Ad appeal

I love commercials. I love 'em a lot. It's kind of unhealthy.

When I was a kid I wanted to make commercials when I grew up. I was convinced the oldies song "Domino" would go great with a pizza commercial. And it was certainly better than that damn Noid. (Remember him? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_6MozpyBKE)

The big commercial day of the year is always the Super Bowl. I could care less about the guys in tights running around the field. The commercials are the true spectacle. (Am I the only one who has started wondering how Go Daddy will inspire and offend in 2010? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVQUvepHW_w)

Lately, I had seen a huge downturn in commercial quality. You can see the economic struggles companies are facing. Old Navy no longer hires models. They avoided paying people by using mannequins both in their print and broadcast ads. The Travelocity Traveling Gnome uses postcards to show the places he can go, rather than real exotic locations. And he doesn't speak. He flashes cards.

But, the craziest of all is the car ads. It is almost April, but yesterday I saw a commercial advertising a 2008 truck. A 2008! That is unthinkable for the auto industry. The 2008s should have been gone last June. The 2009s should have been advertised since then. The economy is so horrific, car dealers are still trying to get rid of last years cars when in a "normal" world the auto industry would be months away from offering the new 2010s.

The recession is killing us all, but I really hate it when one of my favorite forms of entertainment - 30-second spots - are getting hit as hard as the rest of us. Companies across the board are suffering ... and it's most obvious in their TV commercials.

Here's one of my favorite truly offensive commericals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCYB0lzoofc