January 1, 2004

• VOTE NOW FOR THE WORST COMMERCIAL OF 2003!!!

  
  

  All right, the nominations are in, so here's the ballot (For those of you brave, or masochistic, enough, I've included links to view the commercials where I could find them):

  
  

  1. CareerBuilder.com (submitted by Marisa): Marisa hates these commercials for being unrealistic, as she says, " you can't rewind and start all over again and say something different."

  
  

  2. The Dell Interns (submitted by andromediva): This is the ad campaign that replaced the "Dude you're getting a Dell" guy. At first, it seemed like a vast improvement, but things went downhill really fast. These interns couldn't be cheesier (such as the commercial where one intern imagines he's a computer undergoing stress tests and inspections).

  
  

  3. Verizon (submitted by andromediva): This ad campaign's been going on for a couple of years, but I made the exception for it since it's incredibly annoying and I'm surprised it didn't get nominated until this year. This campaign needs no description, since virtually everyone who watches American TV has seen the "Can you hear me now?" guy. He was irritating from the very first commercial he was in, and I'm not sure why they've kept up this ad campaign, since I know of no one who finds him entertaining (Maybe it's a phone thing. I seem to remember asking the same question about Carrot Top last year). 

  
  

  4. Geico's "I saved a bunch of money" commercials (submitted by moniet): It's sad to see good ad campaigns being replaced by sucky ones, and I think that's what's happening here. I see the gecko less and less, and I'm seeing more of these commercials. Basically, the nominated commercials follow this formula: Person A (usually someone of importance such as a doctor, lawyer, baseball manager, etc) tells Person B (usually someone down on their luck like a prisoner or a tired-out pitcher) that they have great news. Person B thinks that the great news pertains to them and they ask Person A about it (usually by suggesting something that would help them out). Person A says no and proceeds to say that they (Person A) just saved a bunch of money on their car insurance with Geico. Result: a groan from the viewer.

  
  

  5. Celine Dion's Perfume (submitted by MissBecky): Celine Dion seems to be getting on a lot of people's nerves lately. I will admit that I like some of her older songs, but I think she's kind of run out of steam (I got her "A New Day Has Come" album as a gift, only to discover that I only liked one song on it out of 14. I didn't even bother with her latest album). Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks that way, and for some reason, Celine seems to think that she can re-energize her career by manufacturing her own line of perfume. The result is an annoying commercial.

  
  

  6. Sony DVD Camcorder (submitted by Chris): This is the commercial where a teenager is singing "You are My Shining Star" to his girlfriend, and his little sister secretly records it on this camera. Later, the family goes to watch a DVD, and the sister sticks the DVD she recorded it on and embarrasses the hell out of the teenager. The guy's parents find it funny, which is even more embarrassing for him.

  
  

  7. Progressive Car Insurance Plumber Ad (submitted by YoImErin): This is the first commercial to be nominated two years in a row. A guy has a leak that floods his house to about three feet deep. You see the family marrooned on the couch like it's a raft, and the dog goes floating by on his bed. However, he's a Progressive customer, and he wants the plumber to "give the rates of three of his competitors" before he gets to work.

  
  

  8. AOL For Broadband with Sharon Stone (submitted by me): This one hasn't been on in a while, but it sure was creepy. It featured Sharon Stone moaning how the night before was incredible (and I'm sure you know what I mean by that). That's bad enough, and then it is revealed that she's talking to the AOL icon. That's just scary.

  
  

  9. "Trunk Monkey" Car Dealership Commercial (submitted by my dad): A cop pulls a woman over for speeding. She tries to talk her way out of it, but when that doesn't work, she pops the trunk. A chimpanzee crawls out of the trunk and tries to bribe the cop first with money, then with a donut. The next shot is of the chimp sitting in the backseat of the police car (the idea being that the cop arrested him). My mom thinks the commercial is racist as well. This is a syndicated commercial for various dealerships, so the actual name may vary (although the most well known is Suburban Auto Group), but chances are you've seen it (apparently the trunk monkey now has a cult following). By the way, on the link, it's "Trunk Monkey 4."

  
  

  10. Bissell Clean Sweep (submitted by me): This is one of those commercials that manages to be cheesy, sexist, and dumb all at the same time. The commercial involves a woman talking about how she "races vacuums underground." We are given shots of a bunch of women surrounding the two competitors, with a lame "Fast and the Furious" feel to it. I groan every time I see this commercial.

  
  

  There you are. You have until January 6th to vote, so hurry!!

  
  

  ---

  
  

  I'll post more about my Christmas later, but I wanted to share my good news with everyone--my grades!

  
  

  Physics: B

  
  

  Guitar: B+

  
  

  History of Cinema: A-

  
  

  Biochemistry: A-

  
  

  This is much better than what I expected (except for Guitar, in which I was expecting an A). What I'm most thrilled about is that A- in Biochem. I must have aced the final, since I had been getting a B+ beforehand. What makes it even better is that I supposedly had the "bad" professor and Biochem has the reputation of being the hardest course in the department, regardless of which professor you have, and I got through it with an A-. I think it's a very satisfying way to end my Chemistry minor (I only had to take five courses for the minor, and this was the fifth). Yay!

  
  

   

  • 12:51 pm
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