More commercials and some silliness

While we're on the subject of commercials, I wanted to blog about these Expedia.com ads I've been seeing. I relate to them so much. (I looked for them online but alas, came up empty-handed.) In the first one, the voiceover says something along the lines of, "Not just any marker will do. You need a half-inch red one that coworkers 25 feet away can smell." And it shows a lady marking giant X's on her calendar, counting down to the day her Hawaii vacation starts. If you've ever planned a big trip, you KNOW what that anticipation is like. It is half the fun of traveling! The second commercial talks about what travel means: Eating new foods. Feeling different sheets. And letting the cat fend for itself--and they show a ridiculously overflowing bowl of kibble. Ain't that the truth!

Now, I've always used Orbitz to find the best/cheapest flights, and I usually end up purchasing through them (although occasionally I'll go through the airline directly). But I may just have to check out Expedia one of these days, and see if it's any good.

On the local news Friday, they were interviewing people about whether they care about Superbowl commercials and this one lady said, "I have never in my life bought something because of a commercial," and I thought how preposterous that claim is. She may have never immediately rushed to the store, called, or hopped online after seeing a commercial. But seeing things over and over again can have an effect on your subconscious. Next time you're looking for, say, plastic bags, you may choose Gladlock over Ziploc because the ad showed how they are better--and you may not even realize why you're doing it.

I remember a Pampers commercial from a few years ago that showed baby wild animals and their moms, with the song "Forever Young." I loved that commercial so much...if I'd had a baby at the time, I know I would have bought Pampers at least once because of that ad. Whether or not I continued to buy them, of course, would have depended on how well they worked.

---

My mom forwarded me some puns and while most of them were groaners, this one made me laugh even though I saw it coming:

A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named Ahmal. The other goes to a family in Spain; they name him Juan. Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother.

Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, "They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal."