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Keyword: commercials

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  • My 2012 Super Bowl Commercials Review (With Video Links)

    02/03/2012 3:27:16 PM PST · by PJ-Comix · 15 replies
    Self | February 3, 2012 | PJ-Comix
    The 2012 Super Bowl commercials are already online so I am taking this opportunity to review each of them. So let us start right in with: Audi 2012 Game Day Commercial - Vampire Party I thought this commercial featuring exploding vampires sucked (pun intended). It just didn't work for me. Maybe if I was still 11 years old and fascinated by vampires I might have been interested but then I would also have been too young to buy an Audi. The premise is that the Audi headlights are so bright they have the same effect on vampires as daylight. Lame.Off...
  • Matthew Broderick Brings Back Ferris Bueller for Honda's Super Bowl Ad

    01/30/2012 7:59:41 AM PST · by Mozilla · 22 replies
    people.com ^ | 1/30/12 | Tim Nudd
    In what's quickly becoming the most talked-out Super Bowl commercial of the year – a week before it even airs – Matthew Broderick will bring back his old Ferris Bueller character in a new ad for Honda this Sunday night during the NBC telecast. Auto blog Jalopnik revealed the source of a teaser ad last Friday. So, Honda decided to release the extended version of the commercial online on Monday – and it's a two-minute-plus homage to Ferris Bueller's Day Off, the original 1986 film, with Broderick this time calling in sick to a film shoot and enjoying another day...
  • TV’s quiet ad-justment

    12/04/2011 5:22:36 PM PST · by ConservativeStatement · 35 replies
    New York Post ^ | December 4, 2011 | SUSANNAH CAHALAN
    They’ll still be annoying — but soon TV commercials won’t hurt your ears. A law mandating a volume cap on ear-splitting commercials will go into effect Dec. 15, at which point broadcasters have a year to turn down the volume. “The intent of the act is simple: to make the volume of commercials and programs uniform so that the spikes don’t affect the consumer,” said Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), who sponsored the legislation last year. People will be uncupping their ears in joy.
  • MTV to Run Planned Parenthood Commercials, Bans Pro-Life Ads

    05/17/2011 1:28:50 PM PDT · by julieee · 9 replies
    LifeNews.com ^ | May 17, 2011 | Steven Ertelt
    MTV to Run Planned Parenthood Commercials, Bans Pro-Life Ads New York, NY -- The pro-life group seeking to run another commercial on MTV reaching out to young people on abortion is hitting back after LifeNews reported how the cable network decided against allowing Heroic Media to run its ad. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/05/17/mtv-to-run-planned-parenthood-commercials-bans-pro-life-ads/
  • Superbowl XLV pays homage to our founding

    02/07/2011 11:55:01 AM PST · by WriteStuff · 15 replies
    Across the Back Fence ^ | 02/07/2011 | Todd Fitchette
    I happened to catch near the beginning of a commercial during the Super Bowl yesterday and was absolutely stunned in amazement. People were actually reciting the Declaration of Independence, one of the greatest founding documents of any nation in the world. Given the Super Bowl's world-wide reach and its large audience, whoever came up with this idea and then put action to it needs to be greatly praised.
  • Captain America: The First Avenger Super Bowl TV spot

    02/07/2011 8:49:23 AM PST · by Callahan · 56 replies
    YouTube ^ | 2/6/11 | NA
    TV spot for "Captain America: The First Avenger" movie that ran during the Super Bowl.
  • GEICO classics

    10/21/2010 10:10:30 AM PDT · by combat_boots · 36 replies
    YouTube ^ | Various | GEICO
    Honest Abe Therapist SargeSnowballAndres CantorGecko and lots of bobbleheadsMailroomWabbitsShocking News with Octopus
  • The Web's Worst Lawyer Commercials

    07/09/2010 8:05:06 AM PDT · by KeyLargo · 7 replies
    You're flipping channels late at night and come across what can only be a preview for the latest Public Access show. Turns out it's an ad for an overeager lawyer hoping to separate themselves from the (wolf) pack. A friendly tip from the Urlesque staff: don't try so hard. We've compiled the Web's worst lawyer commercials to show you that just because you went to law school (presumably via e-mail), doesn't mean you can't call someone an "illiterate boob" on television.
  • It’s the Little Things: TV Edition

