The Broken Chair

File this under "weird".

Photo taken from Daily Mail Online.

Some speculate it is an ad campaign for Lotus as they have a domain set up called facelesspeople.com.

Clever.

Posted by Ed Z at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I try telling myself that my age has a lot to do with my disdain for anything created by George Lucas. I imagine that if Star Wars was released now instead of in 1979 I would hold it in the same regard I do Independence Day; Hollywood bubble gum. But I know I am lying to myself. I know the never-ending joy I have watching Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back is not just some nostalgic trip to my youth but the result of being immersed in a fantastic movie.

Twenty five years ago this May 25, Return of the Jedi opened in theatres and it was the beginning of the end. Michele Catalano writes about the Star Wars transformation from brilliant cinematic story to marketing ploy.

It is true, and evident in my ability to watch the first two whenever they're on, no matter what station, no matter how many commercials, sometimes for a few minutes, in Spanish.  But Jedi? By the end I'm looking for something else to watch.  And as far as the more recent trilogy goes, their titles on my digital cable menu carry as much weight as League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

The marketing of movies will only increase going forward as we see more and more movies attaching themselves with products that hardly seem related.  Indiana Jones instant ticket lotto game?  Ugh.

I remember talking to a friend when Revenge of the Sith advertising was in full...um..force, and I mentioned the real crime now in how they handle the marketing is that no character is safe from shilling for some product.  I seemed to remember that some characters held on their context even if they appeared in a commercial.  But when you see Darth Vader dueling Yoda over a Pepsi you know it is all over.

Posted by Ed Z at 01:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Cheetos continues to encourage the destruction of personal property.  This time at your office instead of the laundromat.

The "me first" society marches on.

Posted by Ed Z at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have a love-hate relationship with commercials.  I try to ignore most of them because I find they usually cater to the lowest denominator when it comes to humor or sexual innuendo.  Some latch on to a trendy or social theme, being green for example, and play up their product as a way of being closer to that fad.  Others are just annoying because they're poorly conceived.  But then once in a while I catch a commercial that sends a message I find offensive, whether that be morally or intellectually.  These are the ones I love, because they are the ones that give me insight to the perceptions corporation and advertisers have of us as mainly consumers bust also as people.

This brings me to the Cheetos Laundromat commercial:

Very curious that a company associates its product with vandalism and destruction of personal property.  Hey Felicia, that's her car out there too, how about you slash her tires?

Another embodiment of the self-centered, me first society.  And as the commercial ends with the young woman standing trance-like, staring at the viewer, the phrase "join us" beckons.  The cult of me first.

Horror fans might recall a scene in Evil Dead 2 where the haunted cabin calls hero Ash to join us.  Did Cheetos get their influence from Evil Dead?  Probably not, but the message is the same isn't it?  Join us in our wicked ways, it'll be fun!

Posted by Ed Z at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

My office has CNBC on all day. That alone is enough to make me wish for a good old-fashioned punch to the jaw. There is however another form of torture, and that is the rotation of commercials, or lack thereof.

There is the New York Times home delivery commercial with an annoying woman encourages us to get the paper by squawking "call". This ad is on all day.

Then there are the seasonal commercials that get heavy play and it would seem every time you stop and listen it is there in the background.

This past Christmas it was the screaming Fortunoff's lady. No wonder they're bankrupt. And over the summer, we had a Mercedes-Benz Summer Love Event. I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you… for pity's sake end it now.

Valentine's Day is coming so I get to see and hear the Vermont Teddy Bear commercial. This has a song so excruciating it makes waterboarding look good.

I have a very simple solution to this. The companies that pay for these commercials to be produced should be required to sit in a room and listen to it over and over again. If you can get through the day without clawing at the locked door, then let it run. I would guess that five or six repeats of any of the above commercials above would have resulted in them all being shelved.

All of these companies have lost my business forever (well I would never touch the NY Times anyway) because of their ads. I wonder if they know this.

Posted by Ed Z at 01:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (2)

Because I know everyone is worried, I just want to let you all know that New York is still here.  There is no monster and I have not been stepped on.  It is just a movie prank.

