Sunday, April 3, 2011

Invasion of the Privacy Law

If you have been watching any TV lately, you may have been seeing some strange commercials. Some do not make any sense at all. Some border on the line between what is acceptable and what is not. I have been taking note of the ones that are what I consider some of the biggest offenders.



The one that got me started was the one with the wife holding onto a package of toilet paper. She is saying that it has made such a difference in her life and that her husband is using it right now. Just then he opens the door (obviously the bathroom) and saying something like I feel great and we are going out dancing tonight. What kind of picture does that place in your mind?


Absolutely stupid is the 5 Hr. Energy drink. Guy wakes up to his ALARM CLOCK which he obviously set the night before and looks at it and says, Geez, I have to be at the office in only 20 minutes. No time for coffee. So he swigs down this little bottle of caffeine (tho if fact be known, it contains less than coffee) and thus hurried on to work saying “No hassle wait to get to work.” Now why would he SET the alarm so that he would only have 20 min to get to work?


We all have been bombarded with all the sex dysfunctional remedies available If you don’t mind having one of your bodily parts expand for too long or go blind or deaf, this is the product for you. And what’s with the two bathtubs in the middle of the woods? I looked it up on Bing and there were many comments on the why of the two bathtubs. And some are pretty funny but I dasn’t quote them here.


Charmin has come out with new ads too. Woman shown caressing a package of toilet paper, the ending line being “Enjoy the go”.


And TV isn’t the only offender. Why, for instance, did they name the family in the movie THE LITTLE FOCKERS ? Which reminds me of when I was teaching, I had several students with the German name Fochs and every time I had to call roll, I would pronounce the first name loudly and practically swallow the last because I didn’t want to say it.



Why is there such a need to be so explicit nowadays and why do we have to hear about what used to be considered private matters? And so often are they shown. Am I showing my age by finding these ads irritating? Don’t answer that!

16 comments:

Cheryl said...

Hi Bernie, I'm back! I was working for 3 months - long hours and 7 days a week so no time for blogging but I have just posted. Can't tell you that ads make anymore sense in Australia! Glad to know you're still here for me to enjoy!

June said...

It's all marketing.
The more outrageous, the more memorable.
And here you are writing about them, and we all know the products you mean, so those ads, and the people who created them, have done their job, haven't they?

The Book Nut said...

I fully agree with you!

We did away with our outside TV service a long time ago and only watch DVDs now. It is nice to be free of all that senseless advertising. I am still bombarded by it at work though so I know the ones you mean.

In my opinion, these companies could do away with their enormous advertising budgets and just offer us the best price they can and they would do much better! Instead, they raise the price astronomically and then spend millions to try to make us want to spend that much! Warped logic if you ask me!

Ladybird World Mother said...

So agree Bernie! Endless adverts on stuff I just DONT want to think about, let alone SEE. Flipping toilet paper. Its such a relief when we turn on the BBC where there is no advertising (cant remember where you live) and one can sit back and know there will be no bombardment of adverts about ANYTHING lavatorial. Heaven. xx

Anita said...

A while back, I wrote a post called "TV Commercials." I just went back to look at it, and the comments, and there was yours.

I see that we still share similar feelings on the subject. Even though I'm 30or so years behind you, I guess I'm showing my age, too. :)

This year, I have been slowly weaning myself and my children away from television. Gettin' kinda tired of people telling me what to think, what to buy, and how to feel.

Not giving it up entirely, because there are quality shows still out there, both intellectual and/or entertaining, but the "automatically turning on the TV" is becoming a thing of the past.

Thank you Bernie.

Bernie said...

Bernie, it's the commercials that give the side effects of death or suicidal thoughts that I can't believe. Who would even consider a pill that would make one feel this way....esssssh!
Hope you are well my friend....Hugs

yaya said...

You are not showing your age..you're showing your intelligence. I'm with you all the way and frankly, I was confused by the bathtubs, but I really don't care to know the whys of it!

becky said...

Well, Bernie,
I am answering the question you said not to answer. I'm 43, and guess what? I think not only are the the commercials often offensive, explicit & just plain dumb, but lots of the programming, too. Much of the comedy these days has to be crude humor... (why?) too much sexually explicit or suggestive stuff too. I don't watch much TV anymore.
How does this mirror todays society is the question I am asking...
and I think of the families that use the tv as a babysitter, & the influence all this programming has on young minds.

Donna said...

I'm with you...and often wonder who writes these things?. Where are all the people like me who have a real sense of humor and why can't they write better ones? Same with cards...you see so many stupid cards. Even simple sentiment is better than stupid. Writers of the world....we need you!

Recycled Cottage & Garden said...

This may be part of why I quit watching TV.

Lori2shoes said...

I totally agree! I just saw that toilet paper commercial this morning and thought, what in the world? Luckily, we record most of our shows, so we can just fast forward through all of that.

egebs said...

You are definitely not showing your ag. It just means you have values. My husband and I actually watch little scheduled telivision now. We watch everything through netflix. No commercials. Love yout blog

Midlife Roadtripper said...

I saw an ad one day for toilet paper and couldn't believe the dialogue regarding getting clean. Is nothing sacred?

I'm very tired of the Viagra/Cialis ads. Like what man wouldn't want a four hour....

Deb Shucka said...

I'm pretty sure it's not your age - I agree with you completely. Although I wouldn't have been able to express my outrage with quite the wonderful humor you've used here.

We live in a world where people pay money to see a man rant and rave (Charlie Sheen) and try to make him into some sort of hero. It's sad.

Frank said...

This post is so true, there appears to be nothing that is off limits or sacred anymore. Those Viagra/Cialis ads are the absolute worse!

See you soon!!!

molliedog1 said...

I also agree! Also, that ads come on twice as loud as the show you are trying to watch. (I did heard thatcongress,yes congress is trying to pass a bill that TV commercials cannot come on louder than you have your show set at. If they do, it will be the only good thing congress has accomplished so far this session that I agre with). And the bathroom tissue about "feeling clean" PLEZ!

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