Normally, we talk about the content that the TV networks offer as they show hundreds of hours of programming that documents the NASCAR scene for eleven months.
Several years back, the TV commercials run in these NASCAR programs began to star the drivers and even the crew chiefs. Advertisers had discovered that these familiar faces sold products and inspired brand loyalty the likes of which they had never known.
Now, NASCAR's economic struggles find sponsors who do not participate in the sport on a full-time basis. Companies like Planters, Old Spice and Go Daddy are sometimes "in" and sometimes "out" on racing weekends.
This past weekend found all three of them "in" and offering commercials that did not sit well with some TV viewers. Since these companies are not in the sport's TV broadcasts all season long, they do not make NASCAR specific commercials with drivers and racing themes. Instead, they imported some other commercials from the entertainment side of the cable TV world.
While Tony Stewart may be fond of Old Spice as a sponsor, many emailers were not fond of the half-man/half-horse character who was standing supposedly naked in the shower. It got creepier when he put his Old Spice combo bodywash/shampoo container on his own man/horse rear-end.
The creepiness reached a fever pitch when his beautiful and normal wife/girlfriend walked-in and stood next to her naked horse/guy/boyfriend/husband thing. Yes, he was a good provider. Not sure what program, network or TV series this commercial was intended for, but good luck on impressing NASCAR fans with the Centaur approach.
Nothing has lit-up the email like the Planters Peanut company commercials. A quick check of NASCAR will tell you that about half of the fans are female. Perhaps, the best way to sell them peanuts is not to have an "ugly girl" smear herself with "Essence of Peanut" and then walk around town while men get run-over and fight just to be near her.
See, she would be nothing except an "ugly girl" if she did not smell like peanuts. Somehow, I just don't think those NASCAR peanuts are flying off the shelves. Perhaps, 2009 might find Planters back in NASCAR with a different advertising agency and commercials.
Over the past several years, a very obnoxious company called Go Daddy has been making a name for itself in two ways. First, it has thrown a lot of money at celebrities and secondly it has produced some of the most sexist and borderline profane commercials every made. This weekend NASCAR fans got a little taste of both.
It was Disney-owned ESPN that showed several different Go Daddy commercials in the two NASCAR races. Some featured Dale Earnhardt Jr. and others who promoted the Go Daddy website services. It was another non-NASCAR commercial that got the email smoking and the parents upset. Once again, where this commercial originally aired may tell the real tale of why and how it wound-up on ESPN.
Two male actors were involved in some office conversation that was totally harmless as presented. Then, the suggestions began where this commercial was headed as the guys talked about "doing" various women. Of course, it meant looking them up on the computer.
The joke concluded as a female office worker walked by just when one of the men was saying that he "already did his mother." The female yelled "pervert" and that was the end of that. This Go Daddy company is really a class act.
Perhaps, we could get Go Daddy and Planters together for a seminar on female NASCAR demographics while the horse/guy/thing waited outside. He does not seem to be very shy about showing off his bodywash/shampoo shelf in public.
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80 comments:
Many of those commercials are very annoying. However, as a child of the 80s I'm a fan of the Doogie Howser inspired Neil Patrick Harris commercial for Old Spice. The one where he's a "former pretend doctor". Makes me laugh. But the half man-half horse is a little weird...
Old Spice has taken the low road as of late. While the half man, half horse commercial is bad enough, I think the worst one involved showing a soap bar in a shower, covered in pubic hair. I guess it was meant to sell the Old Spice body wash, but it only served to make watchers toss their cookies.
The Peanut Woman commercial first appeared on the Super Bowl this year, and I believe it got some pretty high marks from the bozos in the advertising industry. While there is a sexist overtone to it, I find the commercial to be more insulting to my intelligence than anything else.
The Go Daddy commercials have been stupid from the start. I believe they also started on Super Bowl Sunday, but in those commercials, they chose to use a very sexed up storyline with a fantasy woman. I always thought commercials were supposed to inform the public what the product was all about, but those Go Daddy commercials are so obtuse, I could never figure out what Go Daddy was. I surmise that since so many of these internet companies are founded by "geeks", they think sexist and insulting commercials are what the macho men of this world want to see.
In all honesty, for the past few years, I've found most commercials appear to target the lowest common denominator of society. Either that or advertising agencies think that the American TV watching population has a collective IQ of 60. When sitting at home watching commercials, I just shake my head and say, "Who writes these things and what company big wig has approved such stupidity?".
When that Go Daddy commercial airs tomorrow during the Indy race, pay attention to what's on the computer screens. I can't remember exactly what it said, but it was very suggestive and extremely tasteless.
Darbar,
The GoDaddy commercials are made not to sell their services to you, because you're not a web designer or power user who needs your own domain name. If you were, you'd know who they were and what they do.
