i am sparticus: IBM and Lemsip

IBM and Lemsip

I was going to start this entry with an explanation of why exactly I was watching so much TV to write an entry based upon TV adverts I'd seen, but then I realised, 'Hey I'm a student. I don't need to explain my TV habits to anyone', and so that is how it came about that I was watching TV the other day. Normally I prefer watching the TV program to the adverts in the breaks, but the program was obviously quite rubbish, because I can't even remember what is was, but I can remember two of these adverts. The first is the IBM advert where two guys are speaking on the phone and the conversation is like:

'Dude I'm in Paris'
'Aren't you meant to be in Hong Kong? That's why I'm in Rome'
'No, because the big stacks of money we're making in Oslo is now happening in Toronto'
'Oh well that's fine because we have shiny computers in Tokyo'
'Good, then I'll see your greedy suit ass in LA?'
'I think you mean Stockholm'
'Word'

Then some woman's voice says 'Hey, if you think it's cool for a business to be full of change and you think that using the word dynamic in your publicity impresses your shareholders, then you want IBM. We're cool like that'.

The second ad is the Lemsip max strength ad. There are a whole series of these adverts but they all seem to go like this:

'Hi I'm an arrogant macho suit and I succumbed to some extreme flu because I work so hard and make so much cash. I was supposed to do some presentation for the company that would make them millions if done well but if done badly would have cost me my job to some arrogant macho suit. Fortunately I took lemsip max strength and so saved the company, beat up that arrogant macho suit and got a date with a hot secretary. If you take lemsip max strength, YOU CAN BE LIKE ME.'

I tell you this because of they both share a common problem. The problem with both these adverts is this; everyone in the adverts are jerks of the worst order, and not only that but you secretly fear that one day you'll turn into one of them. By using these products you bring yourself one step closer to being one of these people. I suppose this advert might work for the directors of companies who miss their youthful days of running around the world and sorting stuff out, but I'm guessing they don't want to remember themselves as being a jerk just as badly as we don't want to become one.

And with that, Trisha is on.

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