Fake SNL Macy's Ad Nails What We Hate About Christmas, Especially When There's Children

Things aren't nearly this happy in a fake Macy's Christmas ad
from Saturday Night Live that gives us a dose of reality in the
midst of all the fake Christmas cheer. 

I'm a bah hum-bug kinda guy during the Christmas season, so I really get irritated by those chirpy-voiced ads on TV from those retailers announcing their holiday sales specials.

Most of the narrators sound like they are offering a sippy cup to their toddlers.

I don't know why they're offering me things in that tone of voice. I'm not a toddler and I like to think I'm more mature, smarter and more experienced than a toddler.

But who knows?

Now, Saturday Night Live hasn't been very great this year, but this week, they did a fake commercial from Macy's that is just perfect.

The sippy cup voiced actress touts the latest clothing offerings from the retailer. The first few seconds of the video offer the standard offerings for the adults. You'd easily mistake it for a real Macy's Christmas ad.

Then the bulk of the rest of the ad gets into those cute childrens' outfits that will ultimately be worn by not-so-cute children. And their exasperated parents have to deal with it. Which causes all kinds of stress, such as public embarrassment, hatred toward kids and marital discord, all things that are NOT supposed to happen at Christmas, according to the marketers.

Sample ad copy from this video, which is so like real life:

"All month long, we're taking 25% off boys' merino wool sweaters that won't fit over his head," the sippy cup narrator states.  The video shows a fed-up dad trying to put the sweater on his squirmy young son. "If you'd stop squirming, it would be on already!," the blandly handsome dad hisses at the kid.

As we all know, the stress of Christmas brings all these on more than any other time of year. So yeah, bah-humbug!

I think the video, at least in one sense, brings us the true feeling of Christmas, or at least the aspect of it in which society demands that everything be perfect and happy, but we can't quite live up to reality.

I think a lot of people agree. The video had 4.3 million views within less than 48 hours of when it was posted.

It's a great video for everybody. But I imagine it's fantastic for parents of young children. Watch and enjoy and feel the catharsis:

"Love Calls Back" Ad During Tonys Telecast Has People Weeping

A scene from the Verizon/Pflag ad "Love Call Back."

Last night, during the Tony Awards on television, Verizon, the telecommunications giant, and Pflag, a advocacy group for the LGBTQ community, aired an ad that had many weeping, including me.

The ad, calls "Up To Speed," or "Love Calls Back," featured young LGBTQ people who were estranged from parents or other loved ones.

The conversations when these youths came out of the closet to their families went badly, so there was little or no communication after that.  

Everybody hurt because of these situations, obviously.

In the ad, Verizon and Pflag arranged do-overs for these initial conversations. Parents, brothers and others who initially had reacted badly to their kids' orientation since the first bad conversation had time to think about it, and had come to realize there really wasn't anything wrong with their LGBTQ kids, and that they still loved them.

The ad is a nice bit of hope for people who are estranged, and I hope it encourages more do-over calls to reunite people.  The whole thing, of course, is timed to coincide with June, which is Pride Month.

I fully realize that not all families have such happy endings. Some LGBTQ youth and adults remain estranged from stubborn, ignorant parents forever, which is sad to say the least.

I was lucky when I came out. My father immediately supported me. My mother reacted extremely harshly and negatively, but eventually came around. It took a little work, but she did it.

The video is below.  The first 1:40 of the video explains what it does. After that Kleenex alert!  It is a weeper, but worth watching:

Gillette Ad On "Toxic Masculinity" Is Still Annoying Some Snowflakes

A scene from the Gillette ad that takes on "toxic masculinity"
I'm still not sure why so many (mostly conservative)
viewers hate it. 

That Gillette ad that hooks itself up with the Me Too movement and criticizes "toxic masculinity" has been out for a couple weeks now and some men - and a few women - are still pissed off at it.

The way some guys see it, the ad was meant to make all men feel bad about themselves.

I've seen the ad a few times now, and I'm still at a loss as to how this ad is offensive to guys.