    06/30/2010 5:38:59 AM PDT · by Stoutcat
    Grand Rants ^ | 06-30-10 | Alan Speakman
    I got to thinking about the insidious nature of television commercials, and started a quick compilation of “little things” which, taken singly seem innocent enough, but which, when bombarded throughout the 24-hour cycle, are little short of damning in their flaunting of flat-out rudeness and out-and-out celebration of bad behavior…
  • In Defense of Men...

    06/17/2010 10:46:21 AM PDT · by Erin Brown · 43 replies · 530+ views
    Three Fingers of Politics ^ | 6/17/2010 | SkinnieMinnie
    Am I the only one who has noticed the sort of cultural trend, if you will, to portray men as generally stupid in commercial advertising? Let me give you a few examples: #1. Stanley Steemer – The nationwide carpet cleaning company has a recent commercial advertisement that blatantly makes the male husband-figure appear to behave like a bumbling idiot. The audio in the commercial states, “Kids, pets, teens and husbands – ever wonder how you can keep your house clean? Call today about our $99 special.” The images that accompany the audio include kids jumping on a leather couch, a...
  • Happy-Face Totalitarian Commercials

    02/16/2010 7:43:53 AM PST · by Commonsensecommonman · 4 replies · 353+ views
    The Atlas Society ^ | Edward Hudgins
    February 10, 2010 — Three recent TV ads get our attention with totalitarianism. They do so to different degrees and in different ways. And they certainly are barometers of the shift in the popular culture in this once-free country. Green Police The first was the “Green Police” advertisement for Audi that was broadcast during this year’s Super Bowl. It starts with a clerk asking a customer that standard question, “Paper or plastic?” When the customer answers the latter, Green Police swoop in and cuff him with the words, “You picked the wrong day to mess with the eco-system.”
  • The NFL Violates Children

    02/10/2010 11:03:02 AM PST · by publius321 · 27 replies · 835+ views
    http://www.ThurstonHowell.Net ^ | February 10, 2010 | Thurston Howell
    Wednesday, February 10, 2010 The NFL Violates Children I haven’t said much over the years as the NFL has been bowing at the alter of political correctness. In recent years they have become known as the “No Fun League” as they systematically altered the game with ridiculous rules such as those banning silly end zone dances many of us have come to love. I am not going to remain aloof regarding the glaring hypocrisy of the NFL. They claim to have made this ridiculous ban on end zone celebrations because it is supposedly a bad example for the children –...
  • Marketers remain cool to TV ad spending (Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™)

    02/09/2010 8:41:26 AM PST · by abb · 10 replies · 234+ views
    Boston Business Journal ^ | February 8, 2010 | Lisa van der Pool
    Marketers’ lack of confidence in the effectiveness of television spots is being reflected in smaller TV budgets, according to a fresh joint survey from the Association of National Advertisers and Forrester Research Inc. The report surveyed over 100 national advertisers whose budgets will stay flat this year; last year they allocated 41 percent of their media budgets to TV, compared with 58 percent in 2008. About 62 percent of the survey’s respondents said that TV ads have grown less effective in the past two years, citing clutter as the biggest challenge to commercial effectiveness. “As the overall marketing landscape is...
  • My favorite Super Bowl ads

    02/08/2010 6:58:31 AM PST · by Neoavatara · 36 replies · 1,322+ views
    Neoavatara ^ | February 8, 2010 | Neoavatara
    First, congratulations to the Who Dats...the New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl Champions? Maybe I am living in an alternate reality like those guys on Lost... Anyway, more importantly, what were the best ads on Super Bowl Night? My personal list...
  • Spending Millions To Inform The Intentionally Uninformed

    02/05/2010 9:09:58 AM PST · by CaroleL · 145+ views
    TalkingSides.com ^ | 02/05/10 | CaroleL
    Move over Dorrito-chomping super models and Budweiser horses, the latest buyer of outrageously expensive Super Bowl advertising time is the US Government. Washington is spending $2.5 million in an attempt to encourage Americans to participate in the census and that's just a small percentage of the whopping $133 million the entire census ad campaign will spend.
  • GOP Mike's 3 Worst Politically Correct TV Commercials - More Liberal CR--!!!

