tanyak

I do think there's some truth to that. Take the World Cup. When the U.S. failed to qualify last fall, I'm sure the leadership at Fox Sports fainted. They paid millions upon millions of dollars for the rights this summer, banking on the huge following the 2014 team had. With the U.S. out, the casual fan probably isn't going to bother to tune in with any regularity. We will because Mr. Tanyak loves soccer and I've grown to love it as well. He was going to root for Mexico and Spain either way, but would have been happy to see the U.S. do well. But the casual fan isn't settling in to watch France and Ghana. I think it's like that with Olympic sports. Unless you are a die-hard fan of a particular sport, many people aren't going to tune in to watch people from countries you don't follow. I absolutely understand why the American athlete/team is hyped up.

Totally on board about Adam. I like him, but he's definitely trying to be too cute in his interviews. I did chuckle at the eyebrow comment at nationals.

Toyota has a nice one about a Para-Olympian who was born with no lower left arm and no lower legs. It starts with a scene in the hospital with a nurse holding her up and a countdown at the bottom saying "1 out of 200,000,000 (or some such number) chance of being an Olympian" and then shows her growing up and beating the odds -- learning to walk, taking ballet, etc. And in each scene the number keeps dropping until she's skiing and it says 1 out of 1. Here name is Lauren Woolstencroft. I looked her up. She's Canadian, but it looks like she's been retired since 2010. Cool ad either way.

Before he dropped in? He was so fidgety, he was making me fidgety. Mr. Tanyak was like, "If he messes with those boots one more time." And on cue, he bent down and started fidgeting with them. Lol SO happy for him!!

Ha. I was telling Mr. Tanyak the same thing about Bode's voice. I jokingly said he needed to go to the Rowdy Gaines School of Color Announcing. lol

Carolyn Manno just interviewed Pita. Not only is handsome, he's quite well-spoken. Body, face, intellect, personality. Whoever ends up with him is a lucky girl. (Or guy!)

Bahrain as well. It's comical. Heyyyyyyy, Pita!

Yeah. I like Mike Tirico. But I didn't realize until just a couple of months ago that Bob Costas has practically retired. I knew Tirico had taken over his part with Sunday Night Football, but I didn't even think about the Olympics. It will be weird. I also don't think Seacrest will be there. I haven't seen his name on any of the announcer list. There are actually quite a few new names this year. No Al Michaels, either.

There are so many great things about this commercial. When Odell threw his head back and did the little laugh, I died. And then when Eli broke it down on his solo, I died again. I hate that the season is over because the only place it will probably play in on NFL Network, which I don't really watch during the off-season.

I know Panera is healthy/clean/whatever. But lately, I also find it incredibly expensive for what it is. I've actually never really cared for Panera, but a month or so ago I decided to go get a half sandwich/soup combo. I do like their French onion soup. So I ordered a cup of soup, half of Panini sandwich and a sweet tea, and the guy says it's something like $14 or $15. I think my eyes just about popped out of my head. OK, so the sweet tea was probably two dollars, but I paid $13 for a small cup of soup and a half of a sandwich? What?!

I HATE those GMC commercials, but this one doesn't really bother me. I think the difference is here all of the neighbors are coming up to her and asking her about her new SUV. She's just answering their questions. In the GMC ads, the new car owner is actually going over to the neighbor and almost waiting for a reason to be smug and mention their new vehicle.

That's a good point. I actually really like the second half of the commercial because the "real people" seem genuinely surprised to see their relatives, especially the black woman who is almost stunned silent when she sees the older woman sitting there. It almost makes up for the first half of the ad, which is the typical nonsense blubbering about how it looks like a luxury vehicle. Look, if someone gave me a Traverse, I would take the keys and say "thank you." But I'm under no illusions that it's some super-fancy ride.

That Taco Bell commercial is SO well done. I saw it toward the end of the football game the other night, and ran downstairs and rewound the TV so that Mr. Tanyak could see it. Josh D. sells it - no razor needed. Lol

I agree. As someone who is part of an interracial family, I'm happy to see folks on TV who reflect our family makeup. More importantly, I'm happy that my 8-year-old sees these families. I'm sure gay couples/families feel the same. And let's be honest - these types of families are still a blip in the commercial landscape, which is why you even notice. The vast majority of TV families are still straight and one shade, whatever that shade may be. I also think that we all consider ourselves to be normal and maybe a little bland. We need to buy cereal and paper towels just like anyone else. *shrug* Changing gears, I've seen that really annoying insurance commercial with the girl screaming at her dad to take her to her friend's house while he's sweating and trying to mow the lawn. The he rewards her with a pool. What?! It's funny because one of my favorite commercials right now is from the same campaign, It's the one where the kid is in Italy having a bit of a rough time and he ends up sketching that really beautiful ceiling and sending it to his parents. I really like the music and the whole thing.

They've been dragged in the past, but I just want to reiterate my hate for the GMC holiday commercials. Because buying yard decorations or Christmas gifts is the exact same thing as spending thousands upon thousands of dollars for a new vehicle, even if you "saved a bunch." And I get it, yard decorations might not be your thing, but you're really going to throw shade at someone for buying gifts and then act all smug about your new truck?? And, I did a search on here and it looks like this is at least the third year in a row they've run this campaign. Get a new idea!!

Ah, yes,. The Holiday Helpers. I once worked for an agency that does some work for Walmart including creating materials for these various campaigns. And the whole time, I would role my eyes and think how in actuality, that particular campaign was not going to run like it runs in the test stores in Arkansas. I also cannot think of a single time EVER at Walmart that someone pulled me out of line to go to a shorter line or asked me if I was ready to check out. That happens all the time at Target, though. That said, I do agree with ChessieGirl on one point. The Walmart in my rural hometown in really the only game in town. The only other national big box is a Home Depot. That Walmart is always clean and you get through the line relatively quickly. I wouldn't say the associates are always smiling like fools like they are in the commercials, but they are pleasant enough. Certainly better than the four Walmarts and two or three Neighborhood Markets in my mid-size city (the NMs are better than the flagship stores).

My second-grader goes to a solidly middle-class elementary school, and they have a computer lab. He knows what a computer is. Maybe some of the more affluent schools in the district have switched every piece of technology in their buildings over to mobile devices, but I doubt it. So if she truly doesn't know what a computer is, she just comes across as an overprivileged idiot.

I adored this commercial. I just realized this family or "family" is part of a longer campaign. I clearly was watching something that Volkswagon sponsored over the weekend because I saw four commercials: 1. The entire family sleeping in the SUV because dad is snoring in the tent. 2. The kids and mom trying to escape bees. 3. Some technology that helps mom avoid hitting people crossing the street. 4. The little girl crossing off Arizona on a map when they drive into New Mexico. None of them have near the charm of the original ad, though.

I can't even remember which company this is for, but I *hate* the commercial in which the boy at different ages keeps looking out the window on Christmas for a new car. And then as an adult, he finally gets one. The two things that really drive me over the edge are 1) His over-the-top goofy look when he spots the car; and 2) His wife's "oh, he sees it?" reaction. I just kind of want to smack her. And that song! "Toylaaaand. Toylaaaand."

I'm sure you can poke holes in it, but to me that was a great hour of television. Wow. I need to put my thoughts together and come back.

So true. Back in the spring, I came down with a terrible head and chest cold. I never get sick like that. I'm a writer/editor, so I just need my laptop to work. I stayed home that day, but emailed my boss and told him I would jump on my assignment after I took a short nap. I'll never forget that he essentially said "You're sick. Be sick! I'll get someone else to do it." The man was a prince. I assure you most of the other managers would have been like "OK. Let me know when it's done." About two months later, I was part of a layoff (talk about a blessing is disguise), but I have it on high authority that he wasn't involved in my leaving at all. Swinging back to commercials - the SW ad with grandma breaking out did make me laugh. Yes, they'll notice that she's gone. My own grandma is in a nursing home. A couple of years ago for Thanksgiving, my mom checked her out so she could come on a trip with us. Maybe this is because my grandma is on Medicaid, but apparently there are limits to how often and for how long she can leave the home. I had no idea. Maybe Belize-going granny had hit her limit.

Um, yeah. The reality doesn't match what they dream up in the headquarters.

I am slightly annoyed by the commercial in which the older couple moves out of their rather stately home in the country into a city walk-up right across the hall from the daughter's family. I know lots of grandparents will move to be closer to grandchildren, but the fact that they have to to be literally next door sends my eyes rolling. I've decided I would feel better about if maybe there was some medical reason they need to be there beyond "OMG, Mom! I now have four kids and I don't know what to do!!" Hire a sitter, chick.

I was born, raised and still live in the South. I can "yes ma'am" with the best of them. I, too, think they sound ridiculous. It's the repetition and the almost child-like voice they seem to adopt. Plus, they sometimes say it when other words would make more sense. "I understand." "I'll work on that." It seems to me they aren't really allowed to ask questions or get more clarity on what Kelli and Judy are saying. It's just yes ma'am, yes ma'am, yes ma'am.

They showed what happened to Christos. After he left for dinner, he got robbed and beat up, which was apparently enough to kill him. Vellek was shown pulling back the sheet at the crime scene. I agree this season was pretty ho-hum. It seemed to go by really fast. And speaking of people with no screen time: Where was the female engineer with the red hair? I forgot her name, but was an explanation given for why she wasn't on the ship? Did she die last season?