It seems to call out the worst among us, and offer up the best of us as an antidote. It encourages us to be the best we can. You'd think that wouldn't be too controversial, but whatever.

I'm a gay guy, so there's some people who would probably say I have no right, or at least no knowledge of what "masculine" is.  But men of any orientation can be masculine.

The Gillette ad to me is a throwback. It seems to illustrate what I was taught masculine meant decades ago when I was a kid.

A "real" man, I was taught, stands up for himself and others who are unfairly targeted. Masculinity is all about being respectful to others without letting other people disrespect you. A masculine man is a class act, ready to help out others in need, but is never a chump.

Masculine men stand up for what they believe, in word and deed. They don't try to disempower others, thinking that somehow builds them up. They don't lie, cheat or try to game the system.  Masculine men are not bullies. They love to win, but only if the fight is fair.

A masculine man can be physically powerful, but that muscle isn't entirely necessary. The masculine man expresses his power by intervening in a situation that is wrong. A masculine man is brave, willing to promote an unpopular stand, if he thinks it's right.

A straight masculine man of course wants to have relationships with women. But this masculine man backs off when she says no. It's the right thing to do, and it's a matter of pride to be a mensch.

This is all stuff I learned from my father when I was growing up. I married a man who has all these traits, which is why I know I married well.

All that seems to be the theme of the Gillette ad.

Then how is it making men "feel bad" about themselves, as the critics claim? I see no evidence that the ad is trying to insult all men.

"If Gillette made a commercial predicated on women being bad & this is how they can all do better....the same radical feminists loving this ad would go nuts," Piers Morgan tweeted.

Oh Piers, where does it say in the ad that all men are bad? Come on, I'm waiting.

Karol Markowicz in the New York Post complained the ad tells us men are "universal aggressors and rapists" and that we need to "stop insulting men."

No, we only insult the men who are jerks.

The theme I kept seeing in the Gillette criticism is was somehow calling out men for being men. Which is the real insult to men. Do most men really want to be the worst they could be, not the best?  Some of these critics doth protest too much.

I get it that Gillette put the ad out in part to get people to talk about the brand and maybe be inspired to pick up some of their products. Even if some snowflake-y people boycott the firm. Gillette wants to sell stuff, everybody knows that.

Gillette isn't always practicing what they preach, either, as The Today show points out. There is sort of a "pink tax" on products like razors marketed toward women that cost more, even though these products are identical to what men pay for basically the same products.

The ad is probably a logical extension of the "Me Too" movement. I guess they were trying to say that men can be allies in that movement. That's not such a bad thing

For what it's worth, here's the Gillette ad so you can see it again:

This Lady In Ad Wishes Mom's A Great $%&F*#$ Mother's Day

For those who like Mother's Day ads, here's a pleasant nice wish from a woman representing Kraft Macraroni And Cheese who wishes you a F*Y$&%*** Mother's Day:

Budweiser Super Bowl Ad Kind Of A Slap Against Trump

An image from the Budweiser ad the company plans
to air during the Super Bowl 

The ad Budweiser plans to air during the Super Bowl was conceived, filmed and produced many months before President Trump did his stupid "Muslim ban" executive order over the weekend.

But the ad was produced as Trump the candidate was spouting anti-immigrant rhetoric.  

Which makes the Budweiser ad, which you can view at the bottom of this post, all the more interesting.

Budweiser is abandoning the Clydesdale horses and the cute puppies in favor of the story of Adolph  Busch, the co-founder of Budweiser, who made a tough journey as an immigrant from Germany to America in the 1800s.

The ad tells the story of how hard it can be for an immigrant making his or her way to America, and how ambition, and hooking up with other ambitious people, can build immigrant success stories.

Like Budweiser.

Seems to be a poke at Trump to accept well-vetted immigrants because many are ambitious enough to create those good paying American jobs Trump wants us all to have.

Budweiser says the ad is not political and just wants to tell the story of an immigrant's experience. True, but it's telling the rest of us some things, too.

