Sunday, February 17, 2008

Scotties Commercials

After one day in the books of play at the Scotties, there is a lot to write about. For instance, I could talk about Manitoba winning two games and looking very solid. Or I could talk about Ontario stealing six points on Team Canada. Or I could talk about how mystifying the play of Kelly Scott was or how I think that as Jeanna Schraeder (or Jenna Shrader as I called her in yesterday's Globe) goes, so goes Team Canada.
Instead, I’m going to talk about something really riveting – the commercials. Yes, while watching Ontario-Team Canada yesterday afternoon, I was once again floored by the commercials on a curling broadcast. Here’s what I mean:
* Curling is a sort of self-propagating business, isn’t it? I mean who would buy all the commercial time if there were no future events? Yesterday, there were commercials for next year’s Scott and the Continental Cup. There were probably others, too, but I think they all started to run together. Curling must be the only sport where that happens.

* OK, somebody has to tell those people at Strauss just how horrible their ads are. I was at a friend’s house yesterday and when she saw that commercial for the first time, she started laughing. She seriously thought it was supposed to be a joke, sort of a Rick Mercer thing. That was the one that concludes with Colonel Saunders peddling that three-wheeled golf cart. I’m sure the folks at Strauss are great and goodness knows they’ve been backing curling for a long time, but these ads can’t actually help them sell any of those heart drops, can they? (And do you think Randy Ferbey really takes those? Maybe he drops them into his beer.)

* Is it just me or do the same ads come on at every break? That likely means the CCA’s sponsorship guys haven’t been able to sell all the inventory (so clients get their ads run again and again; it’s called bonusing) or the clients have only one ad. Methinks it’s probably the former.

* The best ad, by far, is the Scotties one where the clerks sweep the woman’s shopping cart up to the check out. I like that one, at least I did the first 47 times I saw it.

* What was that ad I saw in the ice on the sheets? I think it said Saskatchewan Tourism. Isn’t that an oxymoron?

4 comments:

Sunshine said...

"Saskatchewan Tourism. Isn’t that an oxymoron?"

Now that's just mean!!

ak267 said...

Two words....."turkey curling".

That the was image of the first USCA commercials to try curling (curling rocks).

Wasn't this the same problem they had in the days of the St. Claire Group??? The same thing over and over and over and over???

Anonymous said...

From Health Canada

PART I
FOODS, DRUGS, COSMETICS AND DEVICES
General
Prohibited advertising

3. (1) No person shall advertise any food, drug, cosmetic or device to the general public as a treatment, preventative or cure for any of the diseases, disorders or abnormal physical states referred to in Schedule A.

Prohibited label or advertisement where sale made

(2) No person shall sell any food, drug, cosmetic or device
(a) that is represented by label, or

(b) that the person advertises to the general public

as a treatment, preventative or cure for any of the diseases, disorders or abnormal physical states referred to in Schedule A.

Call me Paul said...

Isn't Google wonderful? This article deals (in part) with one of my pet peeves with trhe CCA. The previous commenter nailed it. The Strauss commercials are bad because Strauss is prohibited by law from telling you what they claim their heart drops do. I wish the CCA would have some integrity and refuse to accept advertising money from these scam artists.