As someone who owns six domains ("KennFong.com"), GoDaddy is a name I'd heard for years but never investigated. After seeing a number of their commercials -- which are platformed to establish different messages -- I finally did the research and changed over, and I find them the best of the four companies I've used over the last 15 years. It's a stupid name and some of the ads are gauche, but it's a great company.
The provocative GoDaddy commercials are supported by a lot of banner and button ads on the Internet which establish the product line, affordability, and service.
Since the majority of web designers are males, the GoDaddy "Girls" like Danica Patrick and the former wrestling valets catch my eye and make the name a bug in my head ("Mmm, mmm, good. That's why Campbell's soup is 'Mmm, mmm, good.' "). The Dale Jr. ads serve the same purpose. (I became a customer before the Danica Patrick endorsement.)
Because of remote controls and DVRs, advertisers have to push the envelope to grab your attention.
It will only get worse.
Kenny - Pacific Time Zone, Alameda, California
I thought centaur-man was funny, but indeed, to quote one of my family members, "disgusting" was how she described it. I've never been accused of having good taste!
[Blogger] Kenn Fong said...
J.D.,
I wish you had included the campaign with that obnoxious little brat who is a faux Wallace.
Kenny, he might be annoying to some, but the commercial is in no way in a league with the three mentioned in JD's column.
Now I can see how the realm of "The Nanny State" came about.
I find the Loren Wallace commercials entertaining.
It's all about perspective.
I was more offended at the old Jeremey Mayfield commercial where it showed a woman preparing for her evening out in automotive repair garb, dousing herself with gasoline and then shrilling" HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY JEREMEYYYYYYYYYYYYYY".
THAT annoying and offending monstrosity went on for almost two seasons and not once did it affect my viewing habits, except to incite me to refill my soda or purge my bladder.
Yes, is that Centuar commercial going to get me to buy Old Spice? Not now. Planters peanuts? Buy them anyway. Go Daddy? Whoopie.
Go to the bathroom or read something.
JD, And during Indy Racing telecasts, Go Daddy commercials come on with Danica and I hate when she says - she's a Go Daddy Girl. I think the Loren Wallace commercials are cute it's the 3 you mentioned in your column I dislike. But that half man/half horse are horrible and the worse thing on tv but maybe it was meant to attract guys to buy their product.
I don't have a problem with those ads at all, I imagine most people don't see them that much because either they leave the room during commercials or they use Tivo.
The purpose is to get attention and it has worked in this case.
Bob and his "natural male enhancement" is the WORST. The horse thing is just plain dumb, as is the peanut girl.They used to have survey groups preview new TV shows; maybe they should do the same before the start showing commercials that cost the companies millions of dollars and end up offending/annoying or just ticking people off. Personally I love the Geico/ Loren Wallace commercials, but can't stand any other Geico commercials.
Long time lurker, first post.
One point everyone's missing is that not only is the content of the commercials sometimes disturbing/offensive/creepy (and I do agree about the Old Spice centaur), but that the same commercials run over and over ad nauseum throughout the broadcast. I love the Tylenol ad with Kevin Harvick's "Have you thought about a new girlfriend?", but jeez, 5 times in a row?
BTW, gotta disagree about the classic Jeremy Mayfield commercial. "Is that Octane 93 you're wearin'?" Classic!
luigi13 is right--it's the repetition that's bothersome. You'd just think they could mix it up a bit more, but they never seem to do that. I didn't find the centaur that creepy, to tell the truth...I just didn't pay that much attention. The cashew ad is old hat, has been on repeatedly since the Superbowl. I find the ED ads more obnoxious than most of these others. Like bevo said, I just flip the channel or make a snack run. The Harvick ad is funny because it is soooooo Kevin, but how much more impact does it have seeing it 5 or 6 times.
Yes repetition is the first problem, grossness is the second. "Peanut girl" is actually "Cashew girl" and the fact that no one has really caught that fact speaks volumns. I stopped buying Planters Cashews but will but someone elses. The Centaur is just looks wrong, as a fan of the Scifi channel I have seen many and this is the first one that grosses me out. I'll have to see what a few of my sterotypical Nascar fan friend think of that one but I know they do not like "Cashew Girl". Thankfully I was doing what commercial breaks were ment for and missed the Go Daddy one. I guess what these advertisers need to learn is the same thing that TNT (remember Saving Grace) needs to understand is more is not better and crude doesn't sell.
I don't like the half-man/half-horse character standing in the shower either. I think the concept is when his beautiful & normal wife/girlfriend walks in & says he's a good provider. what she really is saying is.... that My man is a Stud & HUNG like a Horse & if you are too,Buy & use this product
Kenn and Bevo,
You got kids watching NASCAR with you? You have adult females watching NASCAR with you?
Just like I mentioned about the NASCAR demographics, the difference between almost all other sports on ESPN and this one is that almost half of the TV viewers are women.
That is why the sponsors changed their ads over the years to target NASCAR by using the drivers. The only reason we are seeing this type of ad is because we now have sponors who come-and-go so we are seeing ads originally targeted for other audiences.
