to completely pay off a THIRTY YEAR MORTGAGE??
I understand that in advertising, as in politics, Big Lies are more successful than small ones, because many consumers, upon hearing a Big Lie, assume that it MUST be true because no one would have the audacity to tell such a whopper. I think that's what John Commuta is going for here- a claim that "we can manage your salary to pay down your mortgage in half the time" might elicit a shrug and a "yeah, right." A claim that "We can get your mortgage PAID OFF in EIGHTEEN MONTHS!" causes people to think "wow, it sounds unbelievable, so it must be true." Never mind that the math simply doesn't work.
Who falls for this crap? Desperate people. Worried people. People on the verge of losing their homes. People buried with credit card debt.
People ripe to be taken by scumbag scam artists like John Commuta, who have figured out that outrageous claims bring in more revenue than reasonable ones, especially during bad economic times. "Debt to Wealth" means YOUR debt becomes HIS wealth.
You're better off selling your cow for a bag of beans. At least, you can eat the beans.
"I had a thirty-year mortgage, and I make $30,000 a year. Just using the money I make already, I paid off my entire mortgage in a year and a half, and now I own my house free and clear."
Come on! What was your mortgage on, a used piano crate? Even the most MODEST of 30-year mortgages have to start with a balance of half a million dollars or so. In my area, more like $1 million and up. People in this area who make $30 Gs a year don't take out thirty-year mortgages- they have a hard enough time finding an affordable APARTMENT. But we are supposed to believe that John Commuta can manage your finances in such a way that $45,000 in salary paid out over a year and a half can be used to completely pay off a THIRTY YEAR MORTGAGE??
I understand that in advertising, as in politics, Big Lies are more successful than small ones, because many consumers, upon hearing a Big Lie, assume that it MUST be true because no one would have the audacity to tell such a whopper. I think that's what John Commuta is going for here- a claim that "we can manage your salary to pay down your mortgage in half the time" might elicit a shrug and a "yeah, right." A claim that "We can get your mortgage PAID OFF in EIGHTEEN MONTHS!" causes people to think "wow, it sounds unbelievable, so it must be true." Never mind that the math simply doesn't work.
Who falls for this crap? Desperate people. Worried people. People on the verge of losing their homes. People buried with credit card debt.
People ripe to be taken by scumbag scam artists like John Commuta, who have figured out that outrageous claims bring in more revenue than reasonable ones, especially during bad economic times. "Debt to Wealth" means YOUR debt becomes HIS wealth.
You're better off selling your cow for a bag of beans. At least, you can eat the beans.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Now I feel old. And disgusted.
What happened?
One day I was in High School, and Jamie Lee Curtis was dropping jaws all over the country by stripping off a supertight top and giving us an unforgettable three seconds of full frontal nudity. What we could never have guessed was hiding under her rather drab, almost Puritan coverings in Halloween and Halloween II was right there for us to enjoy for a brief moment in Trading Places. And later, we get to see her in all her bubbly, bouncy glory wearing short shorts and Pippy Longstocking pigtails- awesome.
I blink, and suddenly there's Jamie Lee Curtis again- but she's not displayed on a massive piece of canvas at the local drive-in (partially because there isn't one.) She's not even entertaining us from the downtown Cineplex-6. She's on my television set, looking thrilled as all get-out at the opportunity to tell middle-aged women about Activa, The Yogurt That Keeps You Regular.
It hits me. Hard. Jamie Lee Curtis is a Middle-Aged Woman, fit only for commercials in which she delights other middle-aged women with the News that Great-Tasting Activa can help ensure Regular Bowel Movements through some added chemical or something....ugh. Former Sex Symbol Jamie Lee Curtis, pitching yogurt. And seemingly very happy about it.
It seems almost inevitable that one day I'll see Phoebe Cates trying to sell me FiberCon and Jennifer Jason Leigh pitching for ExLax. Because it's suddenly become the mission of the advertising industry to Make Me Feel Old. Very, Very Old.