    02/04/2010 6:20:37 AM PST · by gopmike.com · 5 replies · 641+ views
    GOP Mike's Blog ^ | 2/4/10 | GOP Mike
    To My Conservative Friends: Back by Popular Demand!!! The worst politically correct commercials of the year... As I have mentioned before, these PC Commercials really get me enraged. From portraying Dad's/Husbands like idiots to always walking on egg-shells not to offend any minority group is getting really lame and tired. Many of you have emailed me your selections, but I have listed below the 3 that really annoy the sh-- out of me. Without any further ado, here they are: #3 - The typical Dad is a Schmuck routine...
  • US moves to ban 'excessively noisy' TV advertisements

    12/16/2009 5:58:54 AM PST · by Poser · 73 replies · 1,658+ views
    BBC ^ | 12/16/2009 | BBC
    The US House of Representatives has approved a bill which aims to limit the volume of television advertisements. The Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM) was approved by a voice vote in the house...
  • TV timeout? Blame the guy in the red hat (College Football)

    09/12/2009 9:49:28 AM PDT · by buccaneer81 · 14 replies · 1,741+ views
    The Columbus Dispatch ^ | September 12, 2009 | Tim Feran
    TV timeout? Blame the guy in the red hat Saturday, September 12, 2009 3:26 AM By Tim Feran THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH If you become irate over a long TV timeout during tonight's game between Ohio State University and the University of Southern California, there's a good reason to see red. A person called the "red hat" is to blame. Known officially as the TV commercial timeout coordinator, the official stands on the sidelines, wears a red hat and is responsible for when to stop and start play on the field for commercial breaks. "It's not very easy," said Oliver Dizon,...
  • Battle of the Commercials

    07/17/2009 2:48:33 PM PDT · by Selkirk · 301+ views
    Political Castaway ^ | 7/17/2009 | Selkirk
    The parties have each released new commercials, so we can have our fun with them. First up, the Dems. They would like to use the Palin resignation for their advantage, so they tried to shoehorn a couple of other scenarios to make it look like some pattern by Republicans: [both commercials posted after the jump]
  • Lawmakers Want TV Stations To Dial Down Advertising Volume

    06/12/2009 4:26:45 AM PDT · by AT7Saluki · 48 replies · 1,233+ views
    Dow Jones Newswire ^ | 6/11/09 | Fawn Johnson
    Television commercials are too loud, as most viewers know, and members of Congress want broadcasters to turn down the volume. A bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., would require the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to "preclude commercials from being broadcast at louder volumes than the program material they accompany." That idea is hard to resist, but it might be difficult to mandate. "Many different entities are responsible for producing and distributing the content consumers see and hear," U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., said Thursday at a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Telecommunications Subcommittee.
  • Is Anyone Working On Anti National Health Care Commercials?

    05/14/2009 8:38:32 AM PDT · by Williams · 39 replies · 848+ views
    Vanity Question
    Commercials against Hilary Care were absolutely essential for its defeat. Now, Obama is talking about pushing through a huge national healthcare bill by August! The stories I read make it clear the plan will be a frightening blow to our health and economy. Do we know if anyone is working on an ad campaign to expose the obvious dangers of socialized medicine? We need the House dems from conservative districts to be scared away from this awful nonsense. My wife, a cancer survivor, literally keeps telling me they are going to kill her. Apoparently she has heard reports of how...
  • They’re giving away Oscars, almost giving away the commercials

    02/22/2009 12:11:07 PM PST · by slomark · 19 replies · 637+ views
    ABC Television has slashed the cost of commercials during today’s Academy Awards broadcast. In 2008, 30-second commercials went for as much as $1.8 million. This year, they’re going for as little as $1.4 million. Once considered invulnerable to economic ups and downs, the Academy Awards has discovered that it can’t get away with jacking up the ad rates every year. Especially in a year when all five Best Film nominees have been ignored by movie-goers. Here’s a tip for the Oscars’ nominating committee:
  • 2009 Super Bowl Commercials

