tv commercial

Some commercials are just suggestive when it comes to sex and others are just up front and blunt about it. Like this Yaris ad from Australia. I had to watch it twice to hear what the guy says at the very end.

Oh, the commercial has been pulled because of protests but lives on via YouTube!

[via Adfreak]

In our latest TV Squad Podcast, guest Rich Sommer (Mad Men) told us about a commercial he did several years back, and you might remember it too. It's one of those famous ads that, when you watch it again you'll say, "oh, that was him?!" It was a commercial for Cingular phones.

Continuing our month-long look at commercials from Christmases past, this is a beer ad from the late 70s. What's interesting is that it's a rather long commercial, especially compared to commercials today, and you don't even know what the ad is for until it's almost over, about 54 seconds in.

Also, I'm not sure if who won the game, but Chicago was leading St. Louis 21-0 in the 3rd quarter.

McDonald's commercials used to feature H.R. Pufnstuf-like characters and storylines. But they were great. Now we get "I'm Lovin' It," which I think is one of the lamest tag lines in fast food history.

Continuing our month-long look at Christmas commercials, this one features Grimace and Birdie and is from 1987.

The ET game that Atari came out with in 1982 is known as one of the biggest disasters in video game history. It was rushed into production because of the movie and it wasn't that great a game and it didn't sell well, forcing thousands of cartridges to be buried in landfill in New Mexico.

Here's the ad that introduced it at Christmastime.

When I was a kid, the big department store in my area (Boston) was Zayre. Anyone else remember that chain?

Here's an interesting TV commercial for the stores. Apparently Batman and Robin shopped there. And not as Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, they actually shopped as Batman and Robin, in their costumes. Yeah, I'm sure that didn't cause a ruckus.

I'm not sure the host of Inside The Actors Studio is the best person to get kids to stop texting naughty words and/or pictures, though I guess this ad is as much for parents as it is kids. But is it really successful?

I mean, "give it a ponder?" Do kids really talk like that today? Maybe British kids. (Though it is interesting to see Lipton without a beard.)

[via Adfreak]

This commercial shows the ultimate nightmare that we all have when it comes to parking our cars on icy streets: some goofball coming down a hill and hitting a bunch of cars. It's a well-done ad, from the two guys watching the car from the balcony to the scenes of the guy running down the stairs to get to his car. There's even something really believable about the apartment building and the lobby.

Will our hero get to his car in time?

[via Adfreak]

I'm a big fan of illustrations of the 1950s so I might find these British Schweppes ads more amusing than some people. But I like how it's just a few arms in the illustrations that are moving in the ads. Clever idea.

[via Adfreak]

You ever wonder what happens to those little talking scrubbing bubbles that people spray into their showers and bathtubs to get them really clean? The ones that scrub "so you don't have to?" Apparently they stick around a lot longer than you think and get to see you nekkid.

[via Adfreak]

The commercial is 38 seconds long. Try to figure out what it's about before it's revealed around the 25 second mark. It's filmed like an investigative news report or maybe an old cop show. Are those hookers? Who jumps out of the van? What's with the gross blob guy?

[via Adfreak]

You don't see George Clooney doing commercials in the U.S. (except for some voice overs) but like a lot of celebrities he does them overseas. Like this ad for Nestle Nespresso.

It's never explained, however, why John Malkovich is greeting him in heaven. Unless it's not supposed to be Malkovich and is just a character he's playing.

[via Adfreak]

The other day I posted the DirecTV ad featuring footage of Chris Farley and new footage of David Spade, and I opined that it was a "worst commercial of the year" nominee. I also mentioned that it might be "too soon."

To clarify, when I said "too soon" I didn't mean that it was too soon after Farley's death (he died 12 years ago). I meant that it's odd seeing a young, contemporary celebrity in an ad (which DirecTV also did with Heather O'Rourke - that was worse), especially one where he is interacting with a costar who is doing the scene in the present day. My other point was "how the hell is this going to sell DirecTV to anyone?" (and "boy is this ad unfunny").

I'm not the only one who finds the DirecTV ad odd. Now Spade and Farley's brother Kevin have responded to the criticism.

My favorite James Bond is still Sean Connery. Second is Daniel Craig, Pierce Brosnan is third, and Timothy Dalton and George Lazenby tie for fourth. Roger Moore? He just didn't do it for me (though a lot of that was because he was a victim of the 70s - bad clothes, way too much humor, and Bond in space because of Star Wars). Now Moore is doing ads for the British post office.

The odd thing? This is pretty much how lively Moore was in A View To A Kill.

[via Adfreak]

In this British ad, a guy walks around his apartment and slowly takes his clothes off. It's all to remind people to set their clocks back one hour. Even though people in the UK did it last week, this can be your reminder do to set your clocks back here in the U.S. this Sunday morning.

That's clocks, people. I said clocks.

[via Adfreak]