MickeyUse Only As Directed
While the world of television is full of smiling, happy people, the happiest place in TV has to be the ads. We see people enjoying satisfied contentment all the way to orgasmic bliss in virtually every commercial break. Except for the occasional schmuck who tries to help the terrorists win by using the dreaded "other" brand, most people in the ads smile like they're auditioning to play the Joker in the next Batman flick.
The smilingest person in ads today is Smiling Bob, the spokesmodel for the "male-enhancement" pill they're hawking. Bob has obviously traveled the world studying smiling-arts techniques from the ancient Masters- he literally could not smile any wider without the top of his head coming off. Of course they could make the point a lot better by concentrating on his wife's, but somehow she always looks embarrassed when the camera is on her. Maybe she knows Bob's smile is the result of taking a lot of pills; judging from his smile he can't be suffering from too much blood in his drugstream.
Evidence for illegal drug use is rampant in most commercials. Strangers wander in off the street into your kitchen or living room, and you debate the merit of various brands instead of calling 9-1-1. Inanimate objects develop faces and even celebrity voices in an effort to convince us to buy them. "My accountant got me $200,000 in the hole with the IRS, so I'm going to keep taking advice from him on how to get out."
Of course the legal drugs being advertised lately aren't a lot safer than the heroin cut with rat poison you can buy on the street corner at 2:00am. I saw one ad for an anti-depressant pill who's side effects include thoughts of suicide- just what a depressed person needs! Sleeping pills tend to list insomnia as possible side effects, along with the standard boilerplate about not operating heavy equipment while asleep. My favorite one was a pill who's possible side effects included heart attacks and potentially lethal heart complications, but "most patients found these side effects to be minor."
Then there are the products that simply can't be shown in use on TV. I can understand why toilet tissue and tampons are advertised on the basis of their absorbency, but I am curious about why it's invariably a blue liquid being used for the demonstration. Are they faking it with a chromakey system? If you have blue liquid leaking from your nether regions, your brand of toilet paper or tampons isn't anywhere near your Top Ten List Of Things To Worry About.
But the people on the screen seem happy enough about how much blue liquid their products are absorbing. Then again, they'd be just as happy if their antacid pill gave them heartburn as a side effect. Maybe that's part of the reason for the blue liquid demonstrations- the ad executives are afraid the actresses would get too happy demonstrating the Gentle Glide Applicator in action...
The smilingest person in ads today is Smiling Bob, the spokesmodel for the "male-enhancement" pill they're hawking. Bob has obviously traveled the world studying smiling-arts techniques from the ancient Masters- he literally could not smile any wider without the top of his head coming off. Of course they could make the point a lot better by concentrating on his wife's, but somehow she always looks embarrassed when the camera is on her. Maybe she knows Bob's smile is the result of taking a lot of pills; judging from his smile he can't be suffering from too much blood in his drugstream.
Evidence for illegal drug use is rampant in most commercials. Strangers wander in off the street into your kitchen or living room, and you debate the merit of various brands instead of calling 9-1-1. Inanimate objects develop faces and even celebrity voices in an effort to convince us to buy them. "My accountant got me $200,000 in the hole with the IRS, so I'm going to keep taking advice from him on how to get out."
Of course the legal drugs being advertised lately aren't a lot safer than the heroin cut with rat poison you can buy on the street corner at 2:00am. I saw one ad for an anti-depressant pill who's side effects include thoughts of suicide- just what a depressed person needs! Sleeping pills tend to list insomnia as possible side effects, along with the standard boilerplate about not operating heavy equipment while asleep. My favorite one was a pill who's possible side effects included heart attacks and potentially lethal heart complications, but "most patients found these side effects to be minor."
Then there are the products that simply can't be shown in use on TV. I can understand why toilet tissue and tampons are advertised on the basis of their absorbency, but I am curious about why it's invariably a blue liquid being used for the demonstration. Are they faking it with a chromakey system? If you have blue liquid leaking from your nether regions, your brand of toilet paper or tampons isn't anywhere near your Top Ten List Of Things To Worry About.
But the people on the screen seem happy enough about how much blue liquid their products are absorbing. Then again, they'd be just as happy if their antacid pill gave them heartburn as a side effect. Maybe that's part of the reason for the blue liquid demonstrations- the ad executives are afraid the actresses would get too happy demonstrating the Gentle Glide Applicator in action...
Last time I was home in the USA, I was freaked out by the shift in advertising. I've been living abroad for the last 7 years and manage to get back there almost yearly.
The pharmaceutical co's are out of control, I can't believe people are buying this sh!t. Apologies for the expletive, but sometimes, it needs to be said.
LaurenD
I'm still not sure what the deal is with advertising prescription meds; you still need a doctor to prescribe it. I'm not going to pay good money for a doctor to ask me what I should be taking. If he needs medical advice from someone who's total medical training was a Boy Scout first-aid merit badge many years ago then I really need another doctor!!