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Try to guess what this commercial is all about

The commercial is 38 seconds long. Try to figure out what it's about before it's revealed around the 25 second mark. It's filmed like an investigative news report or maybe an old cop show. Are those hookers? Who jumps out of the van? What's with the gross blob guy?

[via Adfreak]

And now, a message about swine flu

Who would have thought just two weeks ago that today we'd all be talking about the swine flu? I would have guessed that we'd be talking about a million topics before that (apricots, the Spanish-American War, the music of Seals and Crofts), but here we are about to PANIC. But it's not the first time we've had to deal with swine flu. Here's a commercial from the mid-70s. Yes, we not only had to deal with horrible fashion, gas lines, and really bad hair choices, people needed to get swine flu shots.

[via Adfreak]

Mary Lynn Rajskub should never be allowed to talk directly to the viewers again!

I'm all for going green. And I love Mary Lynn Rajskub's Chloe on 24. In fact, I have missed her since she's been gone from the show for a few weeks. But that's no excuse for the horrific PSA she did to promote 24's new eco-friendly green initiative last week. It's taken me forever to wipe the stink of it off my eyes.

Who knew that an actress could be completely incapable of convincingly reading a short script in an even slightly convincing manner. It reminded me of when Saturday Night Live books politicians or athletes as hosts and then are stunned when they can't act their way out of a table read . Honestly, there's nothing more I can say about it that could fully explain the horror. You'll just need to see it for yourself (but it is 30 seconds you can never recover):

Shocking Canadian PSAs

Prevent-It.caShocking Public Service Announcements (PSA) are common in Canada. For example, a few years ago in Quebec, we had a TV ad that contained real footage shot during a daring car stunt that went terribly wrong (the teenage driver died while doing the stunt) so that teens would be "scared straight" by seeing how stupid and deadly reckless driving can be.

The latest shocking PSA TV ad campaign comes from Ontario and is called "Prevent It." These PSAs, which have been airing for a while now, feature shocking and gruesome scenes showing what can happen at work if you don't ensure safety is everyone's primary concern.

Continue reading Shocking Canadian PSAs

Pee Wee says: don't smoke crack - VIDEO

pee wee hermanOkay, just for a moment let's set aside the fact that Pee Wee Herman doing a serious commercial about using crack is really, really (unintentionally) funny, and focus on just how logical it was to use that character in the first place.

One assumes this commercial was made when Pee Wee's Playhouse was on the air, which means his main audience was grade school children and not so much the older hipsters who knew the more "adult" Pee Wee character Paul Reubens created while with the Groundlings.

Continue reading Pee Wee says: don't smoke crack - VIDEO

People for the American Way auctions off TV goodies

PFAW LogoNon-profit advocacy group People for the American Way are hosting a ten-day charity auction that includes some mighty tempting television-related items. If you've got the cash, TV-loving friends and an altruistic spirit, consider your holiday shopping complete. Up for grabs are set visits to Desperate Housewives and CSI: Miami, tours of South Park Studios and the Playboy Mansion, signed scripts from Family Guy and Oz, signed books by Al Franken and James Carville, lunch with Elvira at the Magic Castle and an invite to a table read with the cast of Family Guy.

How did a Washington-based advocacy group get so connected to the Left Coast? One of the organization's founders is none other than Norman Lear, the man who created The Jeffersons, Good Times, Maude and All in the Family.

Continue reading People for the American Way auctions off TV goodies

Reno 911!: Wiegel's Pregant (season premiere)

reno 911(S04E01) Here we are with the fourth season of the improvisational cop comedy Reno 911!, and if you've been watching the series up to this point you know that any cliff hangers from last season are going to be dealt with hastily so we can get to what the show is really about: police officers behaving life buffoons.

Nevertheless, let's revisit what happened at the end of season three: Trudy's boyfriend, a convicted serial killer, has been sentenced to death by lethal injection. At the last minute, however, the phone rings in the execution chamber. Could this be the call that will save his life? No, as it turns out it was just someone who called the wrong number. So he's dead, or so we assume. Also, Dangle and Garcia have become trapped inside their cruiser during a violent snow storm, but they find themselves rescued by the fire department at the start of this episode. Also, they're both naked inside the car, which they both claim was because they read something once about body heat, or something ... okay, no one knows why they were naked.

Continue reading Reno 911!: Wiegel's Pregant (season premiere)

Gun safety with Jason and Eddie

jason priestly*Yawn* Hey, how's it going? Enjoying your Saturday? That's great. Anyway, since I always like to toss vacuous but entertaining tidbits your way on these lazy weekends, I thought you might enjoy this old PSA for gun safety featuring Jason Priestly and a rapping eagle named Eddie. I've seen segments of this pop up on television before, but this is the first time I've seen it in its entirety. The first scenario shows several kids rooting around "grandma's attic." Now, I don't know who this "grandma" is but she apparently has grandchildren of every race and nationality. That's got to be some kind of record. Also, a rap song about not shooting guns is almost quaint, considering so many actual rap songs are about how much fun it is to shoot guns, and people. Anyway, the point is not to just walk away from the gun, but to first do a few choreographed dance moves and then shimmy out the door with your hands in the air like you just don't care. Enjoy the clip after the jump.

Continue reading Gun safety with Jason and Eddie

The Office gang has fun with NBC's "The More You Know" PSA's

"The More You Know" April Fool's StyleThe wife and I were watching The Office last evening and we saw one of NBC's "The More You Know" PSA's.  It featured Mindy Kaling (Kelly from The Office) talking about something or other, but it sounded sort of confusing (more than usual on those 10 second announcements) and the phone number they usually show at the top left- or right-hand corner of the screen really didn't make sense. I just tossed it aside and waited to watch ER.

Turns out, it was all a fake! Kaling, as well as Rainn Wilson (Dwight), John Krasinski (Jim), Jenna Fischer (Pam) and B.J. Novak (Ryan) recorded a whole mess of fake PSA's for the April Fool's holiday.  Some of the subjects they cover in the spots are Beer (walk away from a $9 brew) Lipstick (use two shades for maximum cuteness) and Cake (don't smush it in the bride's face because it just messes up her makeup).

There are sixteen PSA's in total and they are done with the seriousness on the normal ones that appear during the network's shows.  They can all be seen at the show's website.

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