Random semiconscious musings

Friday, September 29, 2006

...but what about the character's careers?

Whew- what a rollercoaster ride of a summer. Sorry for the absence, everyone.... a lot has happened here at home.

Well, back to posting on my blog....

There's nothing I find more entertaining than Hollywood celebrities whoring themselves out to product marketing.... especially if it's something that has nothing to do with their career image. What makes it especially savoury is realizing this exclusivity right off the bat, and watching the famous name stumble through their lines as if they've sold out to a student film.... smiling all the way.

I look at their faces and can almost hear them thinking to themselves, "Good God, I love money. Money, fame, money. Ahhhhh... slurppp.... if I didn't need to pay for my next cosmetic treatment or substance fix, I'd consider actually developing my sense of morals and base a career on them."

Well, cartoon characters are not beyond this kind of behaviour either- at least the suits who hold their rights aren't anyway. It's actually quite amusing to see the weak connection with products and character names.....

Case In Point 1:

Wouldn't all that sugar be harmful to a rabbit?





Case In Point 2:

No.... spinach is actually much, much better for you.





Gee, I was waiting for the part in the commercial after Popeye eats the spinich and socks Sonny right in the beak..... or at least those mooching kids.


Case In Point 3:

Just don't look into the rotisserie insets.... you might get quite a shock, Woody.




Considering Universal's stand on releasing their cartoon properties either to DVD collections or television, how the heck does anybody in the family even know who Woody is? Maybe the father has a vague recollection of those halcyon days when he used to be able to get up on Saturday mornings and watch the cartoons..... ahhhhh, I miss those days too.


Case In Point 4:

Who puts empty jars with knives sticking out of them back into the fridge? Sylvester's owners must be college freshmen.




The best part of this commercial is seeing Tweety get bashed against the side of the cage. Hey, I'm going to watch it again, and again, and again....

But at least the animation quality in these is really quite good.

5 Comments:

  • Hey Larry,

    How recent are the Woody and Tweety ads you showed here? If the Woody ad coincides with the 1999 effort to market a new TV series, then it would better explain why the Chalet could legitimately have considered Woody an ad draw.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:06 PM  

  • Hi David,

    Actually, the Woody and Tweety ads were both from about 2001. I do recall seeing them, and automatically relating Woody's new exposure, for example, to the already-airing made-for-TV series that was currently on Saturday mornings.

    I think this was the idea, because since the series was already on, they probably wanted to point more viewer attention to the show as opposed to promote it simultaneously....?

    By Blogger Larry T, at 7:24 AM  

  • I don't think Woody had such a weak connection with the product he advertised. We all know Woody just loves a nice, cool "Drooler's Delight!"

    You're absolutely right, and that was the first thing that popped into my head when I saw the commercial...

    But aside from cartoon buffs, how many other viewers would see that connection unless they knew of the cartoon....?

    By Blogger Larry T, at 11:42 AM  

  • Heh, I remember back when I saw that Swiss Chalet commercial from CBC. I feel the same way too over whether or not any family watching this would know who Woody is at all, given the way Universal has handled the character. I'm surprised someone remembered him at all when it came to that promotion.

    By Blogger Chris Sobieniak, at 5:39 AM  

  • I want a Woody super sunday SO bad.

    By Blogger Mike Matei, at 4:04 PM  

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