Commercials! On radio and TV in Great Falls. Love ‘em and hate ‘em. The Ferrin’s radio spot drives me nuts, because I can’t make out all of the words in the jingle (Discover Ferrin’s ?quality?, etc). The Cartridge World ad is on both radio and TV, and I know most of you can repeat the opening lines verbatim, and with emphasis (I refuse! Absolutely no way! Not while I buy the office supplies!). I know that there are professional awards that the ad agencies & creators compete for, but I wonder if we ought to have a “people’s choice” awards ceremony for local commercials.
Which reminds me: um…how many of you have seen the latest TV ad for Pierce auto? UPDATE: yep – as wolfpack noted, it’s the one where Dave Pierce is standing on the neck of an “Arab.” That’s the implication, at least.
MORE: you’ll never believe who was behind me in line at Starbucks mid-morning…and yes, I did ask him about the ad.
I haven’t seen the latest commercial. Can you describe it? Or do you have a clip?
Is that the ad where he puts a boot to a sword swinging Arab over high gas prices?
I haven’t seen it but I don’t watch a lot of TV. Does anyone know if it has made it onto youtube?
I hate all TV commercials, especially the local ones (the ones in Southern California where I grew up were a lot more professional looking).
That is why we have a DVR — so I hardly ever watch commercials.
Well being as I know a person who makes commercials in Great Falls I do still watch commercials. It would be a flaw to my families livelihood if I didn’t. The removal of commercials also hurts local commerce as a whole so watching Shows online or DVR, in my book is just pushing another person out of a local job. Given the tools that these guys are given to work with they are doing a great job, some of our local stations are NOT big market
in fact they are not even mid-market stations, they are not working with film (as alot of Southern California production houses are) They are working with older editing machines. So given those tools don’t blame the producers blame the market and inevitably that market is the people watching.
Also, that Dave Peirce commercial is DISGUSTING! I think it shows how much thought was put into Mr. Peirces scripts (which I have heard he writes his own) I also thinks it shows
ALOT of contempt for everything we as a country have worked for the last 8 years…This is one commercial I think SHOULD be taken from the airways..
DVRs are not just putting local people out of jobs. It’s changing the way advertising is done in general — forcing advertisers to think creatively on how to market.
I can promise you local commercials do not drive me personally to go to a local business — I usually just make fun of them.
So based on your statement, I’ll blame myself for the commercials being so bad. And my punishment? I’ll continue to fast-forward through them.
The thing that bugs me about the radio version of the Cartridge World ad is that there’s some ambient noise when the narrator is saying “Don’t pay full price for printer cartridges,” and it’s always sounded like “Don’t patronize printer cartridges.” I don’t have that problem with the TV version, which is exactly the same but my eye can see whatever’s making that sound and filter it out.
Loud and obnoxious do-it-yourself car commercials are so … well … um … 80′s.
Commercials, for the most part, whether they be produced in Great Falls or other areas of the country, are greatly lacking in things like thoughtfulness and creativity.
All of the old writers have, or are, passing away, leaving the marketing/commercial/advertising ends of this country to those who wouldn’t know a true vision from a vaccum.
There’s so much more to making a commercial than jumping up and down, shouting, and acting like an idiot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vW9gUmooFg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHiI2t7Qol0
The last new car I bought (40+ mpg) was from Pierce’s and it was because of my anti-Arab sentiment post 9/11. Maybe he knows his customers better than some think.
Wolfpack, that saddens me. Following your logic, then I guess when I had a group of White people throwing trash at my car and calling me nigger while driving down the road when I was stationed @ Ft. Campbell, I should have taken that tragic incident and created an anti-White sentiment. Because I chose not to assume all White people were like the idiots in that truck that day, I think my life has been better. It’s interesting, isn’t it, how we’re shaped by our choices to treat people as individuals or groups, for better or worse. Glad Dave Pierce knew one of his customers so well.
Chuckles- It saddens me that people manufacture faux racial outrage. To any objective individual it is clear that Pierce is trying to connect to some very legitimate contempt for Middle Eastern countries that have been openly and covertly waging war against our country for years. I think most if not all people who connect with this commercial are intelligent enough to associate the sword swinging fellow with particular countries not races. I find it disturbing that you equate me acting out my dislike of Saudi Arabia by buying a fuel efficient car with acts of violence from your past. I think you are bucketing us whiteys more than you would care to admit.
Wow, Wolfpack, thanks for that post! I’m so curious as to how others will react to it.
I am preparing to move to Great Falls this summer and have been following the blog to learn a little more. While I am trying to keep an open mind (for better or worse, I’ve never lived anywhere remotely this small), comments like yours Wolfpack and the discription of this commerical raise concerns. I’d love some honest feedback on if this is a rare incident/sentiment or more of the norm.
Amanda, you would be missing out on a rare opportunity to meet some great people and enjoy some great times in Great Falls if you judge the entire city by one or two blog posts.
Amanda, Chuckles is right: I’ve lived here for over six years – after living in many other places – and I have never met such friendly, honest people. And believe me: I have witnessed less racism and intolerance in Montana than in any other place that I have ever lived.
That is one of the reasons that the Pierce Auto commercial has generated some controversy – people here aren’t used to seeing such blatant examples of stuff like that. And yes, Dave Pierce has a right to make his own commercials, and while some people may agree with him (subtly or not) politically, I think that in terms of marketing and publicity it’s a bad commercial.
Dave has always done his commercials…
At least he is still in business here in GF.
Amanda, I was transplanted here over 21 years ago now. Great Falls is a great community, and the people are wonderful, don’t let one or two “bad apples” spoil the bunch. I have lived in MUCH larger communities Such as Salt Lake and Los Angeles and much smaller communities as in Bolivar Missouri etc. The people here are good people and Racism is not an issue compared to the levels in the other places I have lived. It doesn’t matter where you go there will always be jerks, thankfully this town doesn’t have near the amount that the other places does…
All, thanks so much for the positive comments. It’s encouraging to hear how much you value your neighbors.