My point is that for men like you two everything may be fine and I appreciate your opinion. For many others who expressed to me their opinion, this might not be something for a bunch of ten year olds in their NASCAR gear eating popcorn or an adult female who is a race fan.
JD
What they really need is a V-Chip just for commericals, I find very many of them to be offense and unfit for a younger audience. All the ones mentioned in this article and several more that ran during the event should have the ability to be blocked by the viewer.
Best way is for you to use your remote or get off butt and change channel. Don't try and control what I watch in my house by censoring things you don't like..just don't watch.
I could be as nasty as you but ... A V-Chip would control my TV ONLY, I should not have to change channels to avoid R or X rated commercials while watching a fairly decent show.
Wouldn't you think that Planters could make a new comm'l by now?
THe Old Spice comml's would be so much more funnier if the rearend belonged to a donkey. The reference would show that men can be such asses at times. Yeah, I said it.
About a week and half ago, while watching Discovery channel, I saw the Marcos Ambrose comm'l about Little Debbie. I almost fell out of my chair. A racing related comm'l on a non racing channel??!!!! Even my mother who is not a race fan by any stretch asked me if that's the driver I like. Now that's advertising.
You should see the lame commercials up here in Canada that we get to watch over and over. They must have a problem selling ad time up here for Nascar. Makes a DVR a good investment.
Anonymous said...
I could be as nasty as you but ... A V-Chip would control my TV ONLY, I should not have to change channels to avoid R or X rated commercials while watching a fairly decent show.
August 24, 2008 1:22 PM
So instead of you changing and not watching you want to take it off for everybody in theUSA?????
I change TV and Radio when there are ears present, that don't need to see or hear certain things. Never do I think it is not my job and I would never want the gov't or some Yenta group to do the job for me,
I have had my wife and grandson watch races with me on number of occasions. This week was one of them.
I got curious and asked them about these commercials. My wife comment was "of course their stupid, their commercials". My grandson's take was "what are you talking about? I don't pay attention to that stuff".
They don't appear to be causing any hand wringing or alarm here.
Yes the horse/dude is horrid, I get my Hubby Old Spice any way so I just leave the room. It doesn't encourage me to buy it, Hubby tried it a couple seasons back because he saw a Tony Stewart commercial smelled it in the store ( he opens & smells in store LOL) & liked it period. I just looked over and saw darbars soap bar comment, umm thats unfortunately, a reality in houses with hairy males, especially teenage males- its a training thing I have done the rinse the soap bar off training. Did I mention I love bottle body washes?
Now lets get to the Go Daddy soft porn, which is tough to explain to kids/grandkids, & honestly what are they selling? The chick or web services? Not sure. You try explaining to a six year old girl why shes "rubbing her boobies like that" or why the men react like that, or is that how you got Grandpa to look at you? Uh not a fun conversation, I wanted to watch the dang race! I missed alot of the race over that last one & was not happy.
My all time hate is "male enhancement" commercials, look those who need them do not need commercials that are graphic. Try watching Viagra, Cialis or Bob with a kid. Yup that causes age inappropriate discussions - all because I did not switch fast enough ( went to kitchen) when commercials came on.
And Peanut girl is just wrong on so many levels. You want to sell nuts by rubbing them on a womans body? Turn her into Ingrid or another NASCAR wife or girlfriend.
Or something that does not require rubbing food on the body but instead EATING it. DUH
Since NA$CAR is allegedly "family oriented" please keep the commercials that way.
I don't mind them in other later/ more adult programs honest. Well except the Centaur one thats all the time creepie.
I could deal with it if they did not replay the exact same commercials over & over cripes, give us a break.
No I'm not suggesting banning them, however, just as certain types of content are not shown early in the evening the same could be done with commercials.
This should be the networks/sponsors & NA$CARs acting responsible - that however will not happen.
Some of the "adult" commercials are creative and amusing, just not if I have to explain it to a kid.
Anonymous said...
Best way is for you to use your remote or get off butt and change channel. Don't try and control what I watch in my house by censoring things you don't like..just don't watch.
August 24, 2008 1:16 PM
-------------
That is the point - I should be able to walk 10 ft to the bathroom or kitchen w/o having to come back & explain inappropriate commercials.
Obviously your bladder never needs emptied during commercials nor does popcorn/drinks ever run low!
Come down off your high horse & look at it from anothers perspective!!!!
Have you heard the commercials on NASCAR on Sirius? Talk about offensive? Let's see there's one about women wanting their men thicker and another one for a service that helps people already in a relationship find something else. A caller to Dave Moody's show the other day expressed his disdain for these commercials and Moody just dismissed the caller and said if these companies are legal they should be able to advertise. While that may be true, NASCAR bills itself as a family sport so parents should not have to chase their children out of the room or turn the radio off every time a commercial comes on. I guess we have the economy to thank for NASCAR having no values in the advertisers it accepts.
