I've lived all my life in this weird wonderland; I keep buying things that I don't understand, 'Cause they promise me miracles, magic, and hope, But, somehow, it always turns out to be soap. -- "Chim Chim Cheree" by Allan Sherman, a parody of "Chim Chim Cheree" from
Mary Poppins
Like it or not, commercials are a big part of TV. Tom Waits' song "Step Right Up" is a parody/pastiche of the entire milieu, so expect a lot of articles in here to open with quotes from that specific song.
General:
- Ad Nauseam (Airing same commercial multiple times in same break)
- All Natural Snake Oil (Excessive reference to 'natural')
- Brand X (Fictional product used in a story)
- Breakaway Advertisement (Slogan more memorable than product)
- Cable Satellite Mudslinging (Cable or Satellite TV ads that denegrate the other provider)
- Clarkes Law For Girls Toys (Ads for girls technology-based toys significantly different than ads for boys)
- Commercial Break Cliffhanger (Placing a cliffhanger right before the break)
- Eye Catch (A short animated blurb displayed before and after the break, usually used in anime).
- Commercial Idiocy (Those who would be using the product are stupider than the audience)
- Commercial Pop Up (Compressing another video in order to insert an ad)
- Consumer Conspiracy (Supposedly, you're not supposed to know what we're about to tell you)
- The Dead Rise To Advertise (Showing celebrities in ads created after they died)
- Defenestrate And Berate (Someone's stuff gets thrown out the window and they're screamed at on the street)
- Distracted By The Shiny (Commercial is memorable for a gimick, not for the product advertised)
- Enforced Plug (Obvious advertisement in show, possibly contractually required)
- Everything Talks (Things made to talk that normally don't)
- Fake Food (It looks too good to be true; it is)
- Gourmet Pet Food (It's so you will like it; your pet will care not at all)
- Hand Or Object Underwear (Covering one's "naughty bits")
- Here Comes The Science (Explanation usually having nothing to do with what is really going on)
- Hive Mind Testimonial (Several people saying the same thing)
- Hot Slot (An important commercial break, typically the last one of the program)
- How To Rig A Survey (Just how did all three of those suntan lotions get voted "Europe's Best" in the same month?)
- Insane Proprietor (Discount marketer is so frenetic he's crazy!)
- Internet Ads (Ads on web pages)
- Lies Damned Lies And Statistics (Using statistics to disguise what you're saying)
- Magically Delicious (As opposed to being grounded in reality)
- Mascot (Animal or inanimate object used as spokescharacter for a product)
- Mentos Finger (Gesture or phrase common to a series of commercials)
- Notable Commercial Campaigns (Commercials even going so far as to have a plot)
- Offer Void In Nebraska (Some products can't be sold or offered in some limited areas)
- Operators Are Standing By (We have people waiting for you to call, or their life will be meaningless)
- Our Product Sucks (Reverse advertisement: our product is worse than our competitors!)
- Parody Commercial (Fictional advertisement either for a nonexistent product or one different from what it looks like)
- Pistol Pose (Standing in ad holding a weapon)
- Public Relations Ad (Ad unrelated to advertiser, done for feel good or PR purposes)
- Reenacted Endorsement (Endorsement of "ordinary person" done by actor)
- Scare Campaign (Vote for my opponent and he will cause your family to die)
- Segregated Commercial (No ad for a product spun off from the program it is shown within)
- Self Promotion Disguised As News (Program done as an advertisment for another program on that network)
- Shaving Is Science (Need scientists to explain how their razor blades are so much better)
- Side By Side Demonstration (Compare our product to our competitor's)
- Similar To The Show (Ads that look a lot like the program they are running within)
- Slogans (A phrase is associated with a product)
- Starting From (Minimum price and upward from there)
- Stealth Cigarette Commercial (Ads for cigarettes secreted into places to get around ban)
- Stuck On Band Aid Brand (Use of word 'brand' to avoid making trademark generic)
- Subliminal Advertising (Supposedly putting hidden messages in ads, usually for nefarious reasons)
- Subliminal Seduction (Same thing, done with single image hidden in advertisement)
- Super Bowl Special (aka FIFA World Cup Special) (Very expensive ads in the top once-a-year sports programs)
- The Power Of Cheese (using extreme hyperbole to sell a product.)
- Token Trio (using three kids in an ad, at least one is usually non-white)
- Totally Radical (slang used in ads being written by people who are much older than the target audience and usually aren't aware of what the current slang terms are)
- Trailers (ads for movies, typically shown before the start of other movies being shown in theatres)
- Trope Co Trope Of The Week (product placement related to special features in sports shows)
- Two Chicks In A Kitchen (discussing how the product saved their lives)
- Two Guys In A Garage (same idea as Two Chicks In A Kitchen only the gender and location are different)
- Viral Marketing (ads set up so they look like grass roots response)
- We Care (typical public relations of some large company caught doing something bad and trying to rehabilitate themselves)
- We Suck Less (products that don't work)
- Xtreme Kool Letterz (substituting some letters for others)
Breakfast Cereals:
Disclaimers
Medical:
Movie and TV Trailers:
Music:
- Jingle (song created specifically for a product or an advertising campaign)
- Repurposed Pop Song (reuse of a song in a commercial, sometimes unrelated to the product or the opposite)
- Top Ten Jingle (commercial jingle ends up being a regular song)
Stock Phrases:
Notable Figures:
Notable Venue:
