Comments on Becky's T-Blog: The Beckysweb First Annual Advertising Awards

An ad stating the bleeding obvious that I just rem...

2007-12-28T01:20:00.000Z

An ad stating the bleeding obvious that I just remembered was an old one for an item of confectionery called Kool Mints, which was described as "the mint that's just made for mouths". That was certainly helpful to know; I wouldn't have wanted to accidentally buy one of those brands that was made for sticking up one's arse, after all.

Wow, I feel strangely flattered; what perverse fee...

2007-12-25T12:32:00.000Z

Wow, I feel strangely flattered; what perverse feelings of nationalistic pride were instilled in me by your comment on how dire our ads are! But you're right, of course; you get the real cream of the crap down here. Right now, one of THE absolute worst ones to assault viewers is an ad for some erectile dysfunction cure that shows (or, to be more accurate, only implies (thank God for some small mercies)) two guys playing a grand piano with their erect tallywhackers. Surely a lot of the propaganda on North Korean television must be less painful to watch than that!

I can spell 'nostalgic'. Really.

2007-12-24T17:49:00.001Z

I can spell 'nostalgic'. Really.

"Still, we've more than enough of our own dodgy ad...

2007-12-24T17:49:00.000Z

"Still, we've more than enough of our own dodgy ads down here in Oz, "

Oh God, yes. One of the things I'm not looking forward to when/if we move to Oz is the sheer crapness of the TV advertising there. I mean our ads are bad, but after a few days of Aussie TV you get quite nostaligic for ITV ...

Um, that was... interesting. The things you miss ...

2007-12-21T11:27:00.000Z

Um, that was... interesting. The things you miss when you live on the other side of the world! Still, we've more than enough of our own dodgy ads down here in Oz, including ones for computer shops (there's a mob where I live called A&R Computers, who've created some delightfully bad low-budget um... "masterpieces"). One British-made product that I must say left me suitably appalled when I first saw it (on the shelves of a shop in Sydney selling English-brand groceries and whatnot) was "Sugar Puffs" breakfast cereal. D'ah! I can't imagine myself sitting down first thing in the morning - still half-asleep, and, more often than not, horribly hung-over - and staring at the hideous furry monster that graces boxes of that particular foodstuff!

Becky...I swear you were channelling Charlie Brook...

2007-12-20T08:30:00.000Z

Becky...I swear you were channelling Charlie Brooker there (minus all the swearing).

The PC World adverts are staggeringly badly made: You've got a product you want to flog, you have one attractive and fluffy looking girl playing a customer and one spotty oik playing a spotty oik PC World staff member: So which one does the camera spend the most time on? That's right, the oik in the purple shirt! And if you're gums aren't receding and bleeding at that, they go and put the Intel Pentium song on (surely the most incongruous piece of music forced into any advert) in.

PG tips have managed to do a double rip off: PG Tips to M&S to On Digital where they all began (to think just a couple of years ago Ben Miller and Xander Armstrong could only get advertising jobs)

I loved this blog entry, Mrs. Sweb.

I've never seen that toothpaste advert and on firs...

2007-12-19T20:49:00.000Z

I've never seen that toothpaste advert and on first reading I thought you'd made up a spoof product called, "ProName!"

'ProNamel' is not much better. In fact, it may be worse...

@ Stephanie: LOL. I think that would rock - for ab...

2007-12-19T19:14:00.000Z

@ Stephanie: LOL. I think that would rock - for about a week - and then the irony would run out. :)

PC World aren't the only ones to do this - Argos are a keen offender - and that's the use of "under 400 pounds." 399.99 - well, yes, technically it is under 400 quid, but not by much! Perhaps government IT projects should try the same. :D

Can I just state for the record that this is proba...

2007-12-19T17:44:00.000Z

Can I just state for the record that this is probably the best example of dry, British humour that I've seen in a bit? Good stuff. Lucky the lab hasn't caught on fire with all those candles and whatnot.

I wish I could get that job where you just sit aro...

2007-12-19T14:22:00.000Z

I wish I could get that job where you just sit around making up pseudo-scientific names for products and their ingredients.

I worked in a Dixons Warehouse in the run-up to Christmas many years ago and I can confirm that I hated every single product I unloaded - simply for the bloody back-pain it gave me!

@Alli'cat - LOL!!

What about the Shooting yourself in the foot award...

2007-12-19T11:59:00.000Z

What about the Shooting yourself in the foot award?
I remember this bit of inspired copy from a Dove deodorant ad', "Puts back what shaving takes away." Well that would be hair wouldn't it?