Advertising rants

It’s summer, which always seems to bring mindless, stupid advertisig to the TV, to movie theaters and even to the world of print. There is so much out there in the wild, woolly world of advertising right now that just makes me shake my head (and occasionally my fist) in frustration…

- The commercials for NBC’s upcoming “My Name is Earl” are so bad that even when I read the title in print I throw up a little in the back of my mouth. The commercials are constant, neverending and always end with Lee saying “my name is Earl.” As if that’s a selling point for a show. I love Jason Lee and I think he’d be great for TV, but this constant barrage of stupid ads that essentially make fun of rural folk have completely turned me off of any possibility of seeing this pilot. I don’t even know what its about…and I don’t care to find out.

- I love that it has become both acceptable and fashionable to rag on the Fantanas from those brain-numbing Fanta commercials. Entertainment Weekly as been all over the Fanta gals of late, mostly for ruining pre-movie entertainment everywhere they pop up. I know the little song is supposed to make us think positive thoughts whenever we see a Fanta in a gas station’s cooler…but it’s had quite the opposite effect. Every time I see a Fanta, I want to destroy personal property.

- Boy, you know you’ve fallen far when you have to resort to doing Hanes Her Way ads. Jennifer Love Hewitt has become such a non-player in Hollywood that I even had to ask for a moment “Is that someone famous?” when I saw her in my latest EW. Remember how she was the It girl because she made some crappy horror films and starred in a Fox sitcom? Well since then, apparently she only gets ad work. I found the Hanes ad amusing because it’s supposed to be a “hey look, we have a celebrity in our ad!” sort of ad campaign…but most people would see it and say “she looks vaguely familiar…isn’t she in a Noxema ad?” Whose next in the Hanes campaign? Sarah Michelle Gellar? Brandy?


- And does anyone else think Jared has overstayed his welcome? Subway, it’s time to move on. Take a hint from BK and get something scary and animatronic instead of scary and annoying.