Well... old Flo from the Progressive commercials is actually a well-respected actress and comedienne named Stephanie Courtney who has appeared in movies such as "The Heartbreak Kid" and is a founder of The Groundlings improv troupe. That's not to suggest that I would buy insurance from her; I'm merely pointing out that they didn't just randomly snag some dip out of an alley and make her their spokesperson.
There are some commercials that I like, some that I detest, and I totally ignore the other 99%.
Annie Potts... there's one. She was both gorgeous and naked in "Corvette Summer", and now she's Mother Nature in Tampax commercials. Who the hell belted her with an "ugly stick" when I wasn't paying attention?
Dori Kelly in the Glade ads turns my crank to an indecent degree. I don't care that she's older than dirt and likes things that smell stupid; she's hot.
I love, believe it or not, the JG Wentworth ads for the music. I'm not a huge fan of opera, but the 15 seconds or so of it that they present is very pleasant.
The one that I absolutely can't abide is for Cold Water Tide detergent. Some moron keeps chanting "I'm cool like that". At the first indication of it coming on, I am leaping for the remote to hit the mute button. Most of you know that I'm actually a fairly even-tempered dude despite the name, but I honest-to-**** want to put a bullet through my TV when I hear that one. It makes me absolutely furious. The only other one that rivaled it was that whiney ***** in the Nyquil commercial about 30 years ago. The "Zoomzoom" kid from the Mazda ads was approaching that status before he got turfed. (In a national poll, he was actually voted the second most-hated person in Canada, right after Brian Mulroney.)
I absolutely loved the old Alka Seltzer gigs. "Try it; you'll like it." "I can't believe I ate the whole thing." "Mama mia, that'sa some spicy meatballs." Those things were little snippets of comedic genius, with perfectly-cast actors.
There's a book that I read when I was a kid, that might be kind of neat for you to check out if you can find it and have a couple of hours to spare. Unfortunately, I can't remember the title or the name of the author. He was an advertising copywriter giving a behind-the-scenes account of what went on in the business. Hmm... his last name might have been Brown, but my memory barely extends to yesterday let alone 35 years ago. The main title was something insipid such as "Selling It' or the like. The subtitle, however, which was printed nearly as largely, said it all: "Making Commercials is Such a Dog-Eat-Dog Business It's No Wonder They Call Them Spots."