And if I feel old now, how do you think Jamie Lee Curtis will feel when she gets replaced as Activa's spokeswoman by Catherine Zeta-Jones in a year or two?
One day I was in High School, and Jamie Lee Curtis was dropping jaws all over the country by stripping off a supertight top and giving us an unforgettable three seconds of full frontal nudity. What we could never have guessed was hiding under her rather drab, almost Puritan coverings in Halloween and Halloween II was right there for us to enjoy for a brief moment in Trading Places. And later, we get to see her in all her bubbly, bouncy glory wearing short shorts and Pippy Longstocking pigtails- awesome.
I blink, and suddenly there's Jamie Lee Curtis again- but she's not displayed on a massive piece of canvas at the local drive-in (partially because there isn't one.) She's not even entertaining us from the downtown Cineplex-6. She's on my television set, looking thrilled as all get-out at the opportunity to tell middle-aged women about Activa, The Yogurt That Keeps You Regular.
It hits me. Hard. Jamie Lee Curtis is a Middle-Aged Woman, fit only for commercials in which she delights other middle-aged women with the News that Great-Tasting Activa can help ensure Regular Bowel Movements through some added chemical or something....ugh. Former Sex Symbol Jamie Lee Curtis, pitching yogurt. And seemingly very happy about it.
It seems almost inevitable that one day I'll see Phoebe Cates trying to sell me FiberCon and Jennifer Jason Leigh pitching for ExLax. Because it's suddenly become the mission of the advertising industry to Make Me Feel Old. Very, Very Old.
And if I feel old now, how do you think Jamie Lee Curtis will feel when she gets replaced as Activa's spokeswoman by Catherine Zeta-Jones in a year or two?
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Verizon bids for the Nobel Peace Prize
The founder of Toms Shoes of Los Angeles appears on the screen, handing out pairs of shoes to grateful villagers in some unnamed South American nation-- "I give away a free pair of shoes for every one that I sell." That's awesome- a great idea, and if Verizon, the makers of this commercial, can give this guy a shout out, I'm all for it.
Except...."If it wasn't for The Network, this wouldn't be possible..."
Um, What? It wouldn't be possible for you to give away shoes if not for Verizon Wireless? Why not? It seems to me that charities managed to function for many, many years before The Network came along to make Our Lives Worth Living. But now this guy is telling us that he could not give away shoes without The Network? I think an explanation is in order here.
Does he mean that he would not be able to find the people who need the shoes without The Network? That's preposterous on it's face. Or he wouldn't be able to know, on a day to day basis, how many pairs of shoes he is supposed to be giving away? That doesn't make sense, either- the number of shoes to be given away would be decided long before he left the US, because gee, those shoes have to be flown into the recipient nation, don't they? Or are we supposed to believe that this guy flies into a village, counts people who need shoes, matches that to the number of shoes he's sold, and then acts accordingly? A bit far-fetched.
I have to come to the uncomfortable conclusion that Toms Shoes is just doing a little cross-marketing with Verizon. Here's a chance for some free publicity, and all we have to do is say that Verizon is somehow vital to our work. Never mind if it makes no sense- this is exposure, and it helps us AND Verizon....
Which brings me to another point. Verizon is clearly very proud of it's "role" in "making it possible" for Toms Shoes to engage in such a noble enterprise. But other than being praised, what is VERIZON doing to help out the less than fortunate? I mean, other than sending a camera crew to show shoes being handed out. How does this big sloppy Valentine from Verizon to Verizon help make life better for anyone?
I hope Toms Shoes sees its bottom line improve based on the positive attention it gets from this commercial. I'm just sorry that, in order to get it made, we had to give such an obvious butt-kissing to Verizon, which, near as I can tell, did nothing but film the sequence and run it to improve its OWN image. How about a charitable contribution, Verizon? Because I don't think that filming someone handing you credit for HIS charity quite cuts it.
Except...."If it wasn't for The Network, this wouldn't be possible..."
