Commercials. We all hate them. Or most of them anyway. I almost can’t watch the network evening news programs because I get tired of the prescription drug commercials. They are not at all entertaining and seem to go on for hours with their list of possible side effects.
Or the boner pill ads. Geeze. WHO among us has two old free-standing bathtubs next to each other out in a pasture unconnected to any plumbing?
So I change the channel.
But there are a few good commercials. Like the Old Spice ones featuring Isaiah Mustafa:
Here is a link to another one in which he uses a STIHL chain saw as a prop.
And I almost hate to admit it but the Progressive Insurance commercials featuring Flo are pretty good. At least until they started running 5,395 of them each hour.
But not everybody is tired of Flo, including the 756,000 people that “like” her Facebook page. Or the 500 people that posted their pictures of themselves dressed up as Flo, mostly for Halloween I assume. I mean…. why else?! (I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt!) The real Flo is on the left, below.
But one of the best commercials is this one. It almost makes me want a minivan. Ummm. No, not really. But check it out.
What commercials would YOU nominate for the best and worst?
R. Lee Ermey as a psychiatrist in the Geico commercial.
Nomination for best: Johnnie Walker’s “The Man Who Walked Around The World” appeared in late 2009. It stars Scottish actor Robert Carlisle (Trainspotting, The Full Monty) and was shot in a single take (the 40th).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnSIp76CvUI
That is a very interesting and entertaining commercial. And it’s the longest one, at six minutes, that I have ever seen. Here is another description of it:
“To convey the relentless spirit of the men who created, arguably, the world’s first global brand, we decided to create the longest tracking shot in advertising history. The film was deliberately constructed to make it impossible to hide any invisible cuts. Risky stuff. We also decided very early on that only Robert Carlyle had the skill and charisma to tell this story. As the light failed on the second day of shooting, with only 1½ useable takes in the can, the incredible Mr Carlyle nailed it on his 40th and last attempt.”
The “e-trade” babies are hilarious!
I have to concur!
The Swagger wagon is by far the best ad I have ever seen, still can’t stop laughing!