The Commercial World We Live In
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Geico Caveman commercials - all of them!
Be A Pepper
Life cereal: Mikey likes it!
Max Headroom Coke Commercial
A Hallmark Christmas Eve
Your Brain On Drugs PSA
Schoolhouse Rock: Adjectives
Oscar Mayer: 1973
Pepsi: "Godfather Girl"
Original Budweiser frogs
"Where's the beef?"
70s Hippie Coke commercial
One of my favorites
Oscar Meyer Wiener song (1965)
One of everyone's favorite - just admit it!
Do Commercials Work?
Are you influenced by the commercials you see? I know I'm not, and I think most people would say the same thing. But, they must be working on somebody or they wouldn't keep making them. Business 101: If it doesn't get results, stop doing it - if it does get results, do it more. Right? It's the selling of commercial time which pays the stars of your favorite sitcoms and dramas all those millions of dollars per episode. The more viewers, the higher the cost of 30 seconds, more or less, of commercial air time. Would those CEOs be shelling out all those millions if they knew they weren't going to make it back, plus a whole lot more? No, they wouldn't. They may be greedy, unscrupulous and morally devoid, but stupid, they're not.
And, do stupid, annoying commercials work just as well, or better, than the smart, funny commercials we enjoy? Remember "Adee do!"? A commercial for a California plumbing service. Truly obnoxious. Everyone hated it. But I remember it... all these years later. But, my purchasing decisions are not based on commercials - good or bad. An ad may alert me to a new product or service I'd been looking for anyway, in which case I'll check out said brand further, but it does not inspire me to buy a product out of the blue. The exception, of course, is pizza. If I'm hungry, a pizza commercial will inspire to get a pizza, but not necessarily that pizza. Typically, I'll go for the closest delivery place.
There are now shows all about commercials: banned commercials, international commercials, sexy commercials, kids in commercials, animals in commercials, commercial bloops & blunders, Commercial Award shows and commercials about shows about commercials. Whew! When a movie or drama episode airs "free of commercial interruption," it's a special event. But, is this really want we want? Without commercial breaks, when are we supposed to go pee and go run for munchies?
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Commercials Inspire Emotion
I'm very annoyed by an ad which airs repeatedly during the commercial breaks of a morning news/entertainment show I watch while going about my AM routine. The commercial is for the "Key of David" show with Gerald Flurry. I do not like religion, but would be able to tolerate this 20 second bit of assault if it were not for the announcer, who insults my intelligence with, "The Key of David, making today's headlines understandable and relevant to you in the clear light of bible prophecy."
Excuse me! Are you telling me I'm too stupid to understand today's headlines and how they affect me without you first putting a religious spin on them?: Oh! Now I get it. Once you twisted it to your agenda, it all became clear! Thank you, Gerald Flurry, for saving me from having to think for myself! Praise the Lord!!! If I wanted to hear a religiously-biased and edited version of current events, I'd watch Fox News, thank you very much.
This commercial incites anger in me, and I hate that it has that power over me, but a Hallmark ad is a sure tear-jerker... and I don't mind that so much. You show me someone who doesn't get a lump in his throat while watching a Hallmark Christmas, or Mother's Day, or Father's Day commercial, and I'll show you a heartless bastard. And how often does a commercial come on and you, or someone else, or everyone, go "Oh, I love this commercial!" And, for a very short time, commercials sought to educate and uplift us as a society. Remember PSAs and -I loved these!- Schoolhouse Rock?
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The first television advertisement, broadcast in New York on July 1, 1941, was a 20 second Bulova Watch spot that aired before a baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies. The cost was $9. In 2008 the average cost for a 30 second spot during the Super Bowl broadcast was $2.7 million.
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A Commercial Society
Whether TV ads work or not, there's no denying that we, as well as many other countries, are a commercial society. Commercial slogans are embedded into our very psyche:
- "Ring around the collar! Ring around the collar!"
- "Oh, I'd love to be an Oscar Meyer wiener..."
- "Let's get mikey, he won't like it. He hates everything."
- "Bud - weis - er."
- "I drink Dr.Pepper and I'm proud..."featuring a young David Naughton of "An American Werewolf in London"
- "This is your brain on drugs."
- "Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids."
- "Where's the beef!?"
- "N-E-S-T-L-E-S, Nestles makes the very best... choc - lat."
- "Only you can prevent forest fires."
- "Clap-on, clap-off... the clapper."
- "Plop-plop, fizz-fizz, oh, what a relief it is."
- "Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese..."
- "It's Shake n' Bake, an' I helped!"
- "They're after me Lucky charms!!"
- "It's two, two, two mints in one."
- "Big G, little o. Go, with Cheerios!"
- "It's Miller time!!"
- "Yo quiero Taco Bell!"
- "Every kiss begins with Kay..." (Boy, this Kay chick really gets around!)
- "Expedia!... Dot - com!"
