SPORTS *Cough* *Sneeze* I've Got Olympic Fever!
So much so, in fact, that I will watch Italy play Sweden in hockey. Oh, excuse me, WOMEN'S hockey. I actually fibbed a bit... I don't have Olympic fever... I just love women's hockey. It is one of the few women's sports that I'll watch whenever I can find it. I don't know what it is about women's hockey... but I love it. I'll scour the Olympic schedule to find hockey, secretly planning around watching women's games. If/When team USA plays against team Canada in Women's Hockey... it'll be one to watch, for SURE! Both teams are currently 2-0, both teams haven't allowed a goal so far, and both teams have scored over a dozen goals so far (Canada has score 28 in two games!). We're basically talking about two juggernauts meeting--what would be (because of the pooling)--for the gold. As such, don't bother trying to contact me during the gold medal game... I'll be busy.
Commercials First "Annual" Annoyies!
I mentioned a few commercials from the Superbowl, but thought there are other commercials on TV which are worth noting. I understand that some small or new companies ad campaigns are built on being so horribly annoying that one can't help but remember their commercials and, thereby, their products. But here is a small collection of advertising campaigns that just don't get it, that are annoying when they don't need to be, and that have inspired me to create an award just for them--The Annoyies:
The commercial that started this particular post--and is already an Annoyie Hall Of Vexer--is the Mama McNabb/Campbell's soup campaign. When this campaign started with Reggie White and his "mom" (an actress back in those days), it was fresh, new, and cute. Now, with the McNabb's, this campaign is starting to show its age. Not only are these commercials uninspired and boring, they are--at worst--the most annoying commercials on TV. In particular the "Eat up those big chunks of steak" commercial, because that line is said with the same inflection that one would say "Go ahead and touch yourself." The line comes out eerie, especially since the mom is whispering it into Donovan's ear. This is also the commercial where "Mama McNabb" is screaming from the sidelines for Donovan to "Run that way! Throw the ball! Throw the ball!!!" and the cacophony that is her voice absolutely pierces your soul. Congratulations Campbell's Soup, Hall of Vexer!
Another ad campaign which is an instant Hall of Vexer is anything created by Vontage. When their commercials first came out, we all were okay with their uber annoying background song because they had video of kids throwing bats through glass windows or sawing a tree which landed on their car and we would laugh through the annoying song. But now... there's nothing to laugh at, as their commercials have become stupid (They can't change the world, and look! they have nudist neighbors! Oh that's so funny. No? Not funny? Abstract and sophomoric? Fair enough). All we hear now is that song which sticks into your head and makes you want to kill Vontage users for supporting the people who created that song. Congratulations Vontage, Hall of Vexer!
Speaking of annoying phone company songs (didn't think that was a category, did you?), have you seen the new Verizon commercial? It's not a campaign, it's just a commercial to tell us that, if you want a phone, you'd better be "Urgent" about it. Yes, I refer to that commercial where the guy is singing "Urgent! Gumma fax, maka Urgent! Urgent!" I don't think he knows the words and I'm wondering if that's supposed to be funny. All this ad ends up doing, however, is sticking an annoying song in my head with incorrect lyrics. And, to add to everything, you've got this extreme close-up on his face, his dumb haven't-shaved-in-days-and-aren't-I-attractive face... and it makes me want to punch him. So Congratulations Verizon, Winner of Annoyie for Worst New Commercial!
And, since we've gotten ourselves into the categories, let's talk about sounds. There is a local commercial for Lasik eye-surgery, but this could go to any commercial with this sound in it. The Lasik commercial is about how much time the average person spends per day putting in contact lenses (Point being that with Lasik, they'll never have to waste that time again). But this commercial starts, the very first second the commercial is on, with an alarm clock buzzer going off. It starts with "BAH BAH BAH!!!" which is about twice as loud as it needs to be. And, if this commercial is right after an actual show program (which is quieter than the commercials to begin with), it's beginning is jarring. It can/will actually wake you out of being awake. Congratulations Unknown Lasik commercial, Winner of Annoyie for Sound!
And, finally, here is a topical category. For almost a month, we've been inundated with Valentine's Day commercials. The worst of all of them is a Zales commercial. In the background the song sounds like they're saying "Yo Yo Ma." What Chelsey tells me is that the song is actually a famous oldies song, and they're singing "For your love." This one is annoying because of the song, but also because of the pure volume of times it runs. I've actually seen a commercial break which consisted of this commercial, another commercial (a Mama McNabb one, of all things), and then this commercial AGAIN! The amount of times I saw/heard this commercial in the past week give this one a special Annoyie. Congratulations Zales, Winner of the Annoyie for Overkill of a Topical/Time-Sensitive Ad Campaign!
Honorable Mention in this category: Russell Stover's "Women love chocolate" commercials. In both commercials (there's one with men talking about how women love chocolate and one with women doing the same) there is someone who pronounces it "Jocklet." Check it out. Annoys the urine out of me.
TV What Happened To My Numb3rs Show?
For the first time in months I was able to watch my Friday night show, Numbers, this past Friday night. The show used to be a buddy-buddy show between the math brother and the FBI brother. I loved the dynamic of the show... it made me say "Aww... they're different but still so much the same." Now I haven't seen that show in months, but when I saw it Friday, I thought "Oh... Another CSI clone." That thought is sad... but it's what the show has become. The show now centers around the FBI brother and his "team" of Feds... and the math brother is just kind of there to figure it all out at the end. I still enjoy the show (however unrealistic the mathematics are), but it's ridiculous to see something that was as original as Numbers become another mindless cop-show copycat.