Volvo TV spot mystery

Why an optically challenged actor?

I've been seeing Volvo XC60 TV spots recently that feature a brief appearance by a "Volvo spokesman." A middle-aged, blonde man who says something in Swedish to a young couple, then, "Welcome to your new car."

The spots are well-done and feature music most people seem to like. But one thing nags at me: Why is the "spokesman" a person with one inward-turning eye? It's troubling. Is he a top exec at Volvo? Is that why they had to feature him? Or, if he is an actor, is he the only Swede they could find?

I am not down on physically challenged people, but I question casting any actor who will draw attention to himself or herself and distract attention from the product. An abnormal eye, even though it's seen only for a fraction of a second, can do that.

If anybody knows anything about this spokesman and why he appears in the spots (I've seen two different ones so far), please let me know. It's just buggin' me. Y'know?

Ads get in your eyes

In a more romantic era, it was said that "smoke gets in your eyes" when you're in love. These more mercenary days, ads get in your eyes when you're selling a movie. Or rather, in the eyes of handsome young men, in the form of contact lenses advertising "Twilight."

When you get close, you see that the weird contacts read, "Twilight DVD."

Weird. But pretty tame, compared with pictures I've seen of eyeball tattoos. EWWWww!

HELLO, Advertisers -- Boomers have bucks

At right, a Target billboard in Times Square featuring (gasp!) a woman with gray hair.

As a Boomer, I am puzzled as to how so many of the TV shows I watch are sprinkled with ads aimed at 18-24-year-old males. Ads featuring sexpots taking huge juicy bites out of huge juicy burgers while hiking up their skirts tantalizingly, so you can *almost* see their panties, or lack thereof. Car ads featuring 18-24s bombing around in the desert, screaming with excitement, or bounding free-spiritedly up a mountain. Hey, that's not me. Even when I was 18-24.

For a long time, I attributed this psychographic and demographic disconnect to the fact that most ad agency creatives are in their 20s. So how can they possibly speak my language? Actually, they can't. And sometimes, when they try, poor babies, they end up perpetuating insulting stereotypes about "old" (over 40) people. The only commercials aimed at my generation seem to be for denture paste, laxatives and blood pressure medicine. Yuck. But my theory doesn't hold much water: young creatives must sell their ideas to presumably more mature people on the client side. How have so many advertisers drunk the "youthful focus" Kool-Aid (or Vitamin Water)?

Now, at last, some advertisers are recognizing who has the bucks: Boomers. Especially in a lousy economy like this one. Target, for one, has started featuring Boomers in their ads. Say, before long, we might be treated as the age we feel we are. Like, 35.

Who ever thought of THAT?

The Most Ridiculous Patents of the Past Decade

A cow wearing a contraption that turns it into a gas factory? A gerbil shirt that lets your friends admire your furry friend as it scampers through plastic tunnels on the outside of the shirt? Then there's the "Dad Saddle," which allows an older child to stand up in stirrups around Dad's waist and be carried around. These are only a few of the most ridiculous patents of the last 10 years. A slideshow here (or is it a sideshow?) features many more, including "Baby Bottom Art" (pictured above). You dip your baby's derriere into paint and plop it down on canvas. Something to embarrass your kid for years to come!

Who needs a manual to write real good?

In a perverse tribute to the 50th anniversary of Strunk and White's classic, "The Elements of Style," writer Marc Acito attempts to violate every one of the elements. A good job is done by him, too, I opine. Acito is the author of two books, How I Paid for College and Attack of the Theater People.

All Things Considered, April 16, 2009

Today marks the 50th anniversary of William Strunk and E.B. White's Elements of Style, the grammar manual used by millions of students, including commentator Marc Acito.

Me and a friend was talking about using proper grammar. And he says to I, "Today is the 50th anniversary of Strunk and White's Elements of Style." (1)

So I got me a copy and totally mesmerized this vast suppository of information. For instance, Strunk and White says, "Write with nouns and verbs." (2) Myself, for one, is relieved to know this, as I have been trying to write with macaroni and cheese.

[Read more or listen here.]

KFC takes a grilling

First, Kentucky Fried Chicken gave up the word, "Fried" by changing its name to KFC. A nod to the healthy-eating sensibilities of prospective customers. Now, in a further step toward wholesomeness, KFC has added grilled chicken to its offerings. Can the name change to "KGC" be far behind? Naah, it sounds too much like the Russian CIA.

The new bucketful is surprisingly good, say the taste-testers at Epicurious. They compared grilled chicken from several purveyors and found that KFC's version rules the roost.

Great. But I wonder: would the Colonel approve?

Burger King makes a big oopsie

Where were the adults while the children at Crispin Porter & Bogusky were creating a Burger King ad campaign even more idiotic than the usual? The scary, plastic-faced King is esthetically bad. But dissing Hispanics is offensively bad. And dumb, marketing-wise. Why would a fast-food chain buy into a negative stereotype and alienate so many potential customers? The stupid... it HURTS.

The current and soon-to-be-pulled campaign features a tall, gringo cowboy and his sidekick, a short, squat Hispanic wrestler hombre wearing a costume that resembles a Mexican flag.

How this politically incorrect campaign ever saw the light of day is a mystery. The premise, that BK makes burgers that have "a little Mexican," hardly excuses the use of a dwarf Hispanic wrestler to make the point. The agency that spawned it may have used creative from their London office, where, one might assume, there is less exposure to anti-Hispanic rhetoric than there is this side of the Pond. And it's playing only in Europe, so maybe they thought it didn't matter. But hey, there are Hispanic people in Europe, too.