Bad advertising

Many years ago, Ex-Husband (he was Husband at the time) showed me the simple joy of boycotting products that had bad advertising.

I'm not talking about a local commercial for the muffler shop two miles away, with that nasty jingle and the even worse joke. No, I can make my peace with low budget, local flops, because it isn't the business owner's fault (I hope), and that local business owner paid good money, hoping to increase his trade. I actually kind of admire these local entrepreneurs, trying to sell more mattresses by putting on a cheap cowboy hat that doesn't even fit.

No, when I am talking boycott issues, I mean multimillion dollar international companies who somehow buy in to an ad line that should have got their account rep FIRED. I think television commercials can, at one end of the spectrum, be an absolute art form. So when I am confronted with terrible advertising, I stop buying whatever that company is hawking. If I can't trust them to know if a commercial is lame or not, how can I trust them to make a good car / washing machine / diet soda?

A few minutes ago, I saw a commercial that was so bad I threw up in my mouth a little bit. Clearly, I can not buy their product. Problem is that is was for the National CHEESE Council.

Give up cheese??? In order to maintain my advertising integrity, I must. But, umm, never gonna happen. I feel like such a sell out.



And in case you are curious -- and you must be dear, dear friends if you have just read all the way through four paragraphs about a cheese commercial -- here is the jist of the ad:

Mom and Dad in the kitchen, preparing dinner. Three kids sitting at the table. Parents spontaneously break in to Aretha Franklin's "Respect", slightly rewritten with such gems as, "C-H-E-E-S-E, find out what it means to me".... and "All I'm asking for, is for a little cheese" while the kids start chanting "Serve it to me serve it to me serve it to me...." NOT GOOD