2/10/2010

Maybe it's just me....

...but, I think we get commercials ads here in NZ that would be totally unacceptable to air in the US. I don't care to promote these companies, so I will try not to actually give you the names of the products. If you want to see more, just google the phrases or initials that I have included.

1. There is an ad from Kotex for 'care down there' that has a lady actually carrying a beaver around with her everywhere she goes. She sunbathes with the beaver, she is seen sitting under a hair dryer in a salon with the beaver under the dryer next to her...It's the silliest thing to see and I find it a bit on the insulting side.

2. There are ads for a company that uses the initials s*o*g to promote hydroponics. Maybe I'm just cynical in my old age, but, come one, who really tries to grow tomatoes in their basement without any soil??? I can just see this  product sold in the back of any 'bong shop' in the seedy side of a city.

3. A pizza company that started in NZ and has spread to Australia is trying to get a foot in the door in the UK, but apparently the British are a bit more resistant than anticipated. This one is HE-double hockey sticks pizza. Since they started selling lamb shanks, their ad includes a cute lamb with wheels for back legs and a big smile on his face as his wheels squeak when he moves. There is a voice over of a maybe-3-year-old saying, 'go to h*ll'. And get lamb shanks.'

Do any of my bloggy friends see any of these ads outside NZ?

*EDIT* In 2012, the owner of Switched On Gardener (#2 above) was convicted on drug charges.

13 comments:

MissKris said...

Oh, my word! I guess by not being much of a TV viewer I'm not missing much, am I? Haha! THOSE sound pathetic, to say the least. Out of curiosity, do you have satellite TV...are you able to get stations from 'home' and other places in the world?

Bitsa Lit said...

oh the poor little sheep!
i dunno...there are some pretty shitty adds like that here in Canada...like the ones with nearly nude women throwing themselves all over cars...yet the comercial is for beer...yup...perfect sense..
I thought it was more like soft core porn but thats just me lol...
I suppose theres dumb ones everywhere...

Connie said...

We have the Armed Forces Network as tv, and the commercials tend to be lame, but in the evening there are a lot of crime shows that my 9yo loves, but tend to have adult themes... we still have to supervise. I believe network tv should be stricter. It should be 'for everyone' and kept tame. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not against racier shows - I am so looking forward to getting season 2 of HBO's True Blood on DVD, it's a good adaptation of a great series of books, but it is very naughty, and it BELONGS on cable tv! We have ratings on shows for a good reason, and ads ought to follow the same guidelines. Most tv is going to H E double hockeysticks!

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

I was in university in the 70s, when women were fighting for their rights.

I hate those Tower ads. They are probably trying to protray a strong woman, but one that I hate.

chitra said...

I haven't come across advs. like this , and i am not a TV buff hence do not get time to see ads. Any thing sells and many adv. agency make use of it very well.

Amy said...

I know, I'm with you, some of the content on our tv channels makes my hair curl sometimes, especially what is showing during kids time.

Sandy said...

Not familiar here in the Northeast. But there are a few television ads I'd rather now see, too.

Smocha said...

Haven't seen any of those over here in the Uk . They do have some shockers here too though. I guess it takes naked women to sell perfume and potato chips. Yet the cuss words are bleeped out on Two and a half men. (WTH?)

Anonymous said...

Goodness me! TERRIBLE ads - which is precisely why I always turn off the sound or read my book during ads. As I hardly ever watch TV, I hardly ever see any ads anyway.

merinz said...

I totally agree with you about the H*** pizza ad. It is in terribly poor taste.
I haven't seen the others.

Anonymous said...

Don't judge me, but to add a different side to the debate, I think those ads are clever, quirky and very NZ.
The beaver ad took ages to catch on here, "beaver" as a slang word for ladies bits isn't used here, it's very American.
Hell Pizza is well known for its naughty adverts, just take a look at the names of their pizzas.
Another great campaign, the Tui beer Yeah Right ads.
They are all on the cheeky side, not at all conservative and some are downright rude. But they are all NZ - we rely on our cheek, non-PCness and sarcasm. I'm glad they wouldn't screen in America, we are Kiwis.
(and you can always just change the channel if they offend you!)

naki said...

Gotta say, after nearly thirty years in NZ, I've notice a decline in the quality of advertising here. When I first arrived, most of NZ's tv content, including the adverts, mimicked its brit heritage. It was't particularly good. Now, however, it's utter drivel. Having abandoned british culture in search of its own identity, New Zealand television and its advertising parasites aim relentlessly for the lowest common denominator.It's as if New Zealand has become an unruly teenager,determined to do all of the crass and stupid things that Mother England tried to steer the hillbillies away from. Having discovered that the locals will consume endless amounts of garbage like Fear Factor,Wife Swap, and Jackass, the local advertising industry seems to home in on the cretins and present crass stupidity as a virtue.
There's nothing wrong with sexually frustrated teenage boys getting together in the locker room and talking smutty trash, but it does nothing to enhance our reputation when we allow this mindless 'animal house' mentality on prime time tv.

Anonymous said...

The "beaver" ad is an import from Australia, I believe. I've only seen it a couple of times. I don't know any NZ woman who uses the word "beaver" in that context, so it's quite odd to see it here.
I've seen ads that made my eyes pop in the US, too - just cultural differences, smacking you in the eyes when you least expect them!
-Kate