To Sell a Product

When you watch as much TV as I do, you see a lot of commercials.  Some make me angry; some make me smile.

My perennial anger goes to Stanton Optical, which has the most stupid commercials ever.  To make matters worse, they always run in pairs.  Commercial for Stanton, commercial for something else, same commercial for Stanton again.  The worst was probably the one where a pair of glasses seemed to be going into labor and eventually popping out another pair.  Lots of grunting and groaning in that one until they finally told us that you got two pair of glasses for the price of one.  They eventually dropped that commercial and my latest anger is directed at the one where a guy dressed all in pink interrupts a women's book club to say that he can't concentrate on one woman's comments because of her pink glasses and all he can think of is "pink." (I saw someone wearing blue glasses the other day and had to laugh that this was my first thought!)

The latest one is as incomprehensible as all the others.  There is a long staircase, flanked on both sides with people, each wearing a pair of glasses.  A guy, also wearing glasses, marches down the middle of the stairs, stops to rip a pair of glasses off one person and asks what they are.  The guy answers "Stanton" and explains that he got two pair for one price, whereupon the original guy crushes the glasses in his hand and screams STANTON and everyone scatters.

What does it all mean?

But there are commercials that I like.  The Eucrisa commercials are cute.  Eucrisa is an ointment for mild eczema and is a series of people asking if it's safe for them.  One of my favorites is the little girl who asks "the face of a fairy?" (Note the red eczema on her cheek.)

But my favorite is the kid who assures the viewer that Eucrisa is "steroid free."  He has such an engaging attitude.

And then there is the teenager who has to break the news to his parents that he has had an auto accident at a local drive-in.

He's praising them for the kind of Allstate insurance coverage they have before they take away is driving rights for 4 weeks.  I love him as an actor

I wonder who writes these mini-dramas designed to sell us something.  Some are brilliant; some should be fired!  I'd also love to see some of the casting auditions.