You'd think, wouldn't you, that having access to only 2.5 channels would cause me to watch less TV. However, you'd be wrong. (Although I don't watch much TV, really.) Having access to less programming, and fewer commercials, actually makes me cranky and overly analytical, particularly about the ads.
It's hard to know what plays in the U.S. and what is unique to Canadian TV. We had a really cute commercial for Diet Pepsi for awhile last winter--in it, Jimmy Fallon and Parker Posey danced on cars in New York on the street, Fame-style, to a jaunty, whistly tune. I found it on YouTube so I could laugh any time I wanted. But when I asked my U.S. friend Trish, who Knows All Things Marketing, about it, it didn't ring a bell.
Normally, we're not that lucky. My current least favorite ad is for toilet tissue. Formerly named Cottonelle, the brand is now named Cashmere. The ad features a woman wrapped in soft-focus white stuff, with a voiceover cooing about how wonderful cashmere is, how soft, blah blah. I like soft toilet tissue as much as the next person, but thinking about cashmere as a toilet tissue is just gross.
And then there are the always-annoying ads for Tim Horton's, but that's a separate post. As is the ridiculous KFC slogan. Yes, I know; I could just watch less TV.
