Shaping the Way We Live

These days, there are certain things that shape the way we live as Americans. Some of these things are our friends, our family, the entertainment industry, church, school, etc. But there is one thing above all that influences us the most. Think about what that thing could be... you got it? Well, if you were thinking commercials, you are absolutely correct. Commercials indeed effect everything about the way we live. They effect what we buy, how we act, how we dress. They also make us laugh, drive us crazy, confuse us, and sometimes send us to a point to where we just want to jump off a cliff rather than ever seeing that commercial again. Kudos to the people who come up with really good advertisements. Now I will tell you some of the ones I like, and the ones that I absolutely hate...

I'll begin with the ones that make me want to hit my head into a slab of concrete and the move on to good ones.

Pepto Bismol: This one wins the trophy, grandprize, best in show (or rather, WORST in show) This is not one of those annoying but standable commercials, no no, it seriously has made my parents consider sending me to the nut house because of what it does to me. They have used the idea of the Macarena with words such as "nausea, heartburn, indegestion, upset stomach, and diarrhea" accompanied by corresponding arm and hand motions. That should tell you enough, it's just wrong, the song and everything really is just... wow, too much.

Chili's: I usually don't have a problem with these commercials, but it just struck me on this one. They show Olympic medal winning gymnast Dominique Dawes on the balance beam and she's singing the "Baby Back Ribs" song. At the end it says something to the effect of, "What drives her to win?" and she finishes her routine by saying the words "barbeque sauce," implying that she was thinking of Chili's the whole time during her routine and that's why she did well. Just like, a weird concept, and WAAAAY cheesy.

Rooms to Go/Freeds Home Furnishing: OK starting with Rooms to Go (which I saw as I was writing this) It's not that it's really annoying, or bad. But they always have to have a couple connecting arms sitting on a couch, telling you about how good the values are at Rooms to Go. Are they trying to make us think that we're having a look inside these peoples' home as if all they do is sit around talking about the values they've had on their furniture. Or are they just people that are like, always in the store that act like it's their home even when it really isn't. Also the guy always seems to be the idiot in these asking questions like, "Are you kidding? No down payment until 2006? How can they do that?" then the wife looks at him like he had just asked the dumbest question in the world. And Freed's Furniture. I'm sorry, but no one goes to Freed's. It's that old ugly brown box building off of the highway. And if you notice in the commercials, it is the SAME lady that walks through the building every time which obviously means she wasn't satisfied with what she had bought before or it just fell apart on delivery. She also flips through their catalogue as if she isn't in the actual showroom and can't see the things in person...

Virgin Mobile: This applies to their radio ads rather than their TV ads. I LOVE their radio commercials. You hear two people that are talking to each other on Virgin Mobile phones, but instead of talking they're scatting and singing every word. Then this guy that's not on Virgin Mobile beeps into one of their phones and it's all staticy and you just hear this white guy that's trying to sound cool and rap/scat and he's like horrible. Then it goes back to the two Virgin Mobilers and they keep singing and make fun of him. I thought it was a very inteligent and different idea... 10 points.

Boost Mobile: WOW, they really score big with this one. It shows all these old people outside having a party at night and they're talking on the phone to each other in ebonics and stuff. It's just REALLY funny because I've heard everything they say but it's just so odd seeing/hearing it coming out of their mouths. I also like the catchphrase at the end "Where you at?"

WOW. I just wrote a lot... But yes, it's true, commercials deeply impact our lives, as they obviously have impacted mine.