Um, What? It wouldn't be possible for you to give away shoes if not for Verizon Wireless? Why not? It seems to me that charities managed to function for many, many years before The Network came along to make Our Lives Worth Living. But now this guy is telling us that he could not give away shoes without The Network? I think an explanation is in order here.
Does he mean that he would not be able to find the people who need the shoes without The Network? That's preposterous on it's face. Or he wouldn't be able to know, on a day to day basis, how many pairs of shoes he is supposed to be giving away? That doesn't make sense, either- the number of shoes to be given away would be decided long before he left the US, because gee, those shoes have to be flown into the recipient nation, don't they? Or are we supposed to believe that this guy flies into a village, counts people who need shoes, matches that to the number of shoes he's sold, and then acts accordingly? A bit far-fetched.
I have to come to the uncomfortable conclusion that Toms Shoes is just doing a little cross-marketing with Verizon. Here's a chance for some free publicity, and all we have to do is say that Verizon is somehow vital to our work. Never mind if it makes no sense- this is exposure, and it helps us AND Verizon....
Which brings me to another point. Verizon is clearly very proud of it's "role" in "making it possible" for Toms Shoes to engage in such a noble enterprise. But other than being praised, what is VERIZON doing to help out the less than fortunate? I mean, other than sending a camera crew to show shoes being handed out. How does this big sloppy Valentine from Verizon to Verizon help make life better for anyone?
I hope Toms Shoes sees its bottom line improve based on the positive attention it gets from this commercial. I'm just sorry that, in order to get it made, we had to give such an obvious butt-kissing to Verizon, which, near as I can tell, did nothing but film the sequence and run it to improve its OWN image. How about a charitable contribution, Verizon? Because I don't think that filming someone handing you credit for HIS charity quite cuts it.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
I need an App for this?
"Say you are looking for an apartment closer to college. There's an App for that. Or you need a good price on a used Geometry book. There's an App for that."
Well, thank goodness. Because we all know how hard it is to find an apartment these days. It's not like the local newspaper provides a list of available apartments for rent (wouldn't it be awesome if it did? Why hasn't anyone ever thought of this??) or there are any stores which sell books or even places where you can just borrow books for free ( I have so many great ideas, why don't I run this country??)
Seriously, though, it's a damn good thing that once you've dropped $300 on a gaudy "look what I've got" conversation piece/social contact substitute and another monthly fee for an "App" (is there something wrong with the word "Application?" Are we ultimately doomed to reducing the English language to "words" that are easier to spell and text? OMIGD tht wld suk lol) you can save four bucks on a used Geometry book.
And why did you need the $300 phone and Additional Fee Required "App?" So you could find an apartment and a used Geometry book? Really? Did that line work on your parents, or the stupid little voice that occasionally replaces your brain in the reasoning process?
I also like the commercial where the guy shakes his phone so it can display, like the screen of a one-armed bandit in Vegas, restaurants in the area. I have yet to see anyone actually shaking their phones like that, but I promise to do my best not to beat that person senseless when I do.
Seriously, people who think they need these phones to do things that were mysteriously both possible and rather easy before these electronic security blankets came along aren't what I'd call especially bright. But I feel the same way about the morons I encounter on a regular basis who suddenly can't drive fifteen feet without one of these things attached to their faces, or take a walk in the park with their kids without blathering about nothing to whoever is Not Actually There At The Moment. These idiots need therapy.
Is there an App for that?
Well, thank goodness. Because we all know how hard it is to find an apartment these days. It's not like the local newspaper provides a list of available apartments for rent (wouldn't it be awesome if it did? Why hasn't anyone ever thought of this??) or there are any stores which sell books or even places where you can just borrow books for free ( I have so many great ideas, why don't I run this country??)
Seriously, though, it's a damn good thing that once you've dropped $300 on a gaudy "look what I've got" conversation piece/social contact substitute and another monthly fee for an "App" (is there something wrong with the word "Application?" Are we ultimately doomed to reducing the English language to "words" that are easier to spell and text? OMIGD tht wld suk lol) you can save four bucks on a used Geometry book.
