My Favorite British Commercials - Part II

Happy 38 weeks! Officially two to four weeks away from the boy's big entrance and trying desperately not to go insane with the excitement and impatience of it all.

If I drop off the face of the earth (read: stop posting for an extended period of time), you know why. :)

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As promised, here are my second five favorite British Commercials.

Today's five are slightly more random than yesterday's selection, mostly because most of them involve some kind of annoyance or bone-to-pick that I have with the way certain things are portrayed on British television. That said, life is too short to spend it on a soap-box, so I do have to admit that no matter how annoying or bizarre I find some of these commercials, in a twisted kind of way, I really do kind of enjoy watching them. :)

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Brenda's Second Five Favorite British Commercials
again, in no particular order;
and yes, still my current poison of choice for killing perfectly good brain cells

1. The Nauseating "Sexy Drive" Peugeot Commercial
Is this what Americans sound like to British people? If so, I might consider faking an accent for a little while, because even I found myself nauseated by the way this guy talks. If you take a look at the comments on Youtube, apparently I am not the only one either. Oh, and the French Peugeot lips at the end...yeah, highly unnecessary.

This commercial does get bonus points because the sleazy American car salesman is pretty hot, but his hotness also definitely goes down on the scale because of the way he says "yadda yadda." "Noire" (with an extra syllable) and "Air Con" (which, incidentally, I've always found is more commonly called "AC" than "Air Con" in the US), serious-like, as if that's how we Americans have normal conversations. This Bucket-o-Sleaze is in serious overflow.

Oh and the smiotch doesn't get off either: who the hell says "fact me"?!?!?!




2. The Bizarre Absolute Radio Midget Commercial
How can I not love this commercial?

Midget? Check. Angry assertive midget? Check check! Random self-deprecating British person? Check. Unabashed midgety dancing? Yes my friends - check again.



Here's more of Doug dancing if you're a fan too; nothing but respect for all the LPs out there. :)


3. The "Thomas the Random Asian Suit-Wearing Surfer" Halifax Commercial
He can sing! He can dance! He's the bizarre little Asian man from the Halifax commercial!
Someone actually thought this would get Halifax more customers, right? I mean, that's the ONLY reason that this would actually make it past the "brainstorm" stage of the creative process in the Ad room, RIGHT?

Can't help but feel really sorry for the supposedly British, slightly effeminate, Asian guy wearing a suit that looks like it would fit a 10-year-old. If this commercial doesn't scream "stereotype" (a black surfer named "Brown?" Really!?), then I don't know what does. And yet, "Thomas from Leeds" was probably really psyched when he landed this part. I guess with all that crazy auditioning and the singing lessons he probably didn't realize that the Elvis-esque surfer party is NOT (contrary to British television's opinion) back.

Oh and for those of you not lucky enough to live here in the UK: the faux-hawk is, sadly, still alive and kicking.




4. The Ford Ka Commercial(s)
It was a real relief to me to find a car with a truly simple and fitting name. Not sure why, but Ford Ka just really appeals to me, and this first commercial of theirs seems to encapsulate simple, cool, and kinda hip. Don't you just love that song?

But it was the commercial below that really won me over to the Ford (Sport) Ka. Shout out to my sister, who I call Caaa - she's my younger, evil twin. :)



5. The Amp'd Busted Commercial
I don't know that this is even a British commercial, but it gets included anyway.

You'd think people would get sick of watching funny unassuming people singing music that appears out of character for them to like (think Michael Bolton on Office Space, or that fat kid who did the infamous "Numa Numa" Youtube video), but no. I still laugh pretty hard whenever I see this.





Today's Honorable Mentions:
Once again, a couple of noteworthy stragglers that I felt I should honor before signing off:

1. Vauxhall "Grown Up Kids" Commercial
I love this commercial because it took me almost 10 times watching it to figure out what these kids were saying. And once I did, I not only learned some cool British slang, I also thought it was pretty freakin' hilarious.


2. Tropicana Chef Breakfast Commercial
I often ask Matt in reference to this commercial: do you think this is what Marcus' (his chef brother) mornings are like? If so, sign me up because that OJ and whatever else looks damn good and maybe even almost worth living through the horrid hours of the food industry. :)

And if not, then at least that song should be everyone's soundtrack in the morning.


3. The Time-Life "Midnight Soul" Infomercial
But if you're not a Tropicana-soundtrack type of person, then perhaps this will suit you a little bit better. In the words of R. Kelly: "I don't see nothing wrong with a little bump and grind."

If anyone is ever desperate to buy me a gift, the entire Midnight Soul Collection currently sits on my "top 5 gifts I wish people would get me" list. Admit it - you could sing along to half of this infomercial too. (Thanks junior high school dances for that ability.)


Happy weekend to you all!