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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    New Orleans, Louisiana

    Commercials during the 2014 NCAA Tournament

    This is the first DBR thread I've started in almost a year. I feel compelled to do so because the subject matter is so very important.

    We are nearing the end of Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament and somehow have not yet dedicated a thread to the commercials. Last year's thread was a mild hit, so I thought we'd try to capture lightning in a bottle twice. Consider this the Tommy Amaker of DBR threads (setting aside, you know, the threads we already have about Tommy Amaker).

    Today I learned (via WITHAG, a silly but helpful site) that the AT&T saleswoman is the same actress who despises the mixing of sauces at Buffalo Wild Wings:

    attbww.jpg

    Assuming Beck Bennett is not coming back for those deadpan AT&T commercials with the kids, she will be the face of the tournament.

    Other observations:

    1. Say what you will about the Fab Five, but the return of Chris Webber's flat top in the Burger King commercial is a thing of beauty.
    2. Northwestern Mutual should hire Chris Collins to liven up their ads.
    3. Craig Sager's purple closet in the Kindle commercial is so disturbingly appropriate... for him.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    I want to kill the Dish kangaroo. All Hopper commercials are bad, but this one is particularly intolerable.
    Just be you. You is enough. - K, 4/5/10, 0:13.8 to play, 60-59 Duke.

    You're all jealous hypocrites. - Titus on Laettner

    You see those guys? Animals. They're animals. - SIU Coach Chris Lowery, on Duke

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by brevity View Post
    2. Northwestern Mutual should hire Chris Collins to liven up their ads.
    Couldn't they have found a few extras or CGI'd some fans into an otherwise completely empty arena where a putative competitive basketball game was going on?

    Also, that 5-hour energy commercial. What is focus? It's every sports cliche all at once.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by brevity View Post
    1. Say what you will about the Fab Five, but the return of Chris Webber's flat top in the [Burger King] commercial is a thing of beauty.
    I beg to differ, dear brev. That is not technically a flat top: there is a degree of curliness that strictly stands outside the traditional high and tight flat top. Also, look closely and the hairdo seems to take on another personality at the closing shot where Mr. Webber has the screaming fellow (nice touch that screaming, I will admit) perched upon his shoulders.

    Alas, I will not be able to join the discussion again until next weekend. Off to Raleigh in the morning, chaps!

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by weezie View Post
    Alas, I will not be able to join the discussion again until next weekend. Off to Raleigh in the morning, chaps!
    Talk about jinxes...

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by hurleyfor3 View Post
    Talk about jinxes...
    But I am going to be wearing my blue sparkling Converse sneakers!
    I should be in a commercial.

    Uh-oh...I just walked into something, didn't I?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Atlanta, GA

    Capital One Card

    I like Sam Jackson yelling at other people in movies. I don't like him yelling at me in commercials.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by hurleyfor3 View Post
    Talk about jinxes...
    Well, it does seems extremely likely that there will be more commercials again next weekend. And if we get jinxed out of commercials, I am okay with that.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    The Charles Barkley CDW commercial where he and his coworkers get similar looking helpers that they don't need because of the CDW VMware cloud was hysterical to me. The best part? Imitation Charles Barkley muttering "terrible" on the way out because he's not needed.

    There was a popular comedian who imitated Barkley's "turrible" and this commercial had me in stitches.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Edouble View Post
    I like Sam Jackson yelling at other people in movies. I don't like him yelling at me in commercials.
    Thank you! These are the most annoying commercials to me. I am not motivated to purchase a product from and loud angry man yelling.

    Fact is, I am not motivated by any of these commercials to buy anything, because I usually don't even know what the product is, but SLJ trying to be intimidating is silly to me... he just seems... upset, that's all...

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by oldnavy View Post
    Thank you! These are the most annoying commercials to me. I am not motivated to purchase a product from and loud angry man yelling.

    Fact is, I am not motivated by any of these commercials to buy anything, because I usually don't even know what the product is, but SLJ trying to be intimidating is silly to me... he just seems... upset, that's all...
    This is so true. Modern commercials try to be funny, cute, touching, or sometimes even self-righteous over actually motivating someone to purchase their product.

    Growing up in the 80's, I remember when commercials were corny, cheesy, and poorly produced. But, you know what, I still REMEMBER them.

    The jingles they would use like "Raise your hand if your "sure", "I feel like chicken tonight!", "What would you do for Klondike Bar?", "Break me off a piece of that Kit-Kat Bar" were all so bad but they worked because they made you think about their product for the rest of your life!

    My question to modern Ad Firms is this - "Where's the beef?"!

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    New Orleans, Louisiana
    Quote Originally Posted by BlueDevilBrowns View Post
    Growing up in the 80's, I remember when commercials were corny, cheesy, and poorly produced. But, you know what, I still REMEMBER them.
    There is a void in your life, and 80s Don Draper is here to fill it.

    Examples:

    '80s Don Draper ‏@80sDonDraper Aug 21
    Reebok Pumps: A breath of fresh air into America’s soles

    '80s Don Draper ‏@80sDonDraper Jun 23
    There Peggy. We put a bow on Pacman. Happy?

    '80s Don Draper ‏@80sDonDraper May 17
    All pursuits are trivial. Your board game’s just the only one with the guts to say it.

    '80s Don Draper ‏@80sDonDraper May 5
    People want to feel good, and busting makes that happen.

    '80s Don Draper ‏@80sDonDraper Apr 30
    We'll call them Members Only, but sell them to everyone.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    New Orleans, Louisiana
    Grant Hill just saved the NCAA Tournament with his AT&T commercial. I was wondering why he'd need a family plan, but I guess his kids are old enough for their own phones. (Nokia, I assume.)

    Otherwise, as others have pointed out, the ads this year have been a weak crop. I'm trying to picture how tired I'd be if I'd seen more of this tournament. Aside from Greg Anthony's line "He meant sign the receipt, fool" there hasn't been much to remember.

  14. #14
    I've become a big fan of Lily from AT&T (as seen in the Grant Hill commercial, among several others). She's got the snark of Flo from Progressive mixed with the cuteness of the T-mobile girl.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Roxboro, NC
    Yep, yep, yep... Yep.

    I think that is the only commercial I saw the whole tournament. Granted I did not watch the Final 4.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Arlington, VA
    Quote Originally Posted by brevity View Post
    Grant Hill just saved the NCAA Tournament with his AT&T commercial. I was wondering why he'd need a family plan, but I guess his kids are old enough for their own phones. (Nokia, I assume.)

    Otherwise, as others have pointed out, the ads this year have been a weak crop. I'm trying to picture how tired I'd be if I'd seen more of this tournament. Aside from Greg Anthony's line "He meant sign the receipt, fool" there hasn't been much to remember.
    Hill's oldest was born in 2002, so yeah, might be old enough for a phone. And who knows, the family plan might be a deal just for spouses.

    The commercials I never want to see again are the doofy "up for anything" beer commercials that premiered on the Super Bowl and played about every two seconds during the Final Four.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Mount Kisco, NY
    I half watched these new Wendy's ads many, many times before figuring out that the young red head was supposed to be "Wendy". That's the impact of the DVR on viewers, you literally don't pay full attention to commercials anymore.

    The one with the family where the hamster is supposed to be the father is ridiculous. They are all ridiculous.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    New Jersey
    Quote Originally Posted by Mabdul Doobakus View Post
    I've become a big fan of Lily from AT&T (as seen in the Grant Hill commercial, among several others). She's got the snark of Flo from Progressive mixed with the cuteness of the T-mobile girl.
    Her name is Milana Vayntrub and she has a decent resume (and some nice headshots). See http://www.milanavayntrub.com/ and http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2168927/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1. I agree she's pretty cute.
    Rich
    "Failure is Not a Destination"
    Coach K on the Dan Patrick Show, December 22, 2016

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