Stinkin Thinkin

“Women Poop.”  “Pooping is Powerful.”  Women of various ages and ethnicity repeat the message lest it didn’t get through.   I started to wonder who, over the age of two, does not already know women poop.    Yet, words are not enough for television.  Watching the ad, I subjected myself to images of women in movement to get the full effect.

If women pooping on national television were not a sufficient affront to my sensitivities, I did not need to worry.  The ad folks would do better.  Sunset orange and Ocean Blue colors flood the kitchen and the clothing of a man and woman as they chat at the kitchen counter about--a bent carrot.  Obviously, this is a serious matter.  However, the imagery is sensory overload for me.  The ending, when the spokesperson announces all the side effects from the product, depicts carrots gently bobbing about  on an ocean of blue.  The bent carrot commercial has had a profound effect on me.  I have ceased to purchase fresh, whole carrots.  I simply cannot fathom paring them, let alone slicing or dicing.

These two commercials make the ad with two people sitting in separate bathtubs look natural.  That being said, I still do not see any water source.  They appear to be sitting in empty bathtubs looking over paradise.  Why?

These three commercials have a few things in common.   First, the imagery is so pronounced that the product becomes secondary.  Ad Agencies and Pharmaceutical companies know we will relate to images and overlook the words of warning that go with these products.   Secondly, I know that if I were afflicted with any one of the maladies suggested, I would talk to a doctor.  Finally, the intent of advertising to sell a product that the majority of people will buy.  Conversely, these ads are targeted towards a small percentage of the population.  That is, unless the drug dealers can convince each of us that we need their product to enhance our lives.

I’m not buying it.  I am certain we were better off with cigarette companies and booze brewers hawking their products TV.    I long for the days of the Clydesdales prancing across the screen.  I would buy as much Budweiser as necessary to make sure those horses would get oats each day.  Hamm’s won me over with the bear in the land of sky -blue waters.   A cute bear, a boat, a can of Hamm’s and I am set for a summer day.  There was a time when I was enamored with riding off with the Marlboro man.  He was smoking…. and the scenery was nice too.  

Regardless of the emotional draw of the old commercials, they had one thing in common.  They were clear about what they were peddling.  The spokesperson mentioned the product over and over in a memorable manner.   Like the Oscar Meyer Wiener commercial (I know you are already singing it), I knew the product by the commercial.  I am positive that the advertising professionals that produced these classics were proud of their work.  I don’t think the same can be said about the pooping women and bent carrot creators.

What are you thinkin about stinkin commercials?