I swear, those Planters commercials with the ugly woman makes me close my eyes hoping it goes by quick.
Also, the man/horse Old Spice commercial is just weird.
TGI Fridays needs to get out of NASCAR because I cannot stand that guy who is in the commercials during green flag racing.
I'm sick of seeing the same commercials over and over agian. C'mon coporate America, auto racing fans aren't dumb.
Anon 1:16PM,
You raised a good issue and one that I did not do a very good job of explaining.
Every TV show, including those on cable, have a rating. It is almost like the movies, but basically it allows the V-chip inside the TV to block something that has an adult or violent rating.
Most American live sports events on broadcast and cable TV have family ratings, except for the new martial arts stuff.
We have long assumed that the family ratings extended to the commercials. Unfortunately, what we are finding is that in the rapidly declining world of TV some advertisers are trying to shock with violence and profanity to get their message across.
You may have noticed that ESPN ended the violent video game commercials during live NASCAR events. While the Planters and Old Spice commercials were in bad taste, the Go Daddy commercial would never have made it through the ESPN censorship standards several years ago.
My email is frequently about adult themed commercials placed in sports events on a regional or local basis, which the network cannot control. This issue of placing offensive national ads in live NASCAR races is a bit new.
The whole point is that an adult should be able to allow a child to watch a certain program rated "family" without having to worry about the commercials and promos in the show.
Thanks for the comment.
JD
Imagine when Mark Martin was sponsored by Viagra the explaining her dad and I had to do with our 7 yr old daughter at the time. She learned about the explicit birds and bees a little sooner than we expected. One question led to another. Looking back, it was probably a good way to have "that talk".
JD, where is all your outrage about the ED commercials that were so prevalent during the TNT coverage? Viva Viagra? Those commercials are very explicit when they describe the side effects.
People complained about the ED ads the last time you wrote about TV ads, I think it was TNT TV shows you were mad about. Some said they were more upset about the ED ads than other kinds of ads. And you shut them down, saying you would write about ED ads in another column.
Well? We're still waiting for that column. Especially when you pontificate like this:
"Daly Planet editor said...
You got kids watching NASCAR with you? You have adult females watching NASCAR with you?
Just like I mentioned about the NASCAR demographics, the difference between almost all other sports on ESPN and this one is that almost half of the TV viewers are women. "
JD,
To answer your question; my two sons are now all grown up, work in law enforcement (good guys, not bad guys side of it) and have their own families. I watched with my ex-wife (a whole 'nother story) and since then with other female acquaintances and friends. I prefer to watch most sports by myself however. My experience with kids is you don't patronize them, when something comes up you don't make a big deal out of it, and most importantly you use those moments to teach. Kids are very perceptive and know when you're full of it. As for the women I guess I just don't find myself in the company of those easily offended for what it's worth.
I would think more women would be upset about the Allstate commercials reinforcing the "women can't drive" thing. Also the women I know who are race fans bristle at the idea that they're only interested because the drivers are cute. That is another hurdle women in the sport (drivers and officials) have to jump to be taken seriously unfortunately.
The last thing is the NASCAR image thing. This is a sport started by moonshiners and it saw it's most explosive growth using money from a tobacco company and assorted beer companies. They allow whiskey and male enhancement companies (think about that connection for a minute) to sponsor major race teams not to mention assorted fly-by-night operations. Don't get me wrong, I love NASCAR racing, smoke cigars and enjoy alcoholic drinks quite often but let's not romanticize the sport. In the end they produce entertainment to make money.
Dot said ...
THe Old Spice comml's would be so much more funnier if the rearend belonged to a donkey. The reference would show that men can be such asses at times. Yeah, I said it.
Amen, Dot, and very funny.
Bevo said ...
I would think more women would be upset about the Allstate commercials reinforcing the "women can't drive" thing.
Allstate should dump those girls and revoke their driver's licenses.
Go Daddy should stick to the Jr. commercials during NASCAR events. The others are just out of place for a family sport.
I think the Planter’s Cashew commercial is funny. To me, it is a take off on all the commercials with the six foot tall, eighty pound female models who use Product Z and the men come running. This commercial should be pulled because it has been shown a million times. :)
The Old Spice commercial is just ewwwwww.
General rule of thumb: The NASCAR community is male and female from ages 8 to 80 (some younger, some older) Advertisers should keep this in mind. In my circle, the females do the majority of the shopping for the household. Of course, most advertisers seem to be going for that 19 year old male who lives in his parent’s basement. :)
Big Henry,
Take your hate to another blog.
JD
Anon 4:08PM,
Instead of addressing this issue you chose to accuse me of avoiding another issue?
My columns about those very issues are well-known and have been re-published all over the web.
If you want to add your views on this topic, please do so.
JD
Its great if its your kids & your kid is ready for the conversations. However, when you're watching with grands or nieces & nephews, its a different story.
I just feel if TV has the ratings for show - the commercials should be appropriate for the shows rating.