    02/03/2009 3:14:16 PM PST · by ConservativeStLouisGuy · 2 replies · 557+ views
    Fanhouse.com ^ | 2-1-09 | (none)
    In case you might have stepped away from the television during yesterday's Super Bowl -- here is a website that contains all the commercials. Enjoy! (Samples below -- more at the website at link.)   Bud Light Office Meeting Audi Transporter Pepsi Forever Young Doritos Snow Globe Bud Light Conan Columbia Year One Toyota Venza Bridgestone Mr. Potato Head Universal Fast & Furious Castrol Grease Monkeys Universal Land of the Lost Doritos Bus GoDaddy.com Shower Budweiser Fetch  
  • 2009 Superbowl Commercials, 10 best and 10 worst

    02/01/2009 9:58:38 PM PST · by Justaham · 17 replies · 1,758+ views
    Fox Sports ^ | 2-1-09
    Riveted by the Steelers' thrilling comeback? Heartbroken by the Cardinals' late lead slipping away? Then we won't begrudge you missing a few of the Super Bowl commercials. In fact, we'll help you out. Go back and watch any commercial you missed, as we list the 10 best ads, 10 worst ads, and provide you with a quarter-by-quarter breakdown of all the commercials.
  • Super Bowl, commercial-free, at Islamic Center (Beer & Bikinis Bad)

    01/29/2009 5:53:19 PM PST · by Sammy67 · 30 replies · 1,439+ views
    Herald News ^ | 1/29/09
    Some 250 teenage boys will pile onto the carpet of the Islamic Center of Passaic County on Sunday to catch the Super Bowl on a big screen. But when the much-buzzed-about commercials come on, they won't be watching. A youth leader manning the projector slaps a piece of paper over the lens, blocking out images the center considers inappropriate, such as beers and bikinis. "The purpose is to keep them away from bad influences," said Emad Hamdeh, the youth committee director. "The beer commercials show people happy while drinking; that's not reality." During the self-imposed blackouts, the boy fans don't...
  • (Vanity) Give Us This Day, or, Lead Us Into Temptation

    01/04/2009 5:42:35 AM PST · by grey_whiskers · 10 replies · 972+ views
    grey_whiskers ^ | 1-4-2009 | grey_whiskers
    "For all that is in the world the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world." (1 John 2:16) I was watching TV last night with my family (if you are curious, it was The Smoking Gun presents: The World's Dumbest). The show is a "countdown" of video clips of accidents or mishaps invovling a common theme, punctuated by commentary from a bunch of B-list actors and ex-celebrities (Danny Bonaduce from The Partridge Family, Leif Garrett, Tonya Harding, Gary Busey and some others(*)). It...
  • The Networks say "To Hell with the KIDS"!!!

    12/15/2008 6:11:50 AM PST · by gopmike.com · 75 replies · 1,127+ views
    GOP Mike's Blog ^ | 12/15/08 | GOP Mike
    To my Conservative Friends: As a Conservative and a capitalist, I understand that free-market enterprise and profit are integral to a thriving and growing economy. That being said, I must say the broadcast Networks, in cahoots with the advertisers, have gotten waaaaay out of hand with the downright inappropriate commercials for the kids... Now the networks have chosen to move a lot of the sports programming at night to increase their revenues because they can charge more for ads... Fine... But they should be forced to curtail some of their explicit advertising so the kids can watch... I am not...
  • ..just in case your wondering..(vanity)

    11/11/2008 8:17:44 PM PST · by Doogle · 12 replies · 220+ views
    me
    The latest British Airways commericial "the aquarium".. The song is "the good life" sung by Julie London ..just one of those things I had to look up..enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBwrmEpikPI
  • ideal for TV commercial

    10/11/2008 2:22:48 PM PDT · by starlight · 4 replies · 495+ views
    I have an idea for a commercial .... opens with CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE ..... then you see someone hold out their hand holding some CHANGE (nickels, dimes, etc) talking about how obama plan would worsen economy and small business .... then at end coin toss ... end up on "tails, you lose !"
  • Ads Gone Bad

    08/08/2008 5:47:05 AM PDT · by Kaslin · 28 replies · 139+ views
    Townhall.com ^ | August 8, 2008 | Brent Bozell III
    bad enough that parents have to shield their children from what Hollywood calls entertainment. Now they have to be equally vigilant with the messages and visuals put forward by the advertisers who sponsor that filth. Parents can become discouraged by the sheer intensity of the commercial manipulation of sex. It's everywhere. Reporter Matt Spector of ABCNews.com recently underlined how the hypersexualization of teenagers in advertising is intensifying. A Greek print ad for previously owned BMW autos features a clearly teenage-looking girl shot from her naked shoulders up, her blond hair splayed around her head across the page. The ad's come-hither...
  • Top 10: Worst Male-Bashing Ads

    06/13/2008 10:25:25 AM PDT · by forkinsocket · 190 replies · 1,702+ views
    AskMen.com ^ | Unk. | Marc Voyer
    You’ve seen him plenty of times on sitcoms; he’s the dumb, bumbling, idiot dad, husband and boyfriend who appears useless at everything but bringing home a paycheck. The message: Guys are dumb and women have to lead them around. This, of course, cues the laugh track. Yet a survey from an organization called Children Now found that two-thirds of kid respondents described men on TV as angry, while respondents from another group’s survey said men were portrayed as corrupt on TV by a 17 to 1 margin. Clearly, this is no laughing matter. To highlight companies pushing anti-guy messages, we’ve...
  • Video: 5 Reasons Not To Go To Work

    04/14/2008 2:00:25 PM PDT · by LibertyGrrrl · 25 replies · 83+ views
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwCyVku1HvI Video: 5 Reasons Not To Go To Work By Rizzuto Mon Apr 14, 2008 - Apparently, this is what passes as a government PSA in Canada. This has got to be one of the most disturbing group of videos I've ever seen, I just had to share it. The screams in the first video are blood curdling. Enjoy!
  • Commodities: Who's Behind the Boom? (And Is It About to End)

    03/29/2008 4:17:47 PM PDT · by shrinkermd · 18 replies · 1,315+ views
    Barron's ^ | GENE EPSTEIN
    CHINA, AS EVERYONE KNOWS, IS A BIG FORCE IN THE extraordinary boom in commodities. Its voracious appetite for everything from corn and wheat to copper and oil has helped push up U.S. commodities prices by some 50% over the past 12 months. But China is by no means the whole story. Speculators -- including small investors -- are also playing a huge role. Thanks to the proliferation of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds tied to commodities indexes, speculative buying has gone way beyond anything the domestic commodities markets have ever seen. By one estimate, index funds right now account for...
  • Sneak Peek: Coca-Cola Super Bowl Ad (Sen. Bill Frist and James Carville)

    02/01/2008 1:36:38 PM PST · by RDTF · 28 replies · 244+ views
    aol video ^ | Jan 2, 2008 | AP video
    Democrat James Carville and former Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) star in one of Co...ca-Cola's Super Bowl commercials. Watch it here before it debuts during the game.
  • Back To The Cave, Man

    08/11/2007 1:39:54 AM PDT · by chessplayer · 83 replies · 2,078+ views
    BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - There are so many negative vibes around "Cavemen" that at least one TV critic is taking bets that it won't even get on the air. The ABC series based on Geico insurance commercials has gone beyond being just another stupid sitcom. Questions are being raised about whether the Cro-Magnon characters will reinforce racial stereotypes.
  • Row over Beatles song used in nappy advert

    Some Beatles fans in the US are angry that the 1967 Beatles hit 'All You Need Is Love' is being used in a new ad campaign for disposable nappies. “For people who feel that political connection, it comes off as kind of a callous action,” said Angela Natividad, co-editor of adrants.com, a marketing commentary site. “You’ve got the Beatles, which draws like, religious feelings, and you’ve got the war [Vietnam].”
  • Rush Limbaugh Live Radio Thread. 05/21/07

