Thursday, March 22, 2007

Attempt! And videotape! Please!

The whole "Do not attempt" line at the bottom of certain commercials is pretty well-worn territory. A litigation-crazy society has caused advertisers to be overly cautious with their warnings, and so there are a lot of commercials with ridiculous things going on, and at the bottom of the screen, there is a caution to not try and attempt whatever is going on.

I'm not the first person to notice this. Commercials undergo a great deal of scrutiny. People gather socially to watch TV, and commercials can provide awkward in that experience. People feel like they have to say something, and often the easiest thing to talk about are the various stupidities of whatever commercial is on.

But I just saw a commercial for some antiperspirant, and yeah, it was amazing. The premise is that this guy is in Pamplona for the running of the bulls, but instead of bulls, he gets chased through the narrow streets of Pamplona by bears, wolves, and rhinos. And at the bottom of the screen, as CGIed bears snap their teeth at his shoelaces, we're firmly told, "Do not attempt."

Well, I disagree. I say, attempt. If you have the wherewithal to stage a running of the bulls with bears, wolves, and rhinos, I think you have an obligation to do so. That would be pretty darn impressive.

And the last thing anyone would care about was whether or not your antiperspirant was working.