"This commercial shows the start of Budweiser's journey, and while it is set in the 1800s, it's a story we believe will resonate with today's entrepreneurial generation - those who continue to strive for their dreams," said Ricardo Marques, Budweiser's vice president of marketing, according to the Today Show. 

See for yourself. Here's the video:

Maybe Because I'm Polish, But This Christmas Ad Really Hits Me

This man in a Polish Christmas ad really REALLY
wants to learn English. Find out why. 

Christmas is the season for holiday ads that make you weep, and this one fits the bill.

Here, we have an elderly gentleman who, at the beginning of the ad at least, does not speak English.

But he's determined to learn, dammit. He's got a VERY important person to meet, and that person speaks English, not the Polish our gentleman speaks.

In the ad for Allegro, basically the Polish version of Amazon or Ebay. the man receives some learning material to help him learn English. Fortunately, our English As A Second Language learner is an enthusiastic student.

Even if that means plastering everything in his house, including his dog, with Post It notes labeling everything in English. He even converses with his rubber ducky in the bathtub to make sure he master the English language perfectly.

Spoiler alert: Our eldery Polish gentleman's meeting with the Very Important Person Who Speaks English seems to go well.

H/T my sister Lynn for this find. Here's the video, which is well worth the watch:  Note, there's a surprising moment of NSFW language part way through.

Quilted Northern's Literally Painful New Product

I hope this isn't in your powder room. 

April Fool's Day is over, but I have to look back and chuckle at one of the day's best spoofs.

Quilted Northern, the toilet paper company, put out an ad for "artisan" toilet paper.

It was a nod to today's trend of making everything handmade, old fashioned, artisan, whatever.

It might not be any good, but it's artisan so you have to buy it!

In what in reality would be a supremely bad idea, Quilted Northern put out this ad. Luckily, the artisan toilet paper is not for sale, but the ad sure is good. But I'll keep buying Quilted Northern's regular products instead.

See why:

Bryan Wilson, TEXAS LAW HAWK!!!!!

Texas Law Hawk!!  

Some ads for lawyers are, um, interesting, and we think we found the most insane one we've seen in quite awhile.

Introducing Bryan Wilson, Texas Law Hawk!!!!!!!!

You have to give the young attorney points for enthusiasm and he parades and runs around Fort Worth, doing wheelies on mini bikes, displaying more flag images than every Fourth of July that ever existed combined, and yelling until his voice gives out. I think.

I wonder if his performance is similar in a courtroom.

Fort Worth Weekly says the ads seem to work. Wilson's phone has been ringing off the hook with potential clients, some from as far away as Florida. However, he only practices in Tarrant County, Texas.

I guess people want a madcap lawyer representing them instead of somebody, um, sober. Go figure.

In any event, you'll be stunned, or thrilled or something, with this ad from TEXAS LAW HAWK!!!!!!

Door-To-Door Salespeople Get The Best 'Go Away!' Ever

This door knocker packs a punch.  

Door to door salespeople are not nearly as common as they once were.

But they're still a pain.

Which makes me wish this video from Energy Online, a New Zealand gas and electric company, was real.

In it, salespeople use a door knocker and get the scare of their lives.

I want to buy one of those knockers for my front door.

Watch, with a hat tip to Tastefully Offensive:

Duracell Batteries Tugging On Heart Strings?

You need batteries for those flashlights as you make your way home in the dark from tonight's Fourth of July fireworks display?

Go get some Duracell batteries. But before you do, watch their ad. Somehow, a battery ad managed to make me a little weepy.

A little girl receives a special Teddy bear from
her father in a charming new Duracell ad. 

Most advertisements annoy me, so when I find one that's actually kinda compelling, I highlight it.

In the Duracell ad, which you can watch below, a man deployed overseas sends his daughter back home a teddy bear. The bear has recorded message from Dad that plays when the daughter squeezes the bear.

