Stupid Commercials for Stupid People.......

[poltr1]

There's a commercial for Yellow Book USA's "Yellow Book" telephone directory that I find irritating. It's the one that shows a test chamber with a jet engine at one end, and two phone books at the other end. An engineer in the control room pushes a control lever (labeled "miles per hour"!), and the engine ramps up. In a few seconds, the competitor's book is blown away.

First of all, jet engine power is not measured in "miles per hour", it's "pounds of thrust" (or "newtons of thrust" if you've gone metric). It's a force, not a rate of speed.

Second, aircraft speeds are measured in "knots" (nautical miles per hour). Relative landspeed depends on the altitude of the aircraft.

Third, the exhaust of a jet engine is quite hot. The books should catch fire and burn before they are blown off the table.


So why did the commercial writers have to "dumb down" the commercial? Do they not know the physics behind a jet engine? Or were they too afraid that their audience wouldn't know the physics?

I really hate when TV commercials pander to the lowest common denominator. They've blown a perfectly good chance to educate their audience. They've taken the low road and chose to not do so. No wonder math and science education in this country are lagging behind other countries. But is that the cause....or the effect?


On a lighter note, there's a new "See What Happens" commercial out there, with a Mitsubishi Galant and Honda Accord taking a long quick drive off a short pier...until they hit the yellow line and brake. And the music? Devo's "Uncontrollable Urge". Yes! Watch (or download) the commercial. (Requires Macromedia Flash.)

Last fall, there was an ad for Miller Beer -- the one where the line of people start to fall like dominoes. The music? Devo's "Freedom Of Choice".

I guess it's cool to like Devo now. Time to bring out the 3-D glasses and flower pots.

Comments

Car commercial

[dagonell.livejournal.com]

I saw the ad. I had wondered why they were going to hit boxes when they went over instead of just hitting the drink. In the internet display you can see the water isn't deep enough for a plunge. I saw a similar stunt on Fear Factor. They removed the safety rail from a multi-story parking lot and it was a contest to see who would fall further out. Somehow, falling onto cardboard boxes doesn't seem all that reliable to me, but apparently it's a hollywood standard.

Re: Car commercial

[poltr1]

As far as I know, cardboard is cheaper and more portable than the traditional fall-braking materials, like air mattresses. If the boxes are sealed tight enough, they can work like miniature air cushions. Cardboard, if it's thick enough, won't break as easily as plastic films. Unless it's raining.

And the Accord was probably a rental car. I'm sure they wanted to return it in good condition after the shoot was over. :-)

[stormlight811.livejournal.com]

Us americans is dumb and stuff and wouldn't understand physics if they taught it to us in school. So why bother for commercials?

Actually, it says something rather interesting about the education level, not of the consumers, but of the advertising development team and the management who approved the ad. I don't think you have to take physics to get a business degree.

[poltr1]

I agree -- physics wasn't required for management students at my college. (It was required for engineering degrees, though.)

[stormlight811.livejournal.com]

::laughs:: I'm just as glad that physics -was- required for those engineering degrees! I sort of like bridges to stay standing when I drive over them while wind is blowing, &c.

[poltr1]

Yes, those bridges are supposed to sway.

Physics I and II also happened to be the major weed-out classes for the engineering school. I survived Physics (thanks to the help of AP Physics in high school but didn't score high enough on the exam to get an exemption).....but washed out in E-Mag (Electromagnetic Theory). I soon switched -- or defected -- from EE to Computer Science.

[stormlight811.livejournal.com]

I can understand that. Computer Science was where I started, back when, and then found when I became pregnant while in school that I had effectively no memory for learning. It was as though all of the usual mental abilities went "out to lunch" for nine months while the body was busy reproducing. Aaargh! That was when I washed out. Can't learn to code when can't remember the language.

[poltr1]

Two words: Mommy Brain. The little ones tend to suck the knowledge out of you. It happened to my wife too.