Posted on 05/19/2007 7:31:38 AM PDT by Congressman Billybob
There are certain categories of ads on TV which offend me, and no doubt you, whenever they appear. There are the impotence ads. (Known as “E.D.” to its friends.) Plus the constipation/diarrhea ads. Plus the mobility (scooter) ads. The implication is that older men can’t get it up, can’t get it out, or can’t get it moving. Throw in the Alzheimer ads, and we can’t remember whether we’ve done any of that.
I say “we” because all these annoying ads are my fault. Yes, mine, and I apologize.
Yes, I am falling apart. It was only a month ago that I found out that gout is not an ancient disease that was wiped out shortly after Ben Franklin died. It’s a modern disease, with about the pain level of dropping a one gallon can of paint on your toes. Repeatedly. On both feet.
Fortunately, gout is also highly treatable and disappears entirely. That’s good, because both of my regular doctors are fellow sufferers, and therefore highly sympathetic. But that’s not the reason these ads are my fault.
When you go into Burger King or whatever, do you pay attention to the canned music playing in the background? It’s all generic; they pour syrup on the music and the instruments, so the result is non-offensive. With a little work, you can figure out what classic tunes are being kicked while they are down.
No matter where you go, most generic music is stuck in the sixties, with touches of the late fifties and early seventies. And all that musical boredom is also my fault. Sorry about that.
Advertising goes where the money is – of course. And people who are on the slippery slope to high-stakes bingo and budget cruise ships, spend more money per head than anyone else, because we are coming apart at the seams. But most important, there are more of us than any other demographic group.
I’m at the leading edge of the Baby Boomers. Sometimes, the definition of us starts at the end of WW II. Other times it is more generous, and includes me by adding all who were born during that War.
Think back to kindergarten. The kids whose names started with “A” always got the cold milk and the unbroken cookies. Well, that’s the way it has been for Baby Boomers every year since we first started to have disposable income.
We are the rat in the demographic snake. From music, to movies, to all forms of communication, our tastes have dominated over your tastes, regardless of which generation you’re in, other than ours. And now that we are falling apart absent chemical or surgical enhancement, these ads are the result.
I didn’t do this on purpose. And I didn’t do it alone. But all this is my fault. Right after a spate of ads for nursing homes and prosthetic parts, plus maybe a touch of elaborate funeral homes, we’ll be out of here and y’all can get the popular culture back.
Personally, I’m stubborn. I intend to stick around and see what comes next. Give it your best shot. I promise to be patient, and tolerant. Starting in about ten years.
Of course, there is the little matter that our retirement will destroy Social Security and bankrupt the US government. But that’s an apology for another day.
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About the Author: John Armor practiced in the US Supreme Court for 33 years. John_Armor@aya.yale.edu He lives in the 11th District of North Carolina.
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Evidently you’ve never had a kidney stone. That’s about as close to the feeling of “labor pain” as any man will ever get.
I always try to picture John Wayne doing one of those ads. It sobbers me up real quick!
ROFLMAO!!! Great one billybob! I’ve got my teeth in and my shoes on...
Um...what in the world are you talking about?
Heh. You noticed that eh? Just imagine the marketing dweeb who figured that one out--"Homo cavemen! What a great meme! Brought to you by Brokeback Insurance Company."
I find the GEICO caveman commercials offensive. It’s got a homosexual flavor about it.
For the record, what does a homosexual taste like?
The “cavemen” have a homosexual flair about them ... .
I find THAT offensive and the “humor” is kindergarten level.
Barf!
Perhaps YOU could better answer that.
I simply stated the the GEICO commercial was offensive since it had a homosexual flavor about it. If you want to take that LITERALLY, by all means - find out what a homosexual tastes like - just don’t tell me how good it was. In fact, don’t tell me about your experience tasting a homosexual.
Adults, understood what I stated, even if they didn't agree with me. Perhaps comprehension isn't your strong suit.
My husband noticed it and was repulsed. Kindergarten humor isn’t his thing either.
Uh, it was a joke.
The ads, in fact, don’t have a homosexual flavor. They portray the cavemen as urban hipsters or yuppies. The ad would not have worked as well if they were potrayed as construction workers or mechanics or even suburban dwellers of the type featured in car advertising.
The only decent ad that Geico ever did was the one with Peter Graves. I love that one.
So I put on some tangerine lipgloss and answered the door
aha! Someone else who first got gout in their twenties. My husband has had two compressed discs in his back where could barely move. He said that was easy compared to gout,
More of a metrosexual caveman... which is just as gay I suppose.
After the week we've had, we all need a Good Laugh. Thanks!
No offense, but i can only conclude from this that you've never met any homsexuals or even watched any on TV.
the “humor” is kindergarten level.
I don't recall ever seeing anything juvenile or offensive on a GEICO ad. I think their marketing campaign is brilliant. The ads are memorable and get a very simple point across over and over again. Heck, I could name ten products with ads more disgusting than anything GEICO's done even if we accept your homosexual caveman premise, without listing any of the sexual pharmaceutical ads this thread is about.
Any, have a nice weekend.
Wrong! You are right that I don’t watch them on TV.
the “humor” is kindergarten level.
I don’t recall ever seeing anything juvenile or offensive on a GEICO ad. I think their marketing campaign is brilliant. The ads are memorable and get a very simple point across over and over again. Heck, I could name ten products with ads more disgusting than anything GEICO’s done even if we accept your homosexual caveman premise, without listing any of the sexual pharmaceutical ads this thread is about.
We simply disagree. What I find memorable about GEICO is the kindergarten humor and offensive homosexual overtures. Other ads maybe more offensive but I am being specific on GEICO and not interested in getting into a pissing contest on which is worse.
Any, have a nice weekend.
You too!
Every time I see one of those ads, I can't helpe thinking, "Old people can't have sex in a bathtub. Somebody'll break a hip."
When its time for "natures cry"
I'll still roll--I'm born to be dry!
I can ride so far, no piss drip down my bike....
Born to be dry-eye-eye!!!
Yeah, and when I see those ads (they ain't about married couples, are they?) I think "Yeah, don't learn anything...you know how you got the ol' herps in the first place, so keep on exposing yourself to STD transmission, you twit. Real romantic."
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