Everytime she gives Teddy a squeeze,  her father's voice comes out and says, "I love you, baby girl"

This goes on for awhile. The ad demonstrates how long Duracell batteries are supposed to last and how important they are.

The Duracell ad is based on a true story. Apparently, people with Duracell were doing market research in peoples' homes when they encountered this arrangement.

At one place, they asked the kids to bring out their favorite battery operated toys. They expected things like toy cars and such, but a girl brought out a teddy bear that had her father's voice.

It turned out Dad was Robert Nilson, a Navy air traffic controller, who put together a battery powered teddy bear to play messages from him to his daughter, says television station WBRC in Birmingham, Alabama.

Nilson said the Duracell ad is pretty close to reality.

Though the Nilson family experienced the scenario in the Duracell ad, , actors stand in for the scene during the commercial, of course.

Here's the sweet ad:

Another Amazing Superbowl Commercial; This One Not Cute But WOW!!

This morning, I posted about the new Budweiser/Clydesdale/puppy Superbowl ad that was all lovey dovey and cute and adorable and fun.  

A still from one of the most effective ads I've seen.  

This evening, I found another ad scheduled to run during the Superbowl. This one is NOT all lovey dove and cute and adorable and fun.

It's incredibly powerful, even though it consists of only two people talking. And you don't even see them during the entire one-minute ad.

The ad doesn't sell a product. But it possibly the most effective ad on the subject I've seen.  I've decided not to give you a spoiler as to what it's about.

But you'll want to watch it. It's important.

Budweiser's New Superbowl Commercial Awesomely Brings Back The Puppy

In the 2015 Budweiser Superbowl ad, we find our
puppy has gotten himself in a lot of trouble.
But you know it ends well.  

Budweiser this morning released their 2015 Superbowl Clydesdale horse commercial and brought the puppy back, like the one we fell in love with in the 2014 commercial.   

This one is the same kind of heart-tugging cuteness, lovey-dovey story about the loyalty among the puppy, the horses and the good looking guy who takes care of them all.

Watch the ad at the bottom of this post.

I love this new ad.

In this one, the curious puppy, looking for adventure, gets more than he bargained for.  A bit scary for very little kids, but it's OK, it all works out in the end, as you would predict.

Much better than GoDaddy's horrible attempt at a doggie commercial.

Like the brand new 2015 Budweiser puppy/Clydesdale ad, the dog accidentally finds itself far from home, but finds his way back. Unlike the new Budweiser/puppy/Clydesdale ad, it ends cruelly, not in a warm, satisfying way.

The public outcry led GoDaddy to pull the ad. 

The GoDaddy ad was even worse than their usual women-objectifying trash, which public pressure finally ended.

The ad agency for Budweiser must be loving this GoDaddy mess, since it brings even more positive attention to the Budweiser Superbowl ad

Anyway, I'm not a real fan of Budweiser beer, as I live in the Land Of Many Awesome Microbrews, better known as Vermont.

I also shouldn't like these Budweiser Superbowl commercials, they're so cliched, really. But my heart melts each time. I'm too much of an animal lover, I guess.

I really think you and a zillion other people will like this new Budweiser ad, too. Watch and judge for yourself:

No, I Don't Follow This Political Ad About Wedding Dresses, Either

This gleeful young woman models
the Republican wedding dress. Because apparently,
you can only explain politics to women
in terms of fashion.  

It's easy to find really, really, REALLY bad political campaign advertisements, but I think I found one that is a contender for one of the worst ever.

Introducing the Tom Corbett and Rick Scott wedding dresses!

The freaky ad, you can see it at the bottom of this post, was dreamed up by the College Republican National Committee, and s being used by at least three campaigns.

One of them is Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania, running against Democrat Tom Wolf.  Another is for  Florida Republican Rick Scott, who is seeking re-election victory over challenger Charlie Crist.

Republicans are trying to attract women to vote, and this is supposed to make women fall in love with Republicans.  Apparently they think this is the way to do it. Just compare your favorite Republican to wedding dresses. Or maybe imagine your favorite Republican in a wedding dress? Ugh.