And why did you need the $300 phone and Additional Fee Required "App?" So you could find an apartment and a used Geometry book? Really? Did that line work on your parents, or the stupid little voice that occasionally replaces your brain in the reasoning process?
I also like the commercial where the guy shakes his phone so it can display, like the screen of a one-armed bandit in Vegas, restaurants in the area. I have yet to see anyone actually shaking their phones like that, but I promise to do my best not to beat that person senseless when I do.
Seriously, people who think they need these phones to do things that were mysteriously both possible and rather easy before these electronic security blankets came along aren't what I'd call especially bright. But I feel the same way about the morons I encounter on a regular basis who suddenly can't drive fifteen feet without one of these things attached to their faces, or take a walk in the park with their kids without blathering about nothing to whoever is Not Actually There At The Moment. These idiots need therapy.
Is there an App for that?
Friday, April 17, 2009
Magic Johnson Is Shameless
"A big-screen tv. Stylish furniture. A bedroom set."
Why is Magic Johnson doing inventory? Because "Rent A Centers help you bring your dreams within reach."
Sheeesh, didn't you make enough money in your NBA days, Magic? What compelled you to sign up to be a shill for Rent-A-Center?
First of all, there's simply no way that you've ever walked into a Rent-A-Center. Magic Johnson doesn't patronize stores that specialize in renting crappy furniture to people with terrible credit who are so desperate to deny their own financial situations that they are willing to sign contracts obligating them to pay $80 a week for three years for a 60-inch color tv or (as I read in a Rip-Off Report post, $33 a week for 63 weeks for a Playstation 3.) Magic Johnson doesn't rent bedroom sets that have been rented by five families previous. Magic Johnson doesn't rent.
And what are these "dreams" that Rent-A-Center promises to bring people closer to? The dream of owning nice things? Um, no. More like the dream of being able to pretend to own nice things, while you sink further into debt. The dream of being admired by your neighbors who didn't notice the Rent-A-Center truck in your driveway, and hopefully wont' notice the RAC collectors banging on your door when you are late making that $28 weekly payment for the recliner with the built-in fridge you "had" to have, or the $42 weekly gouging you decided to stop making because you woke up one day and wondered why you had already shelled out $800 for a microwave that retails for $169 at Best Buy. Some dreams.
Hey, Magic- I don't think people really "dream" of paying loanshark-worthy interest rates for junk they will never even own. Why you decided you needed an extra paycheck enough to lend your good name to these bloodsuckers is really beyond me.
What's next? Michael Jordan for Payday Loans?
Why is Magic Johnson doing inventory? Because "Rent A Centers help you bring your dreams within reach."
Sheeesh, didn't you make enough money in your NBA days, Magic? What compelled you to sign up to be a shill for Rent-A-Center?
First of all, there's simply no way that you've ever walked into a Rent-A-Center. Magic Johnson doesn't patronize stores that specialize in renting crappy furniture to people with terrible credit who are so desperate to deny their own financial situations that they are willing to sign contracts obligating them to pay $80 a week for three years for a 60-inch color tv or (as I read in a Rip-Off Report post, $33 a week for 63 weeks for a Playstation 3.) Magic Johnson doesn't rent bedroom sets that have been rented by five families previous. Magic Johnson doesn't rent.
And what are these "dreams" that Rent-A-Center promises to bring people closer to? The dream of owning nice things? Um, no. More like the dream of being able to pretend to own nice things, while you sink further into debt. The dream of being admired by your neighbors who didn't notice the Rent-A-Center truck in your driveway, and hopefully wont' notice the RAC collectors banging on your door when you are late making that $28 weekly payment for the recliner with the built-in fridge you "had" to have, or the $42 weekly gouging you decided to stop making because you woke up one day and wondered why you had already shelled out $800 for a microwave that retails for $169 at Best Buy. Some dreams.
Hey, Magic- I don't think people really "dream" of paying loanshark-worthy interest rates for junk they will never even own. Why you decided you needed an extra paycheck enough to lend your good name to these bloodsuckers is really beyond me.
What's next? Michael Jordan for Payday Loans?
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