Free Republic

Cultural Misandry? – A Minor Rant on The “Men are Stupid” Commericals.By: Msgr. Charles Pope OK, you know the typical drill of a TV commercial: As the scene opens, some buffoon of a man, usually a husband, is struggling to have a clue as to what something is all about. Sure enough, an all-knowing woman (usually the wife), rolling her eyes and shaking her head in pity, is there to help the stupid buffoon of a man not utterly ruin everything. And of course the product being peddled is usually part of the solution. And, by the way, did...

Funny ad from Oscar Mayer - with corporate headquarters in Madison - is part parody of those soft-focus jewelry ads for women that appear during Christmas and Mother's Day, and part real thing. Too bad they couldn't get Jane Seymour to appear in it.

(WXYZ) - Every year the automakers produce some of the most talked about ads that are aired during the Super Bowl. This has been especially true over the last few years, where Chrysler produced ads featuring both Clint Eastwood and Eminem to highlight their progress as they emerged from bankruptcy.

he conglomerate's child-focused radio stations and websites will also launch strict standards for food ads, which CEO Bob Iger is expected to unveil with first lady Michelle Obama. Disney on Tuesday will unveil plans to keep junk food ads off its child-focused TV networks, radio stations and web sites, The New York Times reported.

How much would you pay to watch a replay of a great play, or skip a bunch of television commercials? And should you have to? Those are a couple of the questions raised by a newly surfaced Microsoft patent application. It’s called “Control-based Content Pricing,” and the basic idea is dynamic pricing of video content, based on the preferences of the user at any given moment — essentially setting different prices for different functions of the TV remote. Here’s an excerpt from the filing. For example, if a user initiates a navigation control input to advance past (e.g., skip over)...

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...

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...

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 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/

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.

TV spot for "Captain America: The First Avenger" movie that ran during the Super Bowl.

Honest Abe Therapist SargeSnowballAndres CantorGecko and lots of bobbleheadsMailroomWabbitsShocking News with Octopus

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.

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…

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...

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.”

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’ 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...

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...