Maybe the Republicans have this weird wedding dress ad because, after all, women are too fragile to think about things like the economy, foreign policy and climate change. They should only concern their pretty little heads with things like frilly wedding dresses and wearing perfect makeup on their face.

We'll let the menfolk worry about politics. They've done such a good job with it in recent years. (Cough, cough.)

Here's how Slate tries to describe this truly weird ad, which apparently is inspired by the television reality show "Say Yes To the Dress."

"'The Rick Scott is perfect,' says our blond and youthful heroine, Brittany, admiring herself in the mirror while wearing a wedding dress, which is thing Republicans heard women like to wear. 

Her friends ooh and aah. But mom, who is of course a harridan because she dared age past 35, has other ideas. 'I like the Charlie Crist,' she says as we see Brittany - an undecided voter, by the way - in a frumpier dress. 'It's expensive and a little outdated, but I know best.' "

Then the ominous music starts playing because you're supposed to be afraid of Charlie Crist. Or at least the Charlie Crist dress.

The Pennsylvania add featuring the Corbett dress is pretty much identical to the Florida one.

Bloomberg View has a great headline for this story, "Does This Dress Make Me Look Republican?" and also raises a very good point.

Cookie cutter ads, the same ones used by candidates across the country, might make voters think that the candidates are beholden to outside interests who made the ads and don't understand local values.

Or, they'll make them laugh really, really hard because it makes them imagine Tom Corbett and Rick Scott in hideously designed wedding dresses.

Maybe the two candidates can put them on, and have the contestants on Project Runway improve on them to make them presentable.

Here's the video:

Budweiser's Anti-Drunk Driving PSA Enough To Make Dog Owners Cry

A cute scene from Budweiser's anti-drunken driving
public service announcement  

Budweiser, the giant maker of beer, feels compelled from time to time to release a public service announcement noting that their beer is GREAT! (to some people anyway), but you don't want to have too much of it at once.

You know, drunken driving. You don't want to   go out on the road schnockered and then hurt or kill somebody. Or yourself. Think of the people waiting for you at home.

Or, your doggie companion waiting for you at home.

At the end of this post, you will find the tug-at-your-heartstrings Budweiser Don't Drive Drunk, Dog Loving PSA, called "Friends Are Waiting."

It comes complete with cuteness, a wimpering worrying dog, a good message, and, in the end, relief and happiness.

It's totally worth the watch. And definitely worth remembering next time you buy a six pack of Budweiser, or your favorite microbrew:

Brilliant PSA On Texting And Driving Tricks Moviegoers Awesomely

We've heard over and over again that simultaneously texting and driving is dangerous.  

This woman sitting in a Hong Kong movie theater
just got a text message. And she's in for a big
surprise in just a moment.  

Everybody should know that by now, but people are still getting killed and hurt on the road because some idiots insist that texting "OMG!!! I Love Bieber!" while blasting down the highway is worth killing other motorists over.

To drive the danger home, Volkswagen, made a video which shows a crowd settling into a movie theater to watch a film.

As people munch popcorn and settle into their seats, the film they're watching starts with a driver's eye view of a trip in a car down a nice road, lined with big tall trees.

But the theater, and the makers of the ad are equipped with a location based broadcaster. They hit a button, which makes the mobile phones of everyone in the the theater start ringing, signaling they all got a text message. Many movie goers drag out their phones and start to look at the tiny little screens on their mobile devices.

As they look at their phones, something happens on the movie screen. You'll have to watch it the video, below, to see what happens next (don't want to spoil it!)

You'll see the point is driven (pun intended) home: Don't text and drive. That text message to your friend about that hottie that was on "America's Got Talent" last night can wait.

Here's the awesome video:

Sarah McLachlan Can't Bear To Watch That Tragic ASPCA Ad Featuring Her Song, Either.

I get such a frustrating jumble of emotions at just the thought of that ASPCA commercial.

Sarah McLachlan in that emotionally painful
ASPCA ad. Even she says she can't bear to
watch it, no matter how admirable the fundraising goals.  

You know the one. As you hear Sarah McLachlan's sang song "Angel" play, we're subjected to abused and lonely dogs and cats who just need you to adopt them into your warm, loving, safe home. 

(If you don't want to become a puddle of emotion, don't click on the above link to the ad)

Like millions of other people, especially animal lovers, the second the commercial starts, I change the channel. I can't bear to subject myself to those sad, beautiful and deserving animals.

Then I get angry. That TV ad is so manipulative.  How dare the ASPCA play on my emotions with such a blunt instrument to get my donations?

Then I feel guilty. Of course the ASPCA is trying to manipulate me. That's Advertising 101. We're supposed to be manipulated into doing what the advertiser wants. That's effective advertising.

Let's face it. No matter what we feel about the ad, we can't blame the dogs and cats that need our help. Of course, we can't give all our money to the ASPCA and we can't take in every pet that needs a good home.

Which leaves us frustrated.

All these jumbles of emotion are what make us change the channel when the ad comes on. Actually, I don't think the ASPCA is particularly worried that we change the channel, come to think of it. Just the act of having to do that gets us thinking about them, and the dogs and cats that need help.

The ad does its job without us even having to watch it.

That means it's a helluva effective commercial.  According to the New York Times, the ad raised $30 million for the ASPCA in just the first two years after it began airing in early 2007.

Which brings us to Sarah McLachlan.  (Her new album is out this week!)

McLachlan, too, says she changes the channel when the ad comes on, as it's too much to bear. 

To me, that gives us permission to change the channel. The important thing is we do what we can to keep animals safe and protected and loved.

If you and I do that, I'll declare us all off the hook.

New Clydesdale/Puppy/Superbowl Ad Tugs On Heartstrings For Very Good Reasons

The traditional, annual Budweiser Clydesdale Superbowl ad was released today to an adoring America.

A still from the wildly popular and adorable
new Budweiser Clydesdale Superbowl ad.  

The ad, is usually the case, has little if anything to do with selling beer, other than giving us warm fuzzy feeling that we vaguely associate with Budweiser, thereby, in theory, making us want to buy the stuff.

I'm not sure if that theory works, but one thing's for sure: If the makers of this year's Clydesdale Superbowl ad wanted to tug at our heartstrings, they succeeded superbly.

After something like one day, the ad already got 2.5 million hits on YouTube within the first six hours of its release. The ad has been a staple on news and talk shows (Free advertising for Budweiser! Yippee!!!)

But as I said, they hit all the right buttons with this ad. I was among the zillions of people moved by it.

The video of this ad is at the bottom of this post but to summarize: Some extremely cute puppies are up for adoption at the Warm Springs Farm.  One of the puppies -- that little scamp-- keeps escaping from its kennel and trotting down to the Clydesdale barn, where it has become close buddies with one of the horses.

Finally, the cute little puppy that is such close friends with the Clydesdale is adopted, and the new owners start driving away with him, much to the distress of our little puppy, who is being taken away from his best friends.

But the Clydesdale, and his posse of fellow Clydesdales, stop the car, surround it, and the motorist has no choice but to surrender the puppy, which happily goes back to the barn with the horses. The people involved succumb to the inevitable and the puppy and the horse live happily ever after together.

That the ad is cute is only a small part of the reason why it is so compelling, as most dog owners understand.  Many of us can relate to that Clydesdale and the puppy, who want to remain each others' besties.

My bestie Jackson, ready for me to play
Frisbee with him.  

I hadn't had a dog in decades until the summer of 2010, when my husband Jeff came home with Jackson, a black cocker spaniel puppy.

I CANNOT believe how attached I have become to Jackson.  I can't live without the little routines he forces me into.

At certain times of day, I have to chase him around the house with his toys, or give him a backrub as he sits on my lap as I watch TV, and I feed him at the exact hour he wants it.