    05/21/2007 8:42:16 AM PDT · by ChicagoConservative27 · 454 replies · 7,055+ views
  • Introducing...the Swedish Bikini Team

    04/16/2007 11:13:20 AM PDT · by WesternCulture · 24 replies · 2,618+ views
    www,thelocal.se ^ | 04/16/2007 | Paul O'Mahony
    Introducing...the Swedish Bikini Team Published: 16th April 2007 16:03 CET Online: http://www.thelocal.se/7014/ They might be as Swedish as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but they have been flying the blue and yellow colours for more than fifteen years. This week's Introducing... gets up close and personal with the Swedish Bikini Team - Who are they and why are they famous? The Swedish Bikini Team stepped out of the sea and into the limelight in 1991. Once accurately described as 'vixens of beerdom', the swimwear Swedes quickly skedaddled off the scene and were last spotted dancing to rock music in a...
  • Top 5 "Get a Mac" Spoofs(humor)

    03/03/2007 8:39:12 PM PST · by aft_lizard · 1 replies · 371+ views
    The funniest one is the definately the #1 one.
  • Super Bowl Ads of Cartoonish Violence, Perhaps Reflecting Toll of War

    02/05/2007 9:21:24 AM PST · by Loud Mime · 61 replies · 1,466+ views
    New York Times ^ | 2/5/2007 | Stuart Elliot
    No commercial that appeared last night during Super Bowl XLI directly addressed Iraq, unlike a patriotic spot for Budweiser beer that ran during the game two years ago. But the ongoing war seemed to linger just below the surface of many of this year’s commercials. More than a dozen spots celebrated violence in an exaggerated, cartoonlike vein that was intended to be humorous, but often came across as cruel or callous.
  • The OFFICIAL Superbowl Commercial Thread

    02/04/2007 3:00:33 PM PST · by blu · 149 replies · 5,325+ views
    I have neither started nor maintained a thread for football commercials in the past...
  • Superbowl COMMERCIALS Thread (Discuss Superbowl Commercials: Good, Bad, and Ugly)

    02/04/2007 10:05:19 AM PST · by PJ-Comix · 354 replies · 5,762+ views
    Self | February 4, 2007 | PJ-Comix
    Half the FUn (maybe more) of watching the Superbowl is seeing the commercials. Remember, the ad agencies try to put their most creative commercials on during the Superbowl. Therefore, the purpose of this discussion thread will be to analyze today's Superbowl commercials: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. There seems to be a concensus that the best Superbowl commercials were the 1984 Apple commercial introducing the Mac and the original Budweiser frogs commercial. In the hours leading into tonight's Superbowl, feel free to post your fave (and most hated) Superbowl commercials. Once the game begins, let us have an...
  • If you go to the game, you'll miss the show (Dave Barry)

    02/04/2007 8:04:31 AM PST · by nuconvert · 17 replies · 873+ views
    Miami Herald ^ | Feb. 4, 2007 | Dave Barry
    If you go to the game, you'll miss the show By DAVE BARRY It's Super Bowl Sunday at last. Finally -- after all the hype, all the parties, all the talk -- we will get to see what the Super Bowl is really, in the end, all about: the TV commercials. There will be a lot of them, because the total Super Bowl broadcast package runs longer than the administration of the late Gerald Ford, having begun two weeks ago with the pre -pre -pre -pre-pre-pre-pre-pregame show (Peyton Manning: The Early Bowel Movements). You will not want to miss a...
  • CBS.com Superbowls Greatest Commercials

    02/02/2007 11:33:32 AM PST · by EveningStar · 19 replies · 1,142+ views
    Watch and join in the laughter as these all-time favorite Super Bowl commercials entertain you all over again. People have voted for which of their favorite classic commercials should face off against perennial Super Bowl commercial favorite “Mean Joe Green” for this year’s title. The most voted for commercial will be revealed during the Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials 2007 special and east coast viewers will be able to vote online to determine the final title holder. Will it be “Mean Joe Green” or the “challenger?” Don’t miss the Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials 2007 special for your chance to vote for...
  • MEPs may prevent product placement on TV