I have this philosophy on movie trailers.  Whenever I see one that looks really cool I think to myself, "someone got paid a lot of money to make this look good."

So I as very skeptical of trailers that really grab you, since my main afterthought is, "this movie will probably suck."

Ever since I saw the Cloverfield trailer, I had this feeling.  It looked interesting, had some cool special effects, and who doesn't like to see New York all blown up?  But the whole secrecy of the monster and plot had me thinking it could be a big let down.  I think it might be the case.

I like spolers, so I'm giving you fair warning, the following link pretty much summarizes the whole movie as seems to be verified by other readers on the site.

**Warning Movie Spoilers**

ohnotheydidnt: cloverfield spoilers

And if you're really curious, here is a photo of the monster.

Posted by Ed Z at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Right on the heels of an extra leaking all sorts of spoilers, someone steals some artifacts.

Perhaps they could find them, if only they spoke Hovitos...

Posted by Ed Z at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Increasingly, I've been seeing commercials showing me how I can give my water a jolt of flavor. Crystal Light, which I like to make at home, has a product for a single serving that you can add to your boring old bottled water or just a glass of regular tap water.

But that's not good enough, that plain tasteless water is just too ordinary. So the folks at PUR have made a water filter system that adds flavor right at the tap! Amazing, you'll never have to taste water again.

Has it really come to this? That even our water is "boring" and needs to be altered? I've met people who say, "I hate drinking water, there's no taste, so plain". Hate water? I'm expecting them to follow up with "You know, air is pretty boring too, there's no flavor". Soon we'll have masks that give our air a nice cherry flavor.

Posted by Ed Z at 02:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Apparently she was released from jail because she was depressed.  Um, you're in jail, you should be depressed.  The following quote did make me laugh.

Oh the humanity!

Also, take a look at Lenore Skenazy's article, Has Prison Lost Its Capacity To Shame?, where she asks, "is prison the new pornography? You know — something that used to be shameful, but has lately become hip and cool and a possible career booster to boot?"

Posted by Ed Z at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

While getting ready for work this morning, I heard an advertisement on the radio for a group trying to get all movies featuring tobacco use an R rating.  Tobacco use would be treated just like profanity, violence and nudity when placing a rating on a film.  The ad citied statistics showing that children exposed to tobacco use in movies were more likely to start smoking.

I understand the logic behind it.  Children are very impressionable, especially while viewing celebrities they emulate.  I remember thinking smoking looked cool after watching movies like Lethal Weapon and Die Hard.  And any kid like me who grew up watching James Bond movies would certainly have seen Bond pulling out a smoke from a fancy cigarette case.  Did that make me try cigarettes?  Sure did.  Did that make me a smoker?  I don't think so.

If you are/were a smoker, I'd like to know if any movies influenced you.  Also, I'd like to know from anyone if they think this proposal would have an impact.

Posted by Ed Z at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

I've lived in New York my whole life, and most of the time you can just do your thing and pretty much be left alone.  Everyone knows that this city is Democrat owned so it isn't easy being a conservative in the belly of the beast.  On a regular basis you'll be assailed with colorful buttons or clever t-shirts, but you just have to carry on.  If you're lucky enough to walk around Union Square, you may have someone with a bullhorn selling those mentioned items.

 Just tonight I saw this poster from Manhattan Mini Storage:

The button says "I Love Halliburton" if you can't make it out.  So now I have to read this garbage.  It just never ends.

Posted by Ed Z at 10:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

The Democrats are pimps and all the Hollywood liberals are their whores.  Selling themselves to remain an accepted part of that lifestyle.  Play the game, speak the lines you're given, and you'll get your piece of the action.

Newsbusters: At 'Spirit Awards,' Star of ABC's 'Ugly Betty' Quips U.S. Won't Be 'Free' Until Bush Gone

It just goes on and on.

Posted by Ed Z at 04:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I decided to watch George Lopez's HBO special last night, America's Mexican and I was surprised at the intensity of the venom put forth from the first word until I decided this wasn't for me. That was probably fifteen minutes worth.

In his efforts to address illegal aliens he managed to alienate part of his audience by insisting new Americans were a antagonistic force, not, as I believe, when done legally are a force of progression.

Lopez's has whole bit on Governor Schwarzenegger, scolding him for his proposed English-only law, when, as we all know, Arnold has a tough time with English himself. But it doesn't make sense, because we're not asking people to speak English perfectly, but just try, exactly what Arnold did when he came to this country.

As I mentioned, I didn't get much further so I don't know if he wrapped a pretty bow around this whole thing. It was obvious he was catering to one specific audience, whose cheers and laughs were more a support of his burning people in comedy effigy rather than it being truly funny.

Posted by Ed Z at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Britney parades around drunk with no underwear, Gwyneth bashes her homeland, others are getting DWI's in between rehab stints, but kids think this is the greatest!

Source: Daily Mail

What's most interesting is leaving out "killing" and "wars" from the list of the "very worst things in the world", the remaining items; drunks, bullies, illness, smoking, stealing, divorce and being fat, seem to be the characteristics celebrities uphold.

Posted by Ed Z at 01:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

In a post regarding the inappropriate names of a line of Victoria's Secret makeup, a reader brought up the Bratz dolls and how the dolls resemble strippers and prostitutes.

In yesterday's New York Post, Kirsten Powers write about the doll section in FAO Schwarz.

Michelle Malkin picked up the story and has a small photo of the dolls mentioned.

Unfortunately, this is only going to get worse until parents start letting these "toy" companies know these are not the products we want our children seeing in toy stores.

Posted by Ed Z at 03:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (1)

Peter Boyle, the actor who played Ray Barone's father in Everybody Loved Raymond, died at the age of 71 today.

I will always remember him for his role as Frankenstein's monster in Young Frankenstein.

Posted by Ed Z at 01:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Via Drudge: GWYNETH PALTROW: 'British much more intelligent and civilized than the Americans'

Why? WHY?? Just shut up and be happy you've enjoyed a career that has made you a very wealthy person who has the luxury of living in the UK with all the fabulous dinner parties.

She forgot to mention that she'll be happy to take your uneducated, uncivilized American dollars.  To quote Han Solo: Not this ship, sister.

**Update**  This is not the first time Paltrow has done this.  As always, Michelle Malkin has more details.

**Update**  Paltrow's response.

Posted by Ed Z at 01:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

This is the kind of stuff that just makes me laugh, via Hot Air:

Confirmed: Lindsay Lohan’s barely literate

Posted by Ed Z at 09:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If you're a regular reader, you might know by now that I'm not particularly fond of certain advertising methods. While I'm all for low-brow humor, I think it has to have a context and an appropriate time and place.

Some advertising is so in-your-face, it doesn't give a viewer the option to ignore it, because by that time, it is too late. Other ads, I believe send the wrong message, and you wonder, how can you possibly counter these ads when a child is involved.

Several weeks ago my wife received a Victoria's Secret catalog and while browsing through it, she came across a makeup kit named the Very Sexy Ultimate Makeup Kit. Upon reading the description she called me over to share some of the names of the contained items: Loose Shimmer Powder in Role Play, Mosaic Eye Shadow in Satisfied, Perfect Lipstick in G and Hot Spot, Mosaic Lip Palette in Hedonist, Lip Lacquer in All Access and Chills, Lip Gloss in Lover and Hot Pants, Sheer Lip Liner in Red Light, and Silky Eye Shadow in Blindfold, Wink and Ravish Me. G spot? Hedonist? Ravish me?

I wasn't quite sure of the demographic of Victoria's Secret shoppers, but my wife believes that many young girls do shop there because of the implied sex appeal of the clothing. Which brings me to the point of all of this: is this ok?

I know they're only names, but it just doesn't feel right. If I had a 15 year old daughter, would I want her wearing Hot Pants lip gloss? And really it isn't just the names, but the whole culture being promoted. It's a culture of pornography, and while there is ample chance for kids to be exposed to porn it shouldn't start with makeup.

I would really like to hear your thoughts on this, from parents and non-parents. Have you had to filter out products from your kids that you never dreamed you'd have to? How would you feel if your child asked for this for Christmas? Or went out and bought it and was using it already. What would your reaction be?

Posted by Ed Z at 11:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (2)

Will there be a time in the near future, when during a fashion show a doctor will walk around examining the models, like horses in the stables before a race or dogs in the kennel before a show? Will the fashion industry be forced to regulate the health of its models since they obviously do not want to do it themselves? I am not in favor of any such laws, but what can you do when girls keep dying?

Last week a Brazilian model died from health problems induced by anorexia. Ana Carolina Reston, a 21 year old woman at 5 foot 8, weighed 88 pounds. This is the healthy weight of a 12 year old girl.

My friend, and fellow blogger, Bramble, shares her experience with this subject:

Read her whole post, because it may give you, as it did me, some insight as to what women are dealing with on a daily basis.

Posted by Ed Z at 01:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

George Lucas has decided to call it quits when it comes to feature films, unfortunately the damage is done.  He managed to turn one of the most beloved movie trilogies into a joke.

Source: http://www.variety.com/VR1117951284.html

Yes, quantity is the secret, as much crap as you can pump out.

Posted by Ed Z at 10:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The onslaught continues. The recurring theme in advertising lately has been to simply cater to the gutter. Be insulting, crass, and offensive. It doesn't matter as long as you get attention for your product. McDonald's does it, MAC Cosmetics and Hummer too, so why should it stop.

SEE Eyewear is showcasing its best and brightest idea in a large billboard in Manhattan featuring a construction worker grabbing his crotch with the tagline "I got your glasses right here!"

Villager photo by Jefferson Siegel

How clever. Next they'll have pimp, hand raised, with the caption "B**ch, where are my glasses?"

They got what they wanted, I suppose, people are talking about it, but I'll never buy any of their products. Another contribution to the slow death of common decency.  Some people are standing up to this type of advertising though.  Graffiti on the ad pointed out the rudeness, while someone else ripped the whole thing down.

Source: http://www.thevillager.com/villager_176/groansofdisapproval.html

Posted by Ed Z at 11:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (4)

We can file this one under the heading, No Duh.

Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109...

Groundbreaking?  Who pays for this stuff?  Really folks, I don't make this up.

Posted by Ed Z at 08:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Ladies, are you feeling inadequate? Your kid was cut off at the slide? Go out and spend $32,800 on a Hummer H3, for it will surely solve all your problems. Get your girl on.

Oh and gentlemen, embarrassed about buying vegetables and tofu instead of red meat? For 32,800 you can restore the balance (of your manhood that is).

It is a fact, the original tagline was "restore your manhood", but Hummer revised it due to complaints, though the commercial still airs.

I am neither a woman, nor a vegetarian. In fact, I'm probably the guy buying all the red meat in the tofu commercial. That doesn't matter, because the commercial still doesn't appeal to me.

There is an increasing trend of brazen belittling the consumer. Commercials have always had the stench of marketing through condescension, but I've never seen it so flagrant.

Adholes, a blog about the advertisement industry, highlights how the Tofu commercial is insulting to vegetarians. Marc Lefton writes:

Source: http://adholes.com/postings/1992ac59cc88c56d9dc6ea0769265020

Mr. Lefton and I probably couldn't be further apart on the spectrum. I have no problem with SUV's, drive what you want to drive, but we both share a disdain for the ad.

So, Hummer, who exactly was your target audience?

As commercials continue to insult us, I just can't imagine how the people making the decisions feel comfortable with their products.

Posted by Ed Z at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

I was told recently, that some television news show had a segment on the influence of brand names on children, specifically when it comes to food.

It's bad enough that a friend of mine has two nephews, aged between 8-11, who refuse to use any ketchup other than the McDonalds packets of ketchup. But now, apparently in this news piece, kids were given the choice of eating either a banana or a rock. The rock was adorned with stickers of cartoon characters, and the banana was just, well a banana. All but one kid picked the rock…to eat! Now you might think they didn't know it was a rock, but they were told, 'you can't eat a rock' and some replied 'yes I can!'.

I can't find any resources on the story but I'll keep looking. I'd be interested to know the ages of the kids and how many they tested, but any way you peel it, our kids want to eat rocks.

**UPDATE**

Reader JenW was kind enough to find the background info on the story.  It was a Dateline piece called Food Fight.

Source: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14415766/

A big thanks to JenW.

Posted by Ed Z at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

This is how MAC Cosmetics chooses to sell its products.  I suppose if you're an "intimidated, frightened, right-wing Republican thin-lipped bitch" they'll still take your money.

http://www.maccosmetics.com/whats_new/plushglass_video.tmpl?ngextredir=1

Here is a rough transcript of what Sandra Bernhard says in the commercial. It truly was painful listening to it.

Crikey!

**Update**

Looks like they edited the video taking out the idiotic venom.  I'd like to see them get rid of her as a spokesperson, better yet, the brainiac at Estee Lauder's marketing who thought this was ok. 

**Update**

The link above doesn't lead to the video anymore but I found it on Youtube

Posted by Ed Z at 02:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (1)

I've often considered the irony in our movie tastes and the our perceived taste in reality. What I mean is, often our appetite for retribution in cinema is not echoed in reality. Well, at least that's what we're told.

We cheer when the hero seeks merciless vengeance and we leave the theatre satisfied when the dead and the living have been adequately sorted. But when this becomes a reality, suddenly (or seemingly) our collective stomachs turn and we run for the hills.

I'm not convinced this is the case. The MSM wants us to believe this, and excels at giving the most volume to the "outraged"; whether they be outraged over Abu Ghraib, wiretapping, finance tracking programs, or GITMO.

I think many Americans know what is necessary to succeed in the fight against terrorists, but we need to let them be heard.

QandO writes on this topic, discussing the Jack Bauer Voter.

http://www.qando.net/details.aspx?Entry=4300

Posted by Ed Z at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

When you see a celebrity pitching a product in an advertisement, right off the bat you know they are being well compensated for the appearance. And even though there are laws that are supposed to keep some sort of reality to the endorsement we all know they are bending the truth. But to what degree? Phil Mushnick, of the New York Post, writes about the blatant hypocrisy of some celebrity athlete endorsers.

http://specialsections.nypost.com/news/nypost/tvweek/20060709/p12_s1.htm

Posted by Ed Z at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Looks like McDonald's did pull the ad due to complaints.  

Once again, pushing the envelope is the excuse used for churlishness.

http://www.nypost.com/business/64718.htm

Posted by Ed Z at 10:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Have you seen the McDonald's commercial where two men are discussing the economic benefits of meals at the fast food establishment? The shtick is that when the characters say they got something for "free" it is bleeped out as if it was another four letter word. After this exchange of maybe ten bleeps the punch line is "so good a deal, it's obscene". I actually first heard this commercial before seeing it, being in another room while the TV aired it. My first reaction was that they were actually censoring out some questionable language, but after seeing it a second time I got the joke. However, I was kind of put off by it; tasteless at best. I've never been a fan of pandering to the lowest common denominator. Recently, I've seen the same commercial with the faux censoring removed and the tagline changed. Did McDonald's change this due to complaints? I haven't heard a peep out of the media on this. I suspect they did and wanted to keep it low key. Drop a line if you know anything more about this.

Posted by Ed Z at 01:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (2)

According to Paul Verhoeven, director of the original Basic Instinct, the demise of the "erotic thriller" genre is due to the American Government imposing Christian values on its citizens.  That Basic Instinct 2 took in $3.2 million and ranked 10th this weekend, according to Box Office Mojo, had nothing to do with good taste.

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=entertainment

Out of curiosity, I looked at my cable listings to see what was on tomorrow to gauge how far this has gone. America's Next Top Model, The Flavor of Love, South Park, and if you have HBO you can watch Big Love, "the series about a modern-day polygamist balancing financial debt with familial demands from three wives and seven children."

Posted by Ed Z at 09:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I heard about this show on VH1, where they tell you the most "awesomely wacky celebrity baby names". I had a look, and indeed they are wacky, not sure about the awesomely part. Maybe it's just me, but I find this pretty disturbing. There is someone who has to grow up with the name Pilot Inspektor (no, really).

It makes me wonder, are children anything more than pets to these people?

 http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/vh1_all_access/93352/episode_featured_copy.jhtml

Posted by Ed Z at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)