And yes the Allstate ads to not sit well with me, partly the driving & then theres the whole stalking thing.
I love the Tylenol ads w/Harvick & Co. just funny - I'd love to see the out takes.
My columns about those very issues are well-known and have been re-published all over the web.
May I ask where these columns are and where they have been republished? I confess I also haven't seen you address the common NASCAR "male dysfunction" ads on TDP in any detail, though myself and others have posted about feeling uncomfortable about them in the comments. If they're in your archives, please give us the dates so we can go look. Thanks.
Anon,
I think you can handle the search. It was one of the most popular columns of 2008.
JD
Yeah....so you don't remember the name of it? Since it was so popular and everything?
I'm thinking it doesn't exist, John.
I just did a search on "Daly Planet" and Viagra, and got these two mentions: "While featuring such things as Larry McReynolds doing a less-than-memorable magic trick and someone in the announce booth loudly singing along with the Viagra commercial, the night was actually a solid success." (July 12)
Nothing critical about the ads.
And a column about Larry the Cable Guy appearing on NASCAR Now: "Suddenly, "Larry" was back and his Viagra joke sent the show to commercial break on a very different note. Everyone knew one thing for sure, this next segment was going to be interesting." (Feb. 21).
That's it, John. I did a search and nothing came up, so... got a date? I doubt it...because you never wrote it. Cawsandjaws.com wrote columns about male dysfunction ads, not you.
Daly Planet Editor said...
This is a column about network promotions for TNT programs.
There will be a subsequent column about additional commercial elements run within NASCAR races.
Any additional comments about ED products or other commercial elements will be deleted.
Please hold those comments for the upcoming story. Thank you.
JD
####July 13, 2008 10:26 PM###
So this "story" analyzing ED products should be in the archives between July 13 and Aug 24, but it isn't.
Funny few pick up the ugly Plantar's girl is selling "Cashews" not peanuts until I got partway down the page. :)
That commercial is just stupid...but the old spice centaur thing is creepy...and the Go Daddy's are usually all tasteless.
BUT I also find the E.D. and "make men bigger enhancement stuff" on SPEED and talk radio MUCH more offensive.
but what FEW ARE MISSING is not everybody tapes or DVR's things..thus you can be watching a benign tv show and be AMBUSHED by some 'adult ads.' THAT's the difference.
But that is lost on many.
Also I thought it was DIGUSTING The V on Martin's car for years...not a 'family merchandise' thing.
Let's see them sell GRAPHIC details of feminine things and see how the guys like it. :)
I hate what V did to that old Elvis song. :(
Can't buy class or good taste.
Needed to correct a few things so I deleted my earlier comment
Amen & ditto Sophia
The V was awful but we had no where to voice displeasure except local/networks, who didn't care.
And as far as details of feminine stuff - well it will never happen cuz its offensive - just ask the "men" in charge. The ideas for cars and drivers are too obvious.
And commercials too.
We sure are getting lots of Anon trolls lately
Sophia said...
Funny few pick up the ugly Plantar's girl is selling "Cashews" not peanuts until I got partway down the page. :)
Okay. I'm not getting the difference in peanut and cashew unless it's the shape. Sorry to be such a dumb***.
Please explain.
Karen
No question is dumb. :) I take it you are not a nut eater. HUGE difference between peanuts and cashews. The latter are richer, always come shelled, and are more expensive.
Peanuts are peanuts and cashews are cashews. Found this cut and paste with a pithy answer for you. ;-0
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No, cashews are cashews and peanuts are peanuts. Completely different. Cashews are my favorite.
Related to the pistachio, cashews are said to have originated in Brazil, although they are now mainly grown in India and Africa, with India producing 90% of the world’s cashew crop. Cashew nuts are always removed from their shells, known as “apples,” and treated to remove a caustic oil that is natural to the cashew. For that reason, cashew nuts are always sold shelled and dried. Even so-called “raw” cashews have actually been roasted to remove this toxic resin.
Thanks, Sophia, for that explanation.
But Newracefan said...
Yes repetition is the first problem, grossness is the second. "Peanut girl" is actually "Cashew girl" and the fact that no one has really caught that fact speaks volumns.
nrf, it doesn't speak volumes to me. Explain to me, please, your statement. I don't understand the distinction.
I forgot to mention, repetition drives this household nuts, too.
Those XM commercials played AD NAUSEUM during IRL races used to drive us to insanity on the side by side so we would mute them instantly...benign, but annoying nevertheless.
however, it's the coarsening and crassness of commercials most all I know find offensive. From conservatives to very liberal friends. We are ALL agreed about the ED and other tasteless commercials. the Old SPice is very distasteful...and very creepy.
But there is a commercial, with OUT the Smiling Bob guy, for another product that is even MORE annoying than the three here..the man and sultry talking woman in it are SUPER TACKY..and I think I saw it on SPEED on the late edition of TWIN. I was appalled.