I'm reading too much into it, but I just get such a kick out of the love and trust I see in Jackson's eyes and his furiously wagging tail when we're together.

Scientists are beginning to be able to do MRIs on dog brains and they're starting to show what I and many people who have canine companions know: Dogs love us. 

Scientist Gregory Berns, who's doing a lot of these studies, says dogs have friendships akin to human ones and they are capable of empathy and understanding.

When Jackson's not home, I miss him. Last night, Jeff and I boarded Jackson in a kennel because we had plans that would mean he'd be home alone for too long.

When Jeff's gone away on business for a few days, I feel kind of lost. I felt a somewhat smaller pang of that loneliness and drift when Jackson was away late last night and this morning.

And I was relieved when my bestie came home today. So was Jackson. And we both like the new puppy/Clydesdale ad

Here it is:

Argentine Coca Cola Commercial Is Hilarious And Perfect

Sister in law Donna out in South Dakota alerted us via Facebook to a hilarious commercial for a new Coca Cola product, Coke Life

I don't know if new Coca Cola Life is any good
but their commercial is perfect.  

Apparently,  Coca Cola Life comes with an all natural sweetener and the bottle is fully recyclable, so that's a good thing.

I'm always looking for entertaining ads in a sea of awful commercials and I found one for Coca Cola Life.

The commercial promoting the product in Argentina has little to do with Coca-Cola Life itself, but it's done so well, showing the disruptive chaos of family life for a young couple.

The musical score played throughout the ad is the song "To Love Somebody," the 1967 smash by the Bee Gees. It fits brilliantly, so kudos to the people who thought to use that song.

Stay with the advertisement to the very end. It's got a great punch line in the closing seconds, too.

Here it is:

Yes, It's Commercialism, But I Do Like Apple's New Holiday Ad

The thing I hate about Christmas the most is the incessant begging to buy, buy, buy, buy BUY!

A seemingly self absorbed teen seems to ignore the
family in this Apple television ad, and then...... 

I know this makes me a hypocrite, because one of my jobs outside this blog is to, um, encourage people to buy stuff as gifts for Christmas.

But still, most of the Christmas ads you see on TV are too shrill, too cliched, too mawkish and too stupid for my tastes.

I have to admit it, though, I did like the new Apple commercial I first saw on TV last night.

In the ad, called "Misunderstood", an extended family goes off to the grandparents house in a winter wonderland to celebrate the holiday.

While most of the family seems to be having a ball, a morose looking teenager constantly has his nose in an iPhone, continually pecking away at the device's tiny keyboard. This, despite the family's efforts to engage the kid.

Christmas morning comes, and the teen is still pecking away at his phone. While the family opens the gifts, the teen finally stops playing with the iPhone, stops everybody at mid-gift opening,  points his iPhone at the big screen TV and turns it on

He wants to show the family something. Apple then manages to prompt a Kleenex alert with the ad.

Like I said, I actually think the ad is very well done:

See? You Can Make Moving, Entertaining Ads And Still Sell Your Stuff

Readers of this blog know one of my pet peeves is how most advertisements are stupid, lame, boring, insulting.

In a rare, compelling ad, this one from Google,
a granddaughter, right, uses Google
 to fashion a reunion between two men.  n

To this day, I still don't know how annoying people want to make them buy your product our service.

So, as I occasionally do, I give props to advertisements and advertisers who actually do a great job.

In this ad, Google is telling us how wonderful their search engine is, how you can find anything and make anything happen. It's so convenient! So that's them marketing.

But like most of the best advertisements out there,  Google manages to tell a compelling story, in this case in just three and a half minutes.

In the video, we have two elderly men who were best childhood buddies but have been separated for decades, and haven't seen each other in decades, due to political problems in their countries.

Now, things have settled down and the two men have young adult grandkids who use Google to great effect in a loving conspiracy to fashion a reunion.

The video is surprisingly moving. As you begin to watch it, click on the "cc" on the lower right so you can get subtitles in English.

Watch it and judge for yourself: