Madison Avenue Pop Culture
"I can't believe I ate the whole thing!"
"Where's the beef?"
"I've fallen and I can't get up."
"Please don't squeeze the Charmin."
Madison Avenue occasionally comes up with some commercials that are entertaining enough to become part of our pop culture. My all-time favorite commercial aired only briefly before being yanked over protests by PETA. It was for California Cheese and featured the now-famous California cows. In it, two cows awaken lazily in a barn and begin to discuss in which field they should begin their morning grazing. One cow decides it's too early to begin the day and suggests that the other cow "hit the snooze alarm." The next scene is just outside the barn door. "THWACK!" A screeching rooster zooms through the air, slamming into a wall. He gets up, shaking his head. Obviously, the cows hit the snooze alarm.
What is/was your favorite television commercial of all time?
posted by WordWhiz at 7/09/2005
24 Comments:
Clap on! Clap off! Clap on, clap off...the clapper!
Hey ladies, we'll be back to pick you up later!
My actual favorite commercial was not aired in the United States. It was in England. My really good Brit friend, Gav, sent it to me because it cracked him up so much. It's called "Carling: Frustrated." www.absoluteandy.com/tvadverts was originally where he found it to send to me. I would describe it, but my hands don't want to type five comments to get it all covered ;)
10:14 PM
OMG...there have been so many great commericals. Being Canadian, I'd have to vote for the Labatt's Blue "Out of the Blue commercials."
10:38 PM
This really shows my age butI like the one for alka-seltzer where the guy says, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing."
Then his wife says, "You ate it , Ralph."
I like the one out now that starts out like a promo for a new reality show where the couple has to live in the miniature house for a year. I was over at my Uncle's when that commercial come on. My Uncle started ranting about all these stupid reality shows. I started laughing. I had to tell him it was just a commercial. The Geico stuff at the end should have been a clue.
On the serious side, I like the Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ones that show parents and kids opting to spend time together. I don't like there theology, but I like the way they support and promote the family. (They've even been known to make me a little misty.) What can I say? I'm a wimp. :)
12:53 AM
Lejnd: Me too. Touching commercials and those story-telling country songs can bring tears to my eyes every time. (Butterfy Kisses, Momma's Christmas Shoes...they kill me!)
6:51 AM
I don't even have to think about it. It was a commercial for Snapple. This hockey player was given Snapple when he went to the penalty box. The other players saw this and began fouling each other. The penalty box was full, you hear the announcer say 'there's no one left to foul!' and the goalie trips the ref. Oh, it was great fun!
9:31 AM
The sappy Coke commercial with the kid and Mean Joe Greene was pretty good.
2:29 PM
one of my favorites right now is the one for geico where the husband is reading the newspaper and the wife comes out in a dress and she says does this make me look fat, and without even looking at her he goes youuuu betcha. i laugh my ass off every damn time.
3:59 PM
So many good ones...
Most of the Geico ones are funny and clever.
There was one for Target, I think, where this chubby kid comes to the door and says with a lisp, "Want thome bird theed? It'th for the birdth." I LOVED that kid!
Thanks for visiting via Old Hoss. He is such a funny and wonderful guy.
I enjoyed your blog very much.
I hope we continue to stop by each other's blogs.
4:01 PM
oh and theres a new commercial for diet pepsi i think it is and this really HOT guy is walking down the street and all the chicks are following him around and he has no clue and then cindy crawford or whatever her name is follows him too. that guy is FINE
4:01 PM
There is one for a mortgage company, American Mortgage??? Their motto is that they don't make snap judgments. There's a guy in a convenience store. He's talking on his cell, but has a handless thing in his ear, so you dont' see the phone. He asks, "How much did he charge you for that? What? That's way too much!" He gets to the cash register and he is still continuing his phone conversation. He says something like, "You're getting robbed man, do you hear me? You're getting robbed!" The store owners attack him, beating him to the ground. THAT's funny. (I'm a sicko, huh?)
4:14 PM
Yeah WW. That one is a hoot. I also like the ones with David Spade and that chubby guy. I love it when that chubby guy screams like a girl (no offense intended) and starts trying to jump over the cubicles.
5:07 PM
Man, there are so many great commercials that it is hard to get think of just one.
My wife and I still say "I will" like the guy who has put on ten layers of clothes because he is waiting for his reward from his credit card.
One commercial that made me tear up each time I saw it was a McDonalds commercial. It was the one with a little girl learning toreading a book with her mom and then she goes to McDonalds and reads the menu and it is braile. Then she says, "Happy Meal Please" and you can see that she is blind. Makes me want to cry each time.
5:43 PM
Aww...you guys are all such sensitive types!! It's a shame you all have women already!!!
8:49 PM
those linux ones with the freaky ass looking boy used to give me nightmares.
then again.. i can watch an episode of the southpark and get nightmares.
maybe my nightmares have nothing to do with the tv i watch.
maybe its the drugs?
11:11 PM
ugh ... "the southpark"...
damn drugs are kicking in.
i cant type for shit.
11:12 PM
Don't blame the drugs PF, it's probably those aliens. They can mess with a person's mind, you know?
11:15 PM
I love the Aflac commercials, with the shouting duck. As to the older ones; the "Where's the Beef" stands out in my mind.
11:29 PM
Right now there are two that I like: the Geico couple in the tiny house, and the credit card one where David Spade blows an airhorn into the new guy's phone/headset.
I also enjoy commercials that feature creative graphics and artwork.
1. Does anyone know what TV commercial campaign recruited more new customers and generated more sales than any other commercial in TV history? It aired in the late 60s and early 70s.
2. Does anyone know what single TV commercial generated the most response immediately after it aired? It was a Super Bowl commercial.
(I don't wanna hear Janet Jackson; that's not what I meant by 'aired.')
1:12 AM
Paul: I don't know the answer to your #1 question.
Is the answer to #2 the GoDaddy.com ad?
9:48 AM
Answer #1: Goodyear tires--"When there's no man around, Goodyear should be."
Answer #2: Monster.com
11:26 AM
Paul: Two strikes...one more and I'm outta here!!
12:44 PM
I love the Burger King commercials with that dude from "The Soup."
The ones with all of the call center losers.
5:28 PM
oh shit..
just remembered the only commercial i ever saved on my tivo because it made me laugh so hard that coffee came out of my nose. and oddly i wasnt drinking coffee at that time.. (another issue altogether that i am dealing with).. but basically its the geico commercial where they say their website is so easy that even a Caveman can use it. the camera pans over and there is a caveman working the boom mic on the commercial set and he says "that is NOT cool". then they show a beautiful home with metro-sexual looking cavemen (complete with a buffalo painting on the wall) seeing the commercial air on TV. announcer says "our website is so simple, a caveman can use it".. one of the cavemen turns to the other and says .. "that is so condescending". and thats when coffee did infact fly out of my nose.
ta da. man i was typing that shit fast.. spelling error be damned!
7:40 PM
well one that springs to mind is the yeloow pages ads, the pun-ny ones. Where pigs fly, hamsters are trapped under carpets etc.
The other one that springs to mind is the commercial where this girl is getting reay for her date, but he's early so she lets him in. He then starts eating everything in sight, he asks first and she says yes - even when he asks about the candy. turns out the candy is her birth control. He he he.
there really are so many. I usually get a real hoot out of the european ads whenever I see the commercial awards - whatever they are called again.
4:11 PM
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