Commercial commentary

(By Erik)

I’m still officially in mourning over Georgia’s loss to those hated Gators of Florida this past weekend, so I’ve been waiting the obligatory three days before blogging.

We were playing without our starting quarterback because he messed up his knee against Arkansas the week before. Amazing how, because of one injury, your whole season can go from Rose Bowl to Toilet Bowl.

Just kidding! We’re still in the hunt for the SEC title. Go Dawgs! Beat Auburn (and Kentucky, and Tech)!

If I couldn’t write news for a living, I’d try to make a career out of critiquing TV commercials. It’s a service I perform for free now.

I am VERY opinionated on this subject (ask Jeanie) and I tend to either really like or severely dislike commercials.

So, in that spirit, I’m going to critique the next batch of commercials to come across my TV screen.

(The weather’s on now. Just a sec.)

OK, here we go.

1. Sonic: This is another one of their “two people in a car” series of ads. This one is the married couple talking about something called a “breakfast bistro” burrito or something.
It’s not particularly funny, but this series is so good I can let it slide. The two guys who originated this series are consistently hilarious. Favorite line: “You can nod your head all you want. All I’m saying is, I didn’t know it was gonna be spicy.”

2. Draxxin: Now here’s an interesting twist on the flood of prescription medication advertising. This one isn’t peddling a drug for humans, but for LIVESTOCK. Do ranchers watch the news at 10? It’s a shame that they don’t have to list the possible side effects of drugs for animals. “Draxxin is not for everyone. Cattle that may be pregnant or nursing should not take Draxxin. Side effects, though rare, include hoof-in-mouth, loss of appetite, sore horns, and mild to moderate joint pain. Most were similar to sugar cube.”

3. Automax Hyundai: Yet another car commercial. We have a lot of these in Oklahoma City. Evidently, “the deals are automatic” at this place.

4. Deaconess Hospital: This is a commercial about screening for breast cancer. I don’t really feel right critiquing it. (Maybe this activity wasn’t such a good idea.) At least it’s not the Integris commercial for their physical therapy department. That one’s hard to watch (and the Roy Orbison music doesn’t help).

5. OG&E: This is another public service type commercial telling people to “call before you dig.” No problem there. Does the power company pay for these ads, or do they give the TV station a discount on its bill? If they are paying, I wish they’d pull the ads and put the savings toward our bills.

6. Eyemart Express: Glasses in an hour. This is the first time I’ve seen this commercial. Looks like they used real people in their testimonials. Looks like they have five metro locations. One is likely located near me.

And you thought reading blogs was a waste of time!