Greatest ads on TV

[Mabelline]

Yes, I mourn that little smart mouth chiwah wah ---dog. too.

Also, in the cows commercial, it's a shame they aren't bulls (as Usual--Lassie was a boy)

[Mabelline]

Oh yeah, blame the dog, if their food didn't suck, their sales would have gone up. Up here, if we're doing junk, we end up at DelTaco.

[Mudpuppie]

Here's some media coverage of the Quizno's ads, which I kind of like. I also kind of like Quizno's sandwiches -- by fast food standards, they're pretty damn good. And, as noted in one of the commercials, they have a pepper bar.

Also, personally, a commercial rarely dictates whether I'll eat at a restaurant or not. I'm obviously not in the target market.

Youth culture finding unity with online animations: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/2402614

Bob Garfield on why the ads are great, despite rodent phobias (AdAge, but on Quizno's site): http://quiznos.thegraphicsarchive.com/Pres...spx?AssetID=567

[fifi]

Great catch on the Houston Chronicle article.

Parsnip Soup

[Mabelline]

Loved The End of the World!!! Oz going WTF?

Parsnip soup, I'll remember that

[Mudpuppie]

Great catch on the Houston Chronicle article.

Parsnip Soup

Aw, man, I thought that was a recipe link.

[Stone]

If you like the hamsters, here's a better clip of the angry kittens.

[TPO]

From the AdAge article:

Finally, this stuff is so weird, unexpected and reckless that it's just plain cool. At least, it will be deemed as cool by the 14- to 24-year-old boys and men who represent 116% of Quiznos audience.

Okay, that explains a lot.

IMO Quizno's ad can't hold a candle to Blockbuster's Carl and Ray.

"Shake what your mama gave you!"

(Of course, I am not a 14- to 24-year-old male.)

[mags]

I love rathergood.com -- to which I was directed, of all bizarre things, by the Wall Street Journal -- but WHERE ARE THE VIKING KITTENS???? I had to go elsewhere to find them. Viz: http://users.wolfcrews.com/toys/vikings/ (make sure you have your audio turned on)

I am also a big fan of Pavorotti Loves Elephants -- happily, still on the original site: http://www.rathergood.com/elephants/

[Mabelline]

Aww, I am getting a sore stomach from all this laughing.

[beans]

Mee too! At first I was repulsed by those Sponge Monkeys. Now I think they are hysterical. Last night's secret code words were "Beware of paper cuts." if any of the service staff wanted something from the service bar. They had to say it in the same manner. Made one of my regulars nearly fall of his barstool laughing.

edited to add: Thinking about last night almost brought tears to my eyes from laughing so hard. Yup, we are imps with too much time on our hands when at work.

Edited February 21, 2004 by beans (log)

[Mabelline]

Did anybody else watch the Badger Lord of the Rings...and as an aside, how many knew all the words of Immigrant Song? I am quite partial to the Viking Kittens.

[Jaymes]

And, if nothing else, the Spongs sure have everybody talking. So I guess that's a good thing.

[pete ganz]

The travelocity commercials with the garden gnome

I love the radio ads with the English accent, "I feel like a naughty rock star...naughty and saucy!".

[Mudpuppie]

Don't know if anyone's noticed, but the latest song of the day from rathergood.com is actually food-related: A sad tale of when biscuits go wrong.

[hjshorter]

I am also a big fan of Pavorotti Loves Elephants -- happily, still on the original site: http://www.rathergood.com/elephants/

I can't watch that without dissolving into helpless laughter. Maybe it could be worked into an ad to sell pasta.

[FistFullaRoux]

Speaking of food ads, one of the great pitchmen has gone to his reward...

Veteran Pillsbury spokesperson, The Pillsbury Doughboy, died yesterday of a severe yeast infection and complications from repeated pokes to the belly. He was 71.

Doughboy was buried in a slightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out, including Mrs. Butterworth, the California Raisins, Hungry Jack, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, Captain Crunch, and many others.

The graveside was piled high with flours as longtime friend, Aunt Jemima, delivered the eulogy, describing Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded.

Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with many turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes.

Despite being a little flaky at times, even as a crusty old man, he was considered a roll model for millions. Doughboy is survived by his second wife, Play Dough. They have two children and one in the oven. The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.

[Mabelline]

Oddly reminiscent of the Kinky Friedman song "Get Your Bisquits In the Oven and Your Buns In the Bed"....

Who by the way, is running for governor of Texas on a platform of WHY THE HELL NOT?

[Jaymes]

Oddly reminiscent of the Kinky Friedman song  "Get Your Biscuits In the Oven and Your Buns In the Bed"....

Who by the way, is running for governor of Texas on a platform of WHY THE HELL NOT?

Ah yes, 'Kinky Friedman & the Texas Jewboys.' Gotta love the Kinkster. I'm votin' for him of course.

Edited February 22, 2004 by Jaymes (log)

[ExtraMSG]

Doughboy was buried in a slightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out, including Mrs. Butterworth, the California Raisins, Hungry Jack, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, Captain Crunch, and many others.

I used to work for the creators of the California Raisins, and I'm telling you the raisins have too much purple pride to honor that pubescent cracker.

Nick

[lia]

I love rathergood.com -- to which I was directed, of all bizarre things, by the Wall Street Journal -- but WHERE ARE THE VIKING KITTENS????

THANK YOU. I've been looking for that.

As for the spongemonkeys/angry kittens, whose teeth do you suppose they used? is that a child do you think?

[KatieLoeb]

Ooh, how could I forget the two bulls talkin' about the babe cows in California? Where the happy cows are?

That commercial totally reminds me of a bad joke about wisdom.

There's an old bull and a young bull looking down at the pasture. The young bull says to the old bull, "Hey - howzabout we run down the hill and f*ck us one of them cows?"

The old bull looks at the young bull and shakes his head. "No son, let's walk down the hill and f*ck them all..."

Sorry - to stay on topic, those Spongemonkey things, or whatever they are are BIZARRE. They look like hamsters with false teeth! And they can't sing and English is obviously NOT their first language. What's up with that? I'm not getting the connection between the bizarro creatures and the sandwiches. Or is it just me?

[Mabelline]

Ah, glad to hear that once again, it's not my meds misfiring on a few cylinders. I was wondering. But the Viking Kittens, now, they are good.

[Alex]

Sorry - to stay on topic, those Spongemonkey things, or whatever they are are BIZARRE.  They look like hamsters with false teeth!  And they can't sing and English is obviously NOT their first language.  What's up with that?  I'm not getting the connection between the bizarro creatures and the sandwiches.  Or is it just me? 

Check out that AdAge.com article for the connection.

An effective TV ad is designed to: 1) make you pay attention to it; 2) make you remember it; 3) convey some useful information about the product. I think these Quizno's ads succeed on all counts.

I love these ads. Except now that jingle (or its progenitor) keeps popping into my head at random times. And speaking of bizarro, how about Jason Alexander pitching KFC? Now there's a good ad. :sarcastic wink:

(Edited for clarity, so necessary in these murky and confusing times.)

Edited February 23, 2004 by Alex (log)

[Crystal]

The Sponge monkies are strange but, that jingle is a popular one in our house. My husband and I have been know to belt out "They are a dollar off!" at each other as a greeting.