It never ceases to amaze me that I can be so often amazed at what I see on the television when I go into the lunch room. Last time it was that steaming pile of excrement known as “Passions.” Today… something almost scarier.
The pitch must have gone something like this: “I have a great idea! Let’s take a semi-famous prop-comic from the 80’s and build a really crappy spot around his most famous bit of schtick! It can’t fail!”
So here’s Gallagher, yes that Gallagher, the center of a television commercial for Northwest Title Loans. He smashes words with his sledgehammer! How droll. Oh, but wait, he’s also digitally composited into a watermelon-shaped cartoon car!
Okay, so I’m not in sales, marketing or programming. Even I know that this is a hideous assault on all that is decent and holy. More to the point, I can’t see it working to create a positive impression of the business in question in the minds of the viewers.
Oh, crap. I’ve been in radio too long. I’m starting to think like them. Heaven help me.
Comments
2 responses to “How the not-very-mighty have fallen.”
For the record, I have nothing against Gallagher himself. He spends a fair amount of his stage time on a subject in common with George Carlin: thinking for yourself. The prop stuff is a way to get attention so people will listen to what he really has to say for a couple of minutes.
The commercial I saw today, however, is abominable. He should have known better.
Um, I *like* Gallagher. I like his silly props and I really, REALLY love the Sledge-O-Matic! I want one for Xmas. But yes, appearing in a local TV commercial is a ticket straight to hell (unless you’re 8 and your parents make you, like those poor little girls in the City Liquidators commercials).