The commercial that made my blood boil...
Okay, my friend Mike goes off on commercials he finds offensive all the time and posts them on his hilarious, yet informative, blog. Well guess what, now it's my turn.
Today my wife pointed out this gem of a commercial to me.
Immediatley my head started hurting with the perception of this marriage... the imagination of what this poor (and fictional) saps life must be... and the kind of realtors that "Century 21" would choose to portray in a commercial. My first thought: Ewwwww, what a fucking life! My second: Thank GOD that's not me!
The commercial begins with the words: "The Debate". Now after watching this thirty-second verbal "beat down", can anyone tell me what exactly is the "debate" portion of the commercial? After all, a debate is defined as: Engaging in argument through the expression of opposing points of view.
Again, can someone tell me what the opposing point of view is to this freckled, angry, in-your-face, Mary-Louise-Parker-look-alike's verbal assault? And the reveal of the "tag team" realtor on the speaker phone is just the icing on the cake! As if the wife's badgering isn't enough, Century 21 is happy to provide that extra bitchy female voice to force you into a home decision you're clearly not comfortable with. Is it just me, or does this guy envision the 2nd job he's gonna have to take to afford whatever "upgrade" this lady's got her heart set on?
Now maybe I'm a bit sensitive to this issue. After all, just two short years ago, my wife and I bought a house in the insanely expensive Los Angeles market. Thankfully, when it came time to make the all-important purchase, we were both greatly concerned with all the variables that come with such an important decision. Likewise, our realtor was kind and compassionate as we sipped cup after cup of coffee at Starbucks while we mulled over the decision. It seemed to take days... but was probably more like two full hours of thoughtful, logical, and rational conversation.
In the end, even with no pressure from the wife or realtor, it was still one of the most stressful days of my life.
Which is why I think this proposed scenario hit so close to home. To me, this commercial could have just as easily been for a divorce lawyer. This guy is so not in control here... the pressure is so swift and so immediate... you can see him crack in the twenty-five seconds of footage.
I guess Century 21 is only interested in the female home buyer.
Today my wife pointed out this gem of a commercial to me.
Immediatley my head started hurting with the perception of this marriage... the imagination of what this poor (and fictional) saps life must be... and the kind of realtors that "Century 21" would choose to portray in a commercial. My first thought: Ewwwww, what a fucking life! My second: Thank GOD that's not me!The commercial begins with the words: "The Debate". Now after watching this thirty-second verbal "beat down", can anyone tell me what exactly is the "debate" portion of the commercial? After all, a debate is defined as: Engaging in argument through the expression of opposing points of view.
Again, can someone tell me what the opposing point of view is to this freckled, angry, in-your-face, Mary-Louise-Parker-look-alike's verbal assault? And the reveal of the "tag team" realtor on the speaker phone is just the icing on the cake! As if the wife's badgering isn't enough, Century 21 is happy to provide that extra bitchy female voice to force you into a home decision you're clearly not comfortable with. Is it just me, or does this guy envision the 2nd job he's gonna have to take to afford whatever "upgrade" this lady's got her heart set on?
Now maybe I'm a bit sensitive to this issue. After all, just two short years ago, my wife and I bought a house in the insanely expensive Los Angeles market. Thankfully, when it came time to make the all-important purchase, we were both greatly concerned with all the variables that come with such an important decision. Likewise, our realtor was kind and compassionate as we sipped cup after cup of coffee at Starbucks while we mulled over the decision. It seemed to take days... but was probably more like two full hours of thoughtful, logical, and rational conversation.
In the end, even with no pressure from the wife or realtor, it was still one of the most stressful days of my life.
Which is why I think this proposed scenario hit so close to home. To me, this commercial could have just as easily been for a divorce lawyer. This guy is so not in control here... the pressure is so swift and so immediate... you can see him crack in the twenty-five seconds of footage.
I guess Century 21 is only interested in the female home buyer.
posted by Russell Arch at
3/12/2006
15 Comments:
First of all, thank you for the compliment. And for joining the movement.
That is surreal. It's like an interrogation out of a 50's Communist paranoia film. I keep expecting the poor schmo to wake up, sweating, and vow, "Not in MY America!"
I also had the most unbelievably kind and wonderful realtor. And why not? This guy isn't going to be happy with a huge financial decision he made just to get her to leave him alone. It's like the guy who admitted he told U.S. interrogators there was a link between Saddam and 9/11 just to get them to stop torturing him.
Someone at the ad agency doubtless noticed that, which is why they obviously called the actor back to loop in that "Did you see the size of that garage?" line. Lame.
Because he really did love the house. He was just too stupid and gutless to pull the trigger until his wife and the disembodied realtor browbeat him into realizing it for his own good.
Disgusting.
Totally agree with the ADR'ed "garage" line. I can't believe I didn't notice that before.
Also, how amazing is it that the guy mentions the fucking garage as the one "woo hoo" attribute to this home he can't afford.
The garage? Is that how far we've come? Maybe he could mention the size of the tool shed too?
I have a feeling the garage is where he sleeps. Maybe on a blanket on the floor.
At any rate, we must not be alone, because I saw a re-edited version of this commercial, that chops off the Abu Ghraib header, and puts on more celebration at the end.
Russell,
The "garage" comment has more meaning than you think. The husband knows that they will need a big garage to keep the Hummer (the only one he will get in his married life) in. As the family will eventually be living in it, when they are forced to sell because of forclosure. But on the upside there will be another commission for both the realtor and Century 21!!
Holy SHIT, it's nice to know I'm not alone in this. I saw this commercial only once just the other night and was appalled at the disembodied voice chiming in.
My honest reaction was "Is that the fucking REALTOR??" Great.. husband and wife discussing an enormous financial decision with little miss voracious commission-earner listening in like big-fucking-brother.
..thank you for the opportunity to view this abomination several times. I just LOVE the look of rebuke after the wife spits "what?" in his face. She may as well have cuffed him on the side of his doughy, defeated head.
Textbook case of Stockholm Syndrome.
I am glad to find that I am not the only one who was shocked by this commercial!
god. that's horrible. she looks like she's going to kill the poor, fat bastard. and all this in front of the realtor? fuck her. i was thinking he was going to slap her. "really? you mean it? you want the house?" then -- "fuck you, bitch." and he slaps her. she goes down like a lump of clay. and while she's down there, he says, "you two fuckin' lesbos can go fuck yourselves" - then kicks her in the foot and walks off. the realtor says: "why don't I call you back?" then we cut to her card: "when you want a sensitive realtor... call Century 21."
This commercial just gets more loathsome each time I see it!
argh ... what happened to the video?
I want to see the video :D
Darn, I wanted to see the video too :(
Darn, where is the commercial????
It's hard to form an opinion without the commercial to watch.
When I click your link to the video, it doesn't work! Please put the video back up again! I'm so curious about this commercial!
I have been scouring the net and I think this commercial has been wiped off it's face. Weird!
Hey you guys! I found it on AdJab!
http://www.adjab.com/2006/04/11/century-21s-solution-marry-a-spineless-wimp/
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