- "F-R-E-E that spells Free - Credit Report dot com, baby."
So, why wouldn't those kids let the Rabbit have any Trix? He dearly loved this cereal, it was the only thing in the world he wanted, but they wouldn't give him any! Hateful little brats!. There was a write-in promotional contest asking people to vote on whether the Rabbit should have Trix or not. I'm happy to say, the Rabbit won. And on the same subject, what was with those kids always trying to steal the Leprechaun's Lucky Charms? I think these were the same kids who were harassing the Rabbit - or possibly an East Coast chapter of the same gang.
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Pepsi has been hiring big-name stars to endorse its products since the eighties: Michael Jackson (the infamous hair-on-fire mishap), Britney Spears, David Beckham, Christina Aguilera, Jackie Chan, Pink, Justin Timberlake, Madonna, Dave Chappelle, Jimmy Fallon, The Spice Girls, Cindy Crawford.... and many more, with many more to come, I'm sure.
Commercials are as much a part of our society as our faded, stone-washed, acid-washed, pre-shrunk, shredded, cut-off, tight, baggy, distressed Levi's. Ever-changing, but always there. Always cool and always reflecting the signs of the times.
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Constant Walker now writes under Artisan Walker
The E*TRADE baby. I LOVE this commercial!
Story and layout by: LemonadeMultimedia
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CommentsLoading...
Thanks Steph. This was a totally unplanned it. It just rolled out and the commercials were easy to find. A blast!
I loved this!! I, too, don't buy things based on commercial...or do i? hard to measure the subliminal...
I love/hate most commercials...hated the Head On; but can't get it out of my mind; loved "where's the beef" and do you remember "the rubber band man?" the guy with bushy hair going thru the office giving out supplies...OfficeMax? so much was going on in the background...and you bounced from the energy in that commercial.
and the foster kids always echoed "get Mikey, he'll eat anything." when they were faced with a new food they weren't sure about. LOL
and I am now in love with the little gecko - cute little critter..
well done, Constant and I'm ready for another recipe! =)
Hi Marisue. You read and replied even when sleepy? What a trooper!
I do remember "Rubberband Man" - a Spinners song, right? I had a tough time choosing which Geico spokes-character video to include: Gekko or caveman. I choose the caveman video because it had all of them on it.
PS: I don't have any more recipes in my head right now. Sorry.
I grew up in NY and there was a commercial when I was growing up for a store called Crazy Eddie's. A man would start hysterically screaming all the virtures of Crazy Eddie's and end the commercial all red in the face and fully spent and exasperatingly saying Crazy Eddie's prices are insane. After all these years I remember it clear as day. I don't know if it was a regional commercial because it was in NY but does anyone else remember that one?
Advertising works for something, you are right, they wouldn't keep doing it.
Interesting hub! I remember almost every commercial I have ever seen, which is funny because twenty years since I saw one I can remember what I was doing during that time period.
Francetales, good to hear from you. I've heard of Crazy Eddie's but don't think I've seen the commercial. But, isn't it funny how you still remember it?
SweetiePie. I know. They're like songs you heard growing up. Hearing a certain one will take you back to that time. It makes sense, 'cause they were repeated as often as hit songs. Thanks for reading.
Constant Walker,
Great idea for a hub! Commercials often reflect the values and apirations of the time in which they were produced. On seeing your list I was taken back to my youth. Some other good ones are the "I can't believe I ate the whole thing" (Alka Seltzer) , the Benson and Hedges commercials, "It takes two hands to handle a whopper" (Burger King), and the "Frito Bandito" (Frito Lay).
Best Regards,
Jeff
Oh ya! There are so many... and that reminds me of the Taco Bell Chihuahua? I can't wait to see how many others people will remember.
Commercials are one of my favorite parts of viewing television. Sometimes the local commercials are the strangest. For those out near LA, Cal Worthington used to be a car dealer who rode hippos, stunt planes and did many other crazy stunts.
In Chicago I still remember an old ad for the Chicago Cubs which told about how great it was to have a family day out, enjoy a picnic, and, oh, by the way, they also play basegball there!
Then there was that one which stated that because Nuclear Power was going to be so cheap they would take the electric meters off the houses. An entire years' worth of electricity would be "just pennies a day!"
And then there was Linden Larouche, a Libertarian politician running for president from his jail cell, who promised that one of his campaign front-burner issues was to change the musical tuning of A 440cps back to A 332cps, as it was in Verdi's time.
Jeff, I remember Cal Worthington very well. He was hilarious. Wasn't he one of the front-runners out the stereotypical "zany car dealer"?
I AGREE WITH YOU. IF THE COMMERCIAL WORKS THEN YOU SHOULD CONTINUE IT. BUT IT SHOULD BE FRESH, WITH GREAT IDEAS THAT STAYS ON THE MIND OF THE COSTUMERS. SOME OF THE COMERSIALS ANNOYS US BUT IT IS A WAY OF ADVERSTISEMENT THAT WILL MAKE THE CONSUMER REMEMBER.
Chickenstar, because you typed this comment in all caps, the Hub system thought it was SPAM.
My favorite comercial at the moment would have to be the Free Credit Report. com commercials. They are always so catchy and the songs get stuck in my head. I also love ones for orbitz gum. I to hate the Jerry Falwel interuptions. I don't need you to tell me what is going on.
That's right! I forgot about those FreeCreditReport commercials. Those are great. I might have to add one to this hub... Did you know that guy's a French Canadian actor and he's just lip-syncing? We checked it out.
Thanks for reading, Agro.
Cal Worthington - ah, yes - flashy, home-made commercials! I do believe you are correct, Constant - they did use his commercials as a basis for later comedy. Also, a Cal Worthington commercial appeared as background sound in a detective-genre movie, but I don't remember which one.
My favorite stupid commercial was one that asked: "Are you taking medicine for a headache that you don't need?"
To which I replied, 'who needs a headache?' I actually wrote to the company to point out their grammatic error, but being a kid at the time, they ignored me.
Good for you. I've written a few letters because of commercials that are just too stupid to be ignored. But, they probably like that... even bad response is better than none.
Wow Walker, what a page. Great job, seriously I'm impressed, thumbs up to you!
Thank you very much, Listessa. It was fun.
Neat Hub. My son loves commercials(he is 18 months).
I love the E-Trade baby commercials, and free credit report. Cannot stand the Geicko caveman.
-Cherish, thanks for reading. I love them, too - depending on the commercial, of course. Sometimes I hate 'em. I agree, the E-TRADE baby and Free Credit ads are the fun ones right now. I thought the Cavemen were great when they first came out, then it just soured. Trying to turn it into a sitcom certainly didn't help.
Wow, this is an awesome hub. Sorry, my exclamation mark isn't working right now, or there would be one there.
Ok, this will tell you my age, but let's see:
Chia pets, My Buddy/Kid Sister, "Who's that kid with the Oreo cookie?", Pillsbury doughboy (the older ones), all the sugar cereal ads, My Little Pony, Folger's.
Radio commercials:
Les Schwab tires (love the song), the annoying guy for Dick Hannah car dealerships who always yells (hate him and turn off the radio during his commercials), the Clear internet ones (both tv and radio; hate them and turn them off).
Just saw that the Slowskys are underneath the comments. Love their commercials.
Oh, and to the person who posted about not liking the cereal ads during cartoons: Did you know that cartoons originally were created to sell sugar cereal, and most cartoon characters actually hawked the products during their shows? Do a search for the origins of the Flintstones/Pebbles cereal.
Your age? I'd say we're about the same age ... ?
I didn't know that about cartoons being created to sell sugar cereal. A great piece of trivia there!
You're right, we're about the same age, but there's people older and younger who are on HubPages so that's why I wrote that.
Yep, membership on HP is very universal.
I love the pepsie advert! LOL
Great hub! Keep them coming!
Thanks, typep.
Constant Walker,
Interesting and well thought out Hub! As a new member to HubPages, I just came across your Hub after submitting my first one, which was about Coke and Pepsi Commercials. I plan on Hubbing a lot more about other TV Commercials and just wanted to say that I enjoyed your hub.
Thank you, FA, and welcome to HP.
where can I find the it's shake and bake and I helped?
I am looking for the classic tv commercial it's shake and bake and I helped.
That one became a catch phrase for a while! The closest I was able to find were these YouTubes, but none of them the one you're looking for: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=shake+
I was talking about this subject the other day. I do think that if people see something in a commerical they automatically believe it. If you see something enough you will eventually start to believe it. Like the new 'Corn Sugar' commercial that portrays high fructose corn syrup as 'natural as sugar is'. The commercial is calming and wholesome - and full of crap...but unfortunately many people will be swayed by this one commercial alone and hold this belief until another ad switches their belief to something different. So much to say on this subject...it's crazy!
I think only those easily swayed or manipulated (the weak-minded) "automatically believe it." However,you happen to be right, unfortunately, becuase a disturbingly large portion of human beings DO believe whatever they see in a commercial. The fact that so many of them are successful (regarding sales) proves this.
Thanks for reading and giving your input.
PS: Is "Attention Getter" true, or just wishful thinking?
"And on the same subject, what was with those kids always trying to steal the Leprechaun's Lucky Charms? I think these were the same kids who were harassing the Rabbit - or possibly an East Coast chapter of the same gang."
ROTFLMAO my sentiments exactly!
Thanks, Maggie. I was giggling, too.
The Slowskys... on the art... of... Slow
stephhicks68 Level 7 Commenter 4 years ago
Yeah, and what about "Head-On?" LOL! The thing I hate most is the marketing to little kids during cartoons. Its almost not worth letting my children watch TV at all. I have to hear all about this toy or that sugary cereal. Arrgh! Thanks for a great HUB.