Excerpt from (St. Paul Pioneer Press) Bulletin Board, May 9, 2003
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BADVERTISING
From Poet X of PDX: "I doubt I'm the only one to mention a new commercial to be avoided at all costs. It's for a toenail-fungus product, is animated, and shows a cartoon character lifting the nail off a drawn human toe. "I'm reminded of a mock letter I wrote to CBS last fall, when they were advertising a new medical comedrama with a surgeon singing 'I've got you under my skin' while operating. I wrote that it was more pornographic than anything then on TV. "That distinction didn't last long. "Unfortunately, the mute button isn't enough for this commercial; it requires an actual channel change."
Printed 5/12/03: BADVERTISING (RESPONSORIAL) From High Rev: "I'll take Poet X's word for the badvertising award for the toenail-fungus commercial, but s/he is a little late to bash CBS about a surgeon singing 'I've Got You Under My Skin.' Apparently the people who 'invented' that promo were fans of 'M*A*S*H,' since an early episode of that show had 'Trapper John' McIntyre crooning that same song while stitching up a wounded soldier. This is not to be confused with a later episode where Hawkeye sings 'Night and Day' in time to a mortar barrage. "Of course, 'M