1 of 1- newsguy1
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In Spence, no one can hear you scream -- oh wait, everyone can
I scream, you scream, and I'm sure everyone screams at the Mothers Day Spence ad. For one thing, you start with a phone ringing -- once -- then Sarah answers. Fiona is amazed to hear that Sarah has caller ID, observing, "That's one smart phone."
Welcome to the 21st Century, Fiona.
Then Sarah is blown away to learn that when you give the Mothers Day pendant you have to tell your old mom something about herself you never told her before.
(I knew what you did last summer with the pool repair man).
Ah, memories.
- Chrisphen
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Re: In Spence, no one can hear you scream -- oh wait, everyone can
There is a certain perverse elegance to the ads - if you listen to all of their ads in any order, each is more atrocious than the last.
- RadioActive
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Re: In Spence, no one can hear you scream -- oh wait, everyone can
The only good thing I have to say about the Spence ads is that at least they vary them and come up with equally awful - but new - versions of them every few weeks. So you're not hearing the same exact same thing every single break. As opposed to that Belair "A little more" or the other insurance company's "I'll be by your side" that airs ad nauseam every time anyone throws to break.
- newsguy1
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Re: In Spence, no one can hear you scream -- oh wait, everyone can
I've never researched it, but there must be a rather limited number of ad writing houses in Toronto, because most of the writing is similar with repeating themes and also writing style that sounds familiar.
Or maybe they are just lazy and keep using the same formulas.
Like how many times do you hear an ad start with a phone ringing?
Or one person, often a man, is stupid and the other person the "smart" informed one.
Why do ads often feature people who either shout or scream something?
Case in point, what is the reason for the man with the booming gravelly voice for Food Basics?
Then there's one of my particular peeves -- the announcer who speaks with a southern American accent -- in Canada.
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Thread Starter- Walter
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Re: In Spence, no one can hear you scream -- oh wait, everyone can
Terrible ads abound, but on the bright side, phony granddaughter 'Olivia' and Coast Appliance spots seems to have been put to a merciful end.
Last edited by Walter (April 26, 2024 1:44 pm)
- Binson Echorec
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Re: In Spence, no one can hear you scream -- oh wait, everyone can
Never mind the quality of the ads, new language will seep in.
I once heard an ad where the mobile number given was "hashtag1234" instead of "pound1234". Couldn't even tell you what the ad was for but my immediate thought was, "the writer of this spot can't be more than 22."
- newsguy1
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Re: In Spence, no one can hear you scream -- oh wait, everyone can
Yep, and for several years now ads have used abbreviations that I really don't think many people know, even still.
For instance I was baffled for some time when I heard announcers say some product was, such-and-such a price "OAC."
I finally discovered it means On Approved Credit.
Also, a store telling you they are having a BOGO sale... or "everything is BOGO."
That is, Buy One Get One (free).
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Thread Starter- AspectRatio
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Re: In Spence, no one can hear you scream -- oh wait, everyone can
newsguy1 wrote:
Then there's one of my particular peeves -- the announcer who speaks with a southern American accent -- in Canada.
They finally changed the spots, but one of my annoyances was a ZipRecruiter radio ad where clearly a different male voice inserted a Canada-specific URL at the end of the spot. The read was something like "Visit ZipRecruiter.com-slash-Canada. That's ZipRecruiter.com-slash-C-A-N-A-D-A.", spelling out each letter. So insulting. I think we know how to spell "Canada"!