BBBBBBonnet.

I have lots of Bs in my bonnet. With the shorter days and cooler weather, I’ve been watching more TV lately. And some ads just rub me the wrong way. It’s nothing majorly offensive; just annoying little things that no one in the world probably notices besides us advertising geeks.

1. Fake white hair on the Cialis commercials.

I can hear the casting discussion. “He looks virile and fit.” “Yeah, but he’s  only 32 and our target audience is 45-plus.” “No worries! We can put a little gray powder in his hair. And he’ll look 55.”  “Cool! Let’s grab a latte!”

2.  The overuse of “Keep” in taglines.

Keep Rising. Keep Walking. Keep Challenging. “Keep” is to the 10s what “real” was to the 90s and “life” was to the 00s.

3. Geico commercials.

OK, I actually really like most every Geico ad.  But I figure if they didn’t spend over half a billion dollars a year on non-stop ads and multiple campaigns, they might be able to save me 30% on car insurance --  instead of a crummy15%!

4. Mispronunciation of the word “mantra.”

There is an Axiron spot that runs every 10 minutes that starts with a guy saying “My mantra is….”  Only, he says “mantra,” as in “man.” (Not sure if this is intentional because it is a testosterone spot. ) But I’ve always heard the word pronounced like “mahn-tra.” Technically, both pronunciations are legal. But If you’re affected enough to use the word “mantra,” you should be affected enough to pronounce it “Mahn-tra.”

5. Is it just me  -- or are TV ads just for old people?

It could just be what I’m watching (a lot of news, re: Syria) but all I seem to see are ads for reverse mortgages, facelifts, Hurrycanes and catheters. Catheters, for crissakes!

6. The generic-ness of state tourism ads.

Summer is the high season for commercials encouraging travel to local states. Connecticut. New Hampshire. Maine.  I always find these to be so generic. A stock footage montage of: hiking, boating, camping – stuff I can presumably do in all 50 states.  Of course, this not by accident.  I can hear the meeting at the Department of Travel & Tourism:  Agency: “Let’s  show  this museum and this city and this landmark.” State: “No, we can’t do that. All the counties put money into the effort. If we feature stuff from one county, all of the other ones w ill be angry.” So, instead, they show bland, generic footage that could be from any county. Or, any state.

Which means I’ll just stay home. And watch more TV.