    11/07/2006 8:46:20 PM PST · by bruinbirdman · 1 replies · 225+ views
    The Times ^ | 11/8/06 | Dan Sabbagh
    Members of the European Parliament are threatening to derail attempts to introduce product placement in television programmes, amid opposition led by German MEPS. Ruth Hieronmyi, the German MEP acting as rapporteur to the revision of Europe’s Television Without Frontiers Directive, said that there was no consensus in the Parliament on liberalising the rules. The MEP told The Times: “Product placement, and any other advertising-related topics, are still controversial. Members believe there should be anything from no regulation to 100 per cent regulation — we shall have to see what achieves a majority.” On Monday, the Parliament is to form its...
  • Local Issues Mirror National Ones, but the Special Effects Occasionally Stand Alone

    11/02/2006 9:25:10 AM PST · by lowbridge · 3 replies · 279+ views
    New York Times ^ | November 2, 2006 | Pam Belluck
    The school board race in Rockingham County, N.C., has produced imagery including, from left, Pink Floyd, “Star Wars,” and the Wild West.The election season is getting punchier in places far from the national political spotlight — even in Eden, N.C., where 16 candidates are slugging it out for the five available seats on the Rockingham County School Board. One of them produced a television advertisement suggesting that the school system turned children into automatons. It is shot against a backdrop of a Pink Floyd video showing children coursing through an assembly line to the lyrics: “We don’t need no education....
  • Pentagon to use Dr. Scholl's commercials for psychological torture

    10/23/2006 6:25:08 AM PDT · by gurued · 9 replies · 381+ views
    newsbender ^ | 10-20-06 | newsbender
    Washington, DC— Donald Rumsfeld confirmed reports the Pentagon would begin using Dr. Scholl’s commercials as a psychological resource in the war on terror.
  • Comedy director David Zucker goes to GOP? You can't be serious!

    10/06/2006 12:51:25 PM PDT · by Keltik · 72 replies · 4,885+ views
    Jewish Journal ^ | 10-06-2006 | Marc Ballo
    David Zucker, the producer and director of "Airplane," "The Naked Gun" and "Scary Movie 4," embraced the Republican Party in 2004 and voted for President Bush, largely because of security concerns. Once a liberal activist and campaign adviser to President Bill Clinton, he made a low-budget anti-Kerry ad that ran mostly in Ohio and kept his political change-of-heart largely under Hollywood's radar. Not now. Zucker sees threats to America and Israel mounting, and he believes the Democrats are unable or unwilling to confront those challenges, so he has decided to go public with his belief that the Democrats have lost...
  • FX channel tries commercial to combat ad-skipping

    09/15/2006 5:44:41 PM PDT · by Dysart · 10 replies · 227+ views
    Yahoo-Reuters ^ | 9-15-06 | wire
    LONDON (Reuters) - Niche men's channel FX plans to show what it calls the first UK advert specially designed to combat viewers using digital recorders to avoid commercials. The advert for its new drama "Brotherhood" will show a single image on the screen for the entire 30-second slot, and therefore retain its "sales message" when viewed even at the 12-times speeds enabled by Sky+ and other digital recorders, also known as personal video recorders, or PVRs.Advertisers have been racing to find ways to get messages through as higher numbers of consumers watch TV programs when they want using such recorders,...
  • Best and worst commercials of the year

    08/22/2006 6:50:44 PM PDT · by indcons · 485 replies · 9,804+ views
    MSNBC ^ | Aug 22, 2006 | Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
    Only one commercial can top the sheer hatred our readers have for the winner of this year's worst-commercial contest. Yes, only creepy, toenail-snapping Digger the Dermatophyte is more hated than the horrendous repetition that is this year's winning loser, the HeadOn headache remedy commercial. In case you haven't seen it (you can find it on YouTube, but really, why would you want to?), the commercial is as insanely simple as it is annoying. A female voice repeats "HeadOn: Apply directly to the forehead!" three times as a blissed-out smug woman rolls what appears to be a Bonne Bell LipSmacker on...