I must be getting old

There is not a lot of stuff on tv here that interests me and Hubby doesn't watch much at all. One thing we watch most evenings is 'The Chase' but the adverts for even that one hour make me wonder about society. It seems that little by little, the world out there has forgotten how to share and now it is sending the message that making yourself happy is the most important thing in the world.

*A couple rush their kids to bed so they can enjoy Maccas delivered without sharing with the kids.

*I don't even remember what the ad is for (that's how annoyed it makes me), but a lady pulls up next to another car and looks--just looks--over to the car beside her with a kid in the back seat rapping to a song on the radio. Kid's mom looks over, smiles with a snark and turns up the radio and joins the singing.

*A grocery store advertises the pans you can get there with several people out-and-out lying to someone on the phone so they can stay home and cook.

*And, then, there is the ad with people being disappointed about their choice of car because someone they know bought the car that they really wanted.

I know these ads don't represent most of the world, but it's sad that they should be sending such self-absorbed messages.

And then the shows that make a mockery of marriage:

*Married at First Sight

*90 Day Fiancé

Goodness, what is this world coming to?

This is NZ!

 We love to watch this ad, it's so well done and the cow makes us laugh.

are we the last to have this?

For a few weeks now we have had tv ads from Coke about 'share a coke' campaign. And, of course, there are huge banners and ads at the stores, too.

Have you seen these in your part of the world? If you have, how long have they been around? I'd really love to know, so if you'd tell me in a comment, I'd appreciate it so much!

TV ads

I was looking on YouTube for the New Zealand version of the Aqua Lazer (steam mop) ad. Apparently, the company thinks the ad they show us in New Zealand is too demeaning and condescending to even have it out there for the world to see.

First they show a woman, on her hands and knees, with at least a dozen cleaning products in  2-square yards 2 square meters of kitchen floor space. And that's where I start rolling my eyes....

They imply that this flimsy cleaner pulls dirt out of the floor, but the only motor they mention is the one that heats up the water.

Then they use some sort of light to make us think that the blue reflection from the floor is germs. And the Aqua Lazer cleans them all up!!

How ignorant do they think anyone who has ever cleaned a floor is??

I found several ads for this thing on the internet, but not ours! If anyone runs across it, please let me know.

Cultural differences and other thoughts

A bit more of what I have learned about '... culture that shouldn't be so different, but it is...'...

Old singers and old tv series come to NZ to die. The latest is Miami Vice. The series started from the beginning here a few weeks ago.

Some brand names are universal, but the product is not. I cannot tear duct tape with my fingers. Cotton Soft and Kleenex toilet tissues are NOT equal to US quality.

Lotto is currently using the theme from 'The Greatest American Hero' for their ads. That was a blast from the past when I first heard it.

Phred, the current cat, is so different from Bubba, the former cat. Bubba only meowed and rubbed my legs when he wanted fed. Phred does it when he wants to be petted--which is pretty much anytime he's not sleeping.

I don't understand why people in the news get name suppression here. I can see it if you're a minor, but after you've been convicted of a crime you're officially a criminal and don't deserve it.

I hate it when television stations don't show the second of two parts of a program. I don't believe they could get away with that in America. 

Home-made bread isn't cheaper than buying it. It just tastes better.

The ASB Bank has been using Americans for their ads for 10 years now.

Never install a dark floor in the kitchen. It looks great, but shows every tiny speck of dirt.

In a week, I can watch every series of the CSI shows--plus Survivor, Criminal Minds, Ugly Betty, Bones, Mythbusters (and others, I'm sure) on two different channels but with different seasons or starting points.

Hubby takes me on a trip 'around the mountain (Mt Taranaki)' occasionally and we always find great stuff to photograph, even after 4 years.

Another great tv ad

.....that makes me giggle

Random thoughts...

We went to KFC the other day and I noticed that there were actually all the chicken parts in the box! I know that's probably weird for you to read, but after having only seen legs and thighs for a long, long time, it's a nice change. Makes you wonder what they were doing with the rest of the bird....

The main street in Stratford is quite wide--two lanes of traffic, angle parking on either side of the street and a no-man's lane in the middle. Come to find out that it was intentionally made wide enough to turn a team of horses around anywhere on the road without a problem.

I can buy a tiny bottle (about 2 or 3 ounces) of isopropyl alcohol here for $4.00. A bit different from the huge bottles in Wally World for a buck. Some things you just have to learn to live without.

The schools here have many problems. They used to have 'subs' for the high school at a set fee, but now our local high school has changed to a new accounting system and we can't make heads or tails of it. They told Missy that there's no way they can send out 2 statements for any child--like we are the only divorced parents in the country! I'm not a computer expert, but I know it wouldn't take much to copy the one statement and address an envelope. Sheesh.

Speaking of schools, what exactly do they do with the $75 exam fee for each student that is pretty much mandatory? They can preach about costs of the test all they want, but I'm not crazy enough to think it takes that much to print and grade one stinking test.

Boy racers are a problem here in NZ. You have to have identification of the driver before you can complain and expect anything to be done. [Of course, the government can send you a bill for using the new highway in Auckland based solely on your tag number, no matter who's driving. Personally, I don't see the difference.]  I think that if these boy racers are caught driving recklessly more than once, their cars should be crushed, but that 's just me. I was happy to read that the city council of Christchurch is finally taking some responsibility and banning boy racers. Good on ya, Christchurch! You can read the article here.  I hope every city council in the country follows suit.

In an earlier post about tv ads, I tutted the ad for hydroponics, implying I'm smart enough to know it's not used for tomatoes. Well, that company was raided (duh) and you can read about it here.

Sometimes I wonder why Kiwis think they all have to be right all the time. Don't they know that they are human and we expect them to be wrong occasionally? Maybe that's why there are so many stress-related ailments that need attention. I think an 'I'm sorry, I made a mistake' is much better medicine than OTC Losec.

Somebody found an old, dusty law that prohibits helicopters from landing in urban areas. Now the emergency chopper in New Plymouth has to land 13k from the hospital and the hanger that was designed for it, be met my an ambulance and then the patient driven to the hospital. Kinda makes you want to go 'hmmmmm'.

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.

Flashback time!

I would be curious to know of the vitality600 is being advertised in the US. 'They' (whoever 'they' are) say that there has been just oodles of research gone into this 'new' way to exercise. You can exercise every part of your body, apparently, as long as you can fold yourself up like a pretzel and still put some part of your anatomy onto the vibrating pad.

We have been seeing ads for this vibrating machine for a couple of week now and, every time I see it, I get a flashback to the '60s that looks something like this:



My problem with the whole thing is this: If vibrating your body without exerting any effort was such a terrific way to lose weight, why did it die in the '60s? *shakes head and walks away*

A bit of NZ fun

This is an ad that I find hysterical. It is not only creatively done, it shows the NZ attitude, too.

Enjoy!!

....bloody ad

There is an ad on tv that says, "I bloody love live pause." Whenever I try to say it, I have to really concentrate or it comes out, "I love bloody live pause." I suppose you need to be English to understand how to use the word 'bloody' because it never has become an easy word for me to use.

However, I have become accustomed to the 'live pause' part of it all. Yes, we have MySkyHDI, which is the NZ equivalent of TiVo. It wasn't something that I even thought about having, since I didn't even have basic cable in the States. But, it has become a sort of extra-curricular game to use it at our house. When you hear "I bloody..." you know the rest of the sentence and you also know that whoever has 'the stick' is going to rewind the program for some reason.

But, it's ok because the bloody thing keeps me from having to remember to tape shows for the kids when they aren't here. And, I'm not forced to watch 'Snickers' (as Otterboy calls 'the Seeker') just because I am recording it.

I guess I have changed my attitude about a lot of things as I get older. When I first heard of TiVo a few years ago, I just rolled my eyes and thought it was for people who couldn't be bothered with tapes and being respectful so that everyone watching tv could hear the plot. But, now I am only concerned with teaching the kids to have respect for other people in the room and I don't have to miss the plot to do it! And, to be honest, I'm glad I don't have to be bothered with tapes. Life is good!

Just smile and nod....

There are a couple of new ads for the lottery that are just...strange, to say the least. They feature a guy (who never speaks), his conscience (in the form of a latino guy with a mexican accent) and a gnome (named terry).

In one ad, the conscience tells the guy to take a break from his job and off he goes. Then the phone rings and the conscience says, "I think you should probably get that, terry." The camera pans back to see the gnome sitting on the counter, then cuts to the lotto logo.

That's the whole ad.

Well, several times a day, my family develops mexican accents and everybody seems to be named 'terry'.... this is where you just smile and nod and pretend everything is ok.

It's pretty cool around our house.