I think American ad folks do these ads to show that if they were allowable in the USA we could outshine the Europeans for suggestive humor in advertising.
Found by John Ligums.
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Why can’t this play in the US? It’s funny and you see NOTHING! It’s a little suggestive, but no one under the age of 10 would get it, or they would just laugh at the fact that the woman grabbed the guys wiener! Very good ad.
Very funny! 😀
It’s too bad you can’t show this ad in the US. For some reason Americans have trouble laughing at institutions (political, social, church, etc). As a Canadian, I have no idea why. The only person who seems to break out of it is Stephan Colbert but even he stepped over the line at the white house press dinner.
In other countries, we’re a little less sacred:
Of course, Rick Mercer is a Newfie. They are the funniest people on the continent.
#3 Have you ever heard of South Park. We clearly have the ability to laugh at institutions (political, social, church, etc). We just don’t seem to like it in advertising. As for Canadian TV well the adds are the only thing worth watching well other then the endless hours of hockey.
I thought the kid was going to say, “Mom, what are you doing?!”
It’s funny. However, this will lead to moral decay and the eventual destruction of civilization.
Also, God kills a penguin every time this is viewed.
Won’t somebody please think of the children!?
I saw this about a month ago on TV. It was at night though.
I think the main reason why clever ads aren’t very common in the US is that they don’t actually sell anything. In the UK, for example, there was a very clever ad using a knitted a monkey that advertised ITV Digital (see: http://tinyurl.com/itvmonkey). The advert was very popular, indeed, it was a national success but it didn’t help ITV Digital sell at all! The simple truth was that as much as people liked the clever ad, it didn’t make people want to buy the product!
Nice. I find it hard to believe that that could not air here. What was the territorial origin for it anyhow?
I have seen this during NASCAR and baseball games for many months. Unless Orange County, CA left the union, there is no ban on this commercial.
“could outshine the Europeans for suggestive humor”
Dude, that’s not even close…
We have ads with bare breasts here. (It did cause controversy, but in the end it was resolved with the decision to have more penises in ads)
[Duplicate comment deleted. – ed.]
#3 I agree, but to my taste I think Mark Critch has taken that same style to a funnier extreme. Critch added a more ridiculous “Stuttering John” (without the stuttering) aggressiveness to the basic attack style. Maybe it’s an American taste — hard to say. I know that most of the Jon Stewart “extras” do this sort of comedy. It’s a shame the American audiences do not know these Canadian comics though..and there are a lot up there who are great.
#9 there are a lot of funny commercials that DO work.
jobs, we love South Park in Canada. It’s a huge hit. It’s funny that you say there is nothing to watch on Canadian TV. Canadians say exactly the same thing about American TV. 😉
John C Dvorak. Yes I think Canadians are masterful comedians (a little bit of national pride there) but I think it points to a difference in American culture from other countries. I couldn’t see George Bush doing a Rick Mercer piece but in Canada it’s expected.
It’s not a better vs worse thing in our cultures, I just see it as different. For example, I think the US has become the masters of literary satire. I don’t think there is any other country in the world that could have produced Mark Twain and Kurt Vonnegut.
[Comment deleted – Violation of Posting Guidelines, unnecessary cursing. – ed.]
#8 #11 Good to know. I guess some venues think it’s cool. My premise is amiss.
OH! I get it. They’re students in a dormatory—see the big U on the wall at the beginning? I thought they were siblings or something, which made the commercial a bit less comfortable to watch.
#17 I wish I could remember what channel it was on. It wasn’t an alphabet network, that much I’m sure of.
sorry John,
I’ve saw this one on my TV here in socal.
If anyone is interested that work was done by Duck Studios through DGWB(USA).
The guys at Duck do some really good work. They are the ones the did the multi award winning United Airlines “Dragon” commercial.
My all time favorite European commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDCb44O6Euo
[Extremely unsafe for work, as well as those of a non-salicious temperament. Oh and keep on watching until the end.]
Peanut Butter and Jam said
You are correct. Many of the funniest commercials are really nothing but tiny comedy films. The most effective ads are often the most irritating.
There is the rare exception when the comedy is excellent, AND it sells the product. EG… the first FedEx ads (the fast speaker).
Unusuable? Sounds like a Bush-ism, like “misunderestimate” or “subliminable.”
I was fascinated to read somewhere that something like 30% of viewers watch the SuperBowl just for the ads.
Here’s one of Martini’s great ads – also banned in the US.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4SQT8epHOc
#16 QB,
I don’t think there is any other country in the world that could have produced Mark Twain and Kurt Vonnegut.
What other country could have produced Stephan Leacock and Robert Service?
#27 “What other country could have produced Stephan Leacock and Robert Service?”
A better question is; What other country claim
Stephan Leacock and Robert Service?
That ad was repeated, ad nauseum during the Angels baseball games on FSN about two months ago. Suggestive or not, it ran on what would generally be considered the “safest” TV available.
This is NOT “banned” TV. The Wienerschnitzel ad campaign has been repeatedly attempting to “push the envelope”. This one is the furthest they’ve gone so far that I’ve seen, but I have seen it on TV in America.