Totally Scripted by Josh Chetwynd

Author:Josh Chetwynd [Chetwynd, Josh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lyons Press
Published: 2016-12-30T05:00:00+00:00

They’re G-r-r-r-eat: TV Commercials

Television commercials are an art form all their own. Just ask Jason Bateman. “I’ve always loved commercials,” the comedic actor said in 2010. “I like working out how to organically weave a brand’s message into the writing process. It’s like an improv show, where comics ask the audience to throw out a word and a skit is built around it.”

In all fairness, whatever spontaneity the copywriters come up with is undoubtedly vetted by multiple focus groups before ever hitting our screens at home. Still, whether it’s the repetition or the uncanny ability of Madison Avenue marketing gurus to tap into our subconscious, ad phrases and expressions that we hear on TV—and, of course, experience through coordinated print/Internet campaigns—have long trickled into our lexicon to be restated and parodied over and over again. Here’s a cross-section of commercial lines that fit that bill:

“They’re g-r-r-r-eat!”—Frosted Flakes (cereal), 1952

“But wait, there’s more”—Ron Popeil (various infomercials), 1950s

“Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t”—Almond Joy/Mounds bars (candy), 1953

“Takes a licking and keeps on ticking”—Timex (watch), 1956

“Good to the last drop”—Maxwell House (coffee), 1959

“That’s a spicy meatball” and “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing”—Alka Seltzer (antacid), 1969

“Tastes great! Less filling!”—Miller Lite (beer), 1974

“Reach out and touch someone”—AT&T (phone), 1979

“Be all that you can be”—US Army (recruitment ad), 1981

“Time to make the donuts”—Dunkin’ Donuts (doughnuts), 1983

“Where’s the beef?”—Wendy’s (restaurant) 1984

“I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV”—Vicks Formula 44 (cough syrup) 1984

“They keep going and going and going . . .”—Energizer (batteries), 1989

“Money, it’s gotta be the shoes”—Nike (shoes), 1989

“I’ve fallen and I can’t get up”—LifeCall (medical alarm and protection) 1989

“Not going anywhere for a while?”—Snickers (candy), 1995

“Whassup?”—Budweiser (beer), 1999

“What’s in your wallet?”—Capital One (credit card), 2000

“What happens here, stays here”—Las Vegas Tourism Board (promotional ad), 2003

“The world’s most interesting man”—Dos Equis (beer) 2006

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