I just remembered an abandoned blog ....

I had largely forgotten about this blog. Then someone left an astoundingly inane comment on my post about a Subway ad and then I remembered another little rant left on a post about Canadian Tire.

It would appear that there are people out there who made the mistake of taking this blog seriously. Very odd indeed! Honestly, I find these reactions quite humourous. The phrase no one thinks like you do is inspiring! Thank you, Mr. Anonymous. You've assured me I've hit upon an absurd importance that must be further explored.

I have not yet decided how to move forward on this topic. But now, I think I must. For the sake of humanity I will expose myself to advertising again and complain about it vigourously. I do not do for myself, I do it for you dear readers.

This blog is on hiatus

I'm giving this blog a rest for a while. It comes down to two reasons:

1. It was a fun writing excersise, but other projects are taking up my time these days.
2. I'm now living in France and have discovered that French TV is basically unwatchable. Thus, I have no new material to add.

I'll probably take this blog up again in the future, so keep it in mind. But for now, you can stay tuned to my primary blog.

As Tigger would say,
TTFN!

Dentyne Frost Bites are apparently lethal in large doses

A couple are in the back of a cab. The girl has one Dentyne Frost Bite, the guy has a whole handful. Then the guy's head freezes and falls off and causes the girl and the driver to start screaming and nearly cause a car accident. I can only conclude that this is a warning against the dangers of consuming Dentyne Frost Bites. So, I will heed this warning and never consume this product and encourage all others to avoid the same risks.

Good move on Canadian Tire's part

Congratulations Canadian Tire! In their new ad, the Damn Smug Canadian Tire guy has finally been replaced with a character that is less annoying and someone the audience can relate to better. And the new character is a damned annoying talking dog that sniffs around the christmas presents. I think this may be the only dog that I actually hate now, but it's far more tolerable than the Canadian Tire guy.

Subway teaches bad morals

Subway's newest ad teaches that it's OK for you, their customer, to behave amorally, provided that you get you Subway sandwich in the end.

Quick ad redux:

1. Some kid sneaks out at night to get a Subway sandwich.
2. His parents admonish him for doing so and take his sandwich as punishment.
3. His parents enjoy eating the sandwich themselves.

Since the parents took the sandwich for their own enjoyment and not for the stated reason, it is a stolen sandwich. It only follows that the people at Subway think either that

1. it is just fine to steal a Subway sandwich from you own children
2. or that since their customers are already thieves, they may as well steal Subway sandwiches.

In either case, I'm not particularly impressed by what Subway thinks of their customers morals.

Damn Smug Canadian Tire Family

The Canadian Tire ads are infuriatingly close to being good advertising. They're informative. They show the products in realistic situations. They give clear pictures of the products. They show how the products are different and better from other similar products. The people in the ads are not idiots.

The Canadian Tire ads satisfy many of the criteria that should make them good advertising. But still, they annoy me immensely.

Quite simply, it all comes down to the problem that the family presenting the products are just so, so smug. They can't wait for every opportunity to show off to the neighbours. They lord their Canadian Tire product line over those around them, and to each other. And the whole time, they have creepy smiles; it's as if their lives depend on always keeping a cheery disposition.

All Canadian Tire would have to do to make their advertising good is to simply change the people presenting the product, and change them frequently. Then, I would never start to loathe the smugness of any particular product presenter.

Surprised by Nintendo

Nintendo ads are usually very good, but somewhat predictable. They're great in that they usually show lots of game play in some sort of frantic montage. They're exciting, they show the product, they're appropriate for all, but they tend to lack a humour.

Then, a few days ago, I caught their new ad. It's about a study of Nintendo addiction with rather raunchy punch line at the end: it's not entirely kid-friendly, but it is hilarious. Nice job Nintendo.

Conflicted over Tim's

Ok, I really used to enjoy going to Tim Horton's: good food, good donoughts, good soup and sandwich. But lately, their advertising has left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

It seems that all of there recent ads depict some sort of idiocy surrounding a new product. There was the one with the women and the brownies, and the guy who was late over a danish, but now there is the incessantly played ad witht he woman calling everything "steeped". That woman can only be described as moronic. Again, there's the old problem that this is what the company thinks of their customers: they think we're morons.

OK, so good coffee, but terrible advertising. I still go occasionally, but as the advertising gets worse, those visits are fewer.

And now I hate Misubishi

That Mitsubishi ad that I griped about in my last post has been on far too often. Each time now it's like getting stabbed in the ear when the morons in that ad start screaming. Before I just felt insulted by that ad, but now, I loathe the entire company.

It surprises me that they could ever publish an ad that engenders so much distaste over a product line. Now, every time I see the Mitsubishi logo (especially on the cars), I want to smash it, but that wouldn't be very nice of me.

Mitsubishi must hate people

Mitsubishi's new tv ad: People are sitting on a bus and start screaming at the Mitsubishi print ad in a newspaper.

1. Mistubishi assumes that the people interested in their cars have absolutely no capacity tounderstand social norms. After all, people screaming in public is outright rude.
   
2. The people portrayed apparently have no capacity to form a rational response to something that excites them. Therefore, Mistubishi's target audience must be idiots.
3. The screaming is so outright loud and abrasive that it is impossible to simply ignore this commercial. It's an extremely annoying noise. Whenever this ad comes on, there's a race between me grabbing the remote and the start of the screaming.

Since this ad comes on frequently during the shows that I watch, I can only assume that Mistubishi thinks that I'm part of their target audience. Thus, Mitsubishi thinks that (1) I'm incapable of behaving in a socially acceptable manner, (2) I am too stupid to respond rationally and (3) they hate me so much that I desereved to be screamed at.

This ad is so offensive that Mitsubishi cars are now on the list of products I will never buy simply because I am insulted by their advertising.