Tag Archives: commercials

Can A Cell Phone Plan Save Your Marriage?

23 Aug

August 23, 2011

Have you seen this commercial?

 

YES! Messaging is free and unlimited for the whole family. Great! Unlimited mobile minutes! Whoo hoo! That would be great for a large family with lots of kids who text all the time. It is money saver because all those texts add up, and you know how kids like to text and going over your minutes is expensive.

So why didn’t they show that?

Instead we saw a middle-aged man and woman. They obviously have some money since they have a large greenhouse in the back, and the wife has the free time to tend it so she probably doesn’t have to hold down a job. They must have a bad marriage since a little thing like signing up for a cell phone plan was enough to push the wife over the edge. What saved the marriage? That AT&T offers free texts. But maybe not. The husband is a schlub who seems to have married above his station, and the wife doesn’t show any affection. She has obviously been doubting the marriage for a long time.

So instead of aiming their ad at large families with kids who text all the time, they aimed the ad at upper-middle class suburban desperation. How many of us can relate to that ad? I don’t know anyone in Brooklyn who has a greenhouse, let alone the time to spend in it. And if you do relate to that ad, you’d be better off spending time working on your marriage than switching cell phone plans.

In this economy they totally missed the mark. Way to go, AT&T.

It is very fitting that AT&T named this ad “Mistake.” Whoever named it knew just what they were doing.

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What do people know about Kim? We know that Kim pees her pants.

16 Jun

June 16, 2010

Hey folks, seen this commercial?

I’m no rocket scientist, but I think I may have a problem here. The ad asks “what do people know about Kim?” Here’s what we learn:

  • She does her own makeup.
  • She cannot set up a music stand.
  • She always forgets where she puts her “magic wand.”

“People know a lot about me,” Kim says, “but they don’t need to know about my condition. And thanks to Depend, they don’t.”

Really?

I would add “And thanks to Depend, they don’t. Unless they watch TV.”

Does this woman think no one will see this? Do none of her friends watch television?

And how ashamed is she of her condition? Enough to not want anyone to know, but not enough to turn down the money that comes for being a spokeswoman.

OK, the woman is no rocket scientist either, but what about the people who made the ad? Is this product targeted at people dumb enough to think that starring in a major television ad ensures privacy? If we are to assume “Kim” is real, then she must be a real moron. If we assume “Kim” is not real and just an actor, then the ad agency assumes the we must be real morons.

Here’s another ad, targeted at men:

“My Dad? People know a lot about Dad” We know:

  • not to let Dad set up a tent.
  • Then again, the guy can “start a fire with a wet sponge.” (Why doesn’t the commercial show that? THAT I’d like to see.)
  • He sure knows how to break up a party with a ghost story.
  • He’s “the glue that holds us all together.”

“People know a lot of things about me, but no one needs to know about my condition. And thanks to Depend, they don’t.”

A couple of things to note:
First, Dad comes off a lot better than Kim, who seems like a complete yutz.
Second, being unable to control your bladder on a camping trip doesn’t seem like much of a problem. You’re in the woods. Pee anywhere.

These commercials are credited to JNT NY, and Depend is so proud of them that they posted them on YouTube on their two-month old  YouTube – DependVideo’s Channel.

There are no comments on that page, but it has, believe it or not, seven subscribers.

Huh?

Of course, if you can’t control your bladder, I suppose you have more pressing things to worry about besides how a diaper ad insults your intelligence.

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