JD, I am sorry but I missed your column on ED as well. I remember it being discussed here at one time but not a stand alone column unless Blogger hiccuped it off your list (I have a blog and anything is possible!!??)
Sophia said ...
The man and sultry talking woman in it are SUPER TACKY..and I think I saw it on SPEED on the late edition of TWIN. I was appalled.
The suspense is killing me. Which one is that for?
Karen
I refuse to name the product. It's a pill. It's um, supposed to make things bigger, 'below the equator'...on a guy.
:)
Are you old enough to remember the Marc Eden Bust developers in the back of magazines in the 70's? That didn't work either. Ah, progress, ain't it grand.
Oh, that reminds me of another offensive commercial...omg.
JD, you done opened up Pandora's box. Sorry for the digression....but Karen started it.
:)
Sophia said...
Karen
"I refuse to name the product. It's a pill. It's um, supposed to make things bigger, 'below the equator'...on a guy."
Sophia, good description without naming the product.
"Are you old enough to remember the Marc Eden Bust developers in the back of magazines in the 70's? That didn't work either."
Yeah, I'm old enough, but don't remember. Don't they still have those things around these days.
"JD, you done opened up Pandora's box. Sorry for the digression....but Karen started it."
Way to throw me under the bus, Sophia.
Just kidding, Karen.
Would never throw anybody under the bus!!! :)
No problem. That's what the post was for, to talk about what is in the commercial breaks.
Remember, the big issue with TNT was the promo's for adult shows and that got a lot of diverse comments.
Fox got a free ride with the sponsors during the opening part of the season, but it should be interesting to see what types of commercials the NASCAR sponsors bring for 2009.
Several of the teams are once again going to be sharing sponsorships and the drivers may or may not be involved in the commercials shooting over the winter.
JD
Anons,
Keep searching, I am sure you can find it. Of course, it was about NASCAR commercials in general and I never said anything about ED products. My buddies took care of that topic and did a good job of it.
If you need some more info, or would like to speak with me directly, just email me anytime at editor@thedalyplanet.tv and I will be happy to address any issue you would like to discuss.
Thanks,
JD
I am insulted by the Planters commercial but I seacretly think it's cuss I resemble her but ;p but I am ASHAMED that Dale Jr is associated with that Go Daddy commercial. As to old Spice? Wearing it is not going to make me think you are hung like a horse.
The Planters cashew woman appeared during the Super Bowl and caused a mild uproar. ESPN will take the ad revenue from whoever is willing to give it to them. Look how they attempt to ruin our race viewing enjoyment. ESPN certainly wont be concerned if we are insulted by the ill timed commercials and their content.
At my age, the Plantars commercial reminds me to use the 20 times magnified mirror for those hairy eyebrows or other facial hair women get as we age...
ugh.
sorry JD.
I so appreciate your articles, by the way JD.
and your added tv tidbit reminders are the best for this tv viewer.
xoxo
Karen commercials are suppose to encourage people to buy a certain product. In this case Cashews and no one remembers the commercial was about cashews, my guess is the peanuts sell and the cashews need help, that commercial didn't help.
I tend to hate almost all the commercials shown during the race broadcast because they interrupt the flow of the race. For the ones like the Planters peanut one, well, that one turned me off while watching the superbowl so I change the channel as soon as it comes on. Actually, I usually flip the channel as soon as any commerical comes on and wait 2-3 minutes and come back to see if there's any racing on. I missed the Old Spice one -- geez, I remember the old-fashioned Old Spice ad with the sailor as a kid and thought it was so cute, now they've really sunk low. I'm not a fan of the commercials on Sirius either -- considering I pay for a subscription for this radio broadcast I don't understand why I have to listen to commercials -- that was the point. And since it is only when I'm listening to the NASCAR station that I ever hear commercials, I do the same thing. I switch channels. They can't force me to listen to that crap and since I don't have any minor children in the house, if it disgusts me, I make it go away. Yep, I am a female NASCAR fan and they do run a fair amount of ads that I find annoying -- the All State one that was mentioned bugs me in particular. I'm a good driver and trust me, seeing Kasey in the parking lot would not make me run into anything.
Guess I'm mellowing out in my old age (50's), but I think the Planters commercial is funny, have no feelings one way or the other about the Old Spice one & tend to ignore the GO Daddy's, except for the Jr one. I have ALWAYS thought the ED commercials were tasteless & not appropriate for Nascar races! And I don't even have kidlets to explain all that to!
@darbar--I don't think I ever saw the "pubic hair" one...I don't remember the Peanut lady from the Super Bowl...hmmmmmmm.......
I wouldn't buy Planters for a number of reasons (has nothing to do with the commercial) so I never paid that close attention to if it was peanuts or cashews.
@karen & sophia--yes they have those "bust enhancing" products...I'm a 70s child but have no clue of any products like that from back then.
I watch everything off the DVR (except racing and if I'm miraculously caught up) so I don't pay that close attention to commercials in general unless I see or hear something that makes me take a double take. And generally if I'm FF through about the only ones that make me rewind are if I see a racing related one that I haven't seen before.
But I think the horse man is weird...if only "dabbing" ourselves with peanuts or cashews would catch us all men. Go Daddy has pushed the envelope from Day 1 so I'm definitely am not shocked by their office one.
Mr Fong, while I respect your opinion on Go Daddy, I feel your reasoning is not correct. The reason for a commercial is to encourage the viewers to buy the product. Since web designers already know what Go Daddy is, then why the need to advertise? Don't they have their target audience already covered? When one is not familiar with Go Daddy, but might be interested in a domain service, wouldn't it be more prudent to actually inform the general public what their product actually is? I liken this to recent commercials for various prescription meds. They mention the name of the medication, but many times, they never tell you what that medication is for. Sure, the people who have the affliction this medication targets might know of the product, but what about those who might get that physical ailment in the future? If they don't tell you what something is for, why even advertise?
OMG, I cannot stand the commercial on Sirius with the woman talking about girth. And, isn't Sirius supposed to be commercial free? Why are there commercials on the Nascar channel???
JD, there's a lot of talk on this thread about changing channels to avoid commercials, but there's one problem with that. Do you know if the networks are in collusion on scheduling commercials? For instance, I can be watching CSI when a commercial comes on, so I flip channels. But to my chagrin, EVERY other channel is on commercial also. What's also way too weird is, even when I'm watching my beloved Cubs, and I switch over to another sporting event to check on a score, that event, more times than not, is on commercial. What's going on with that??????
Sophia,
The mirror comment cracked me up. I have to use the mag mirror myself. One day my daughter didn't flip it back over and I thought I was going blind.
Glad to know that there are other AARP agers on this site.
To keep on this topic, I'm watching SPEED and "that" male enhancement comm'l was just coming on and it was switched mid word to something else. If only we could be that lucky during the races.
Darbar
so true about the synchronized timing of commercials on various stations at various times. One gross commercial for another, eh?
Dot, glad you found the mirror comment funny...I still need SUPER bright lights and sometimes glasses with those mirrors..try plucking your eyebrows with reading glasses
no easy feat.
Ug, those male 'girth' commercials. All over talk radio.
I remember the day when a girth was what went around my horses belly when slapping on the English huntseat.
oh, we've come a long way baby.
We have gone from a country that never talked about anything private to TOO MUCH INFORMATION about things that should still be private.
There are some female type commercials I find tasteless. Marc Eden is no longer around but Suzanne Somers claimed her "thighmaster" did the same thing. That gizmo made her a multi millionaire years ago so she would never have to work again. Truly. But she still selling stuff on shopping channels...that woman would sell her dandruff if she thought folks would buy it but I digress. Guess it pays for her plumped up lips and plastic surgery on her face. Meow but true.
I would never use Go Daddy due to their very suggestive commercials. When Danica Patrick sold out and talked about her "private body part" online to promote GO Daddy, that's when I knew her selling out was over the line.
I could not use that nickname for myself on a commercial (Even online) Just tacky. She even kissed the "animal" that was supposed to represent said body part which to me was even more bizarre. And her parents are still alive! lol
The cashew women is just ugly creepy..but she will remind you to check the facial hairs.
Some of you men might wanna check to see if you have a unibrow. Remember when Jimmie Johnson had one? his wife must help him out now with that kind of hygiene.
How's that for bringing my blathering back on topic..sorry, been a long day.
Soph
I'm mostly agreeing with bevo here...kids can handle a lot more than we think they can. As for women, I agree on the Allstate ad...a friend of mine cannot *believe* they got Kasey to jump around in that absurd heart suit (yes, we know there's a stunt double involved.)
On the other hand, is business sooooooooo bad that they can't find advertisers more appropriate for racing? It may be asking a lot--they can't afford to put programming on without them; and as the formerly male dominated sporting events no longer are, they're running out of places to put such things (and perhaps that's an opportunity to bring advertisers out of the 70's). Biggest mistake ever made was allowing prescription pharmaceuticals to advertise on TV...does nothing but increase our prices anyways.
I still can't believe the centaur was such a big deal. I just don't see it as offensive (weird yes, offensive no.) And btw, I knew the cashews were cashews. Didn't make me BUY them, but I knew, lol.
NASCAR has given up any right to be considered family friendly when it allowed Viagra to sponsor a car. Toss in Crown Royal, Jim Bean, and Jack Daniels, anything should go as far as TV commercials.
These might be stupid advertisements, but I don't see why anybody needs (read: chooses) to get offended.
It's just entertainment for the sake of selling product. If you don't like the ads, don't buy the product (although I certainly wouldn't refuse to buy a superior product simply because I didn't like the ad, but to each their own). The economics of the situation will take care of themselves, resulting in ineffective advertisements being pulled or moved to a property where they can better target their demographic.
Quit being so sensitive, people!
Anon 10:52AM,
How old are your kids that you watch the NASCAR races with?
JD
@Daly Planet Editor:
I don't nor will I ever have kids.
But if I did, they'd know the difference between what they see on television and what happens in real life. Many young adults are irresponsible, ill-prepared for life, and intolerant of others' cultural differences because they are so sheltered and protected by their parents in this era. But that's a conversation for a different blog.
Thank you, that helps to explain your perspective on this situation very clearly.
i seriously dislike all three ads. has nothing to do with much beyond the fact that i personally don't believe the ads are effective. the reality that folks refer to it as "that peanut ad" when, in fact, it's for cashews, speaks to that. the old spice ad is just dumb: their original commercials, about being "an old spice man" weren't much better but at least tapped into the old spice logo better. and go daddy is reaching for edgy and hip, always a recipe for disaster. if you have to reach for it, you ain't it!
the allstate-kahne ads outlived their humor content after the first season for me. the original idea was ok but it's been beaten into the ground. and i'm just felt embarrassed for kahne with the latest "dance ad." i turn channels just so i won't cringe on his behalf.
i find the ads that appeal to me most are, no surprise, those which feature drivers and/or crew chiefs. they don't need to be in firesuits to be effective: jj and knaus come to mind, both with their "what are you doing, jimmie?" "welding, chad" commercial and the one where they fix "jj's car." that being said: the amp gorilla ad with dale jr is among my least favorites: too far a reach to make the point. even the camel ad was a stretch and only funny if you're a dale jr fan and know his penchant for saying things like "i'm just sayin' . . ."
what they do need to do is tap into what we, as fans, know about them as drivers. think back on the nascar-themed ads you best recall in a positive way from the past 5 years. i'll bet they deal with a driver doing something you could see him doing, right? they made you smile or laugh out loud b/c they tied directly back to "our guys" being themselves. that's why the current ad with harvick saying "maybe you need a new girlfriend" works as well as his "nope, don't do right turns." that's also why the "dale jr! you'd best open that door for me!" from enterprise elicited howls of laughter from me every time i watched it! just so very wrong on so many levels!
with companies buying only partial sponsorships, however, i doubt we'll see much in the way of new content dedicated to teams or drivers. they seem content to cycle existing, non-nascar ads into their nascar sponsorship moment. ad budgets are tight all over, i suppose.
as for watching with children? i dunno: i always figured my daughters were smart enough to be able to not confuse reality with dumb. either that or they were so young that the adult content of an ad simply went over their heads. then again, they're 22 and 17 so tv ads have changed alot since they wree little. i'm out of the loop at this point, i guess.
Lighten up, Francis! They are just commercials. Who gets worked up over ads.
West Coast Diane:
Not sure what is so complicated about understanding why some people may be being offended about watching a show that is rated "family" that include adult commercials. It's not like there are not other opportunities to run the commercials with all the cable/sat stations that exist with shows 24/7.
The irony to all this is, because of all the offensive commercials, I DVR through all commercials. Unless, of course, I see a driver. So other sponsors are not getting their message/commercial to our household.
By the way there is/was a feminine hygiene product on a Nationwide car. Don't quote me, I know I saw it on the quarter panel, but could be wrong about who makes it. Believe it is from the 27 car which has Kleenex/Cottonelle as a sponsor. This product is made by them. Felt sorry for the driver. At least there aren't any commercials....yet!
West Coast Diane said:
PS....other than the E.D. commercials, the other sponsors could make effective commercials for all the other products. Some of the best commercials all time did not need to use anything offensive to sell their products.
West coast Diane says:
Not sure what is so complicated about understanding why some people may be being offended about watching a show that is rated "family" that include adult commercials.
"Adult" commercials?
I'm not buying that. If you want "adult" commercials go watch TV in Europe. We're tame here in the US, because (here's a shocker) we offend easily.
Are European children suffering in school - or are they not growing into happy, productive, tax-paying adults - because they see breasts (actual, uncovered, female breasts) in television advertising?
No.
We're really going off the deep end on this topic.
All this stuff is regulated here in the US, and it's even tilted in favor of our prudish preferences, and yet so many continue to complain, as if something terrible will happen if we don't protect the children. Again, I point to Europe, with their stronger economy, their stronger education system, etc. If the children are so threatened by our "suggestive" advertising, why hasn't Europe fallen into total disrepair? Why isn't Europe being overtaken by sex maniacs?
Honestly, give your children some credit.
I know... old message thread, but...
I hate the male enhancement product commercials.
We would like to be able to just leave the TV on Speed (or other channels w/ racing) and do stuff that can be done in front of TV (like working on pinewood derby cars), but we can't because we need to keep the remote in hand to skip inappropriate commercials.
I would love to have friends from church watch NASCAR with us to get them interested, but those commercials do not give associations with an image of a sport they would want to be associated with.
Those commercials should be reserved for late at night on programs that horny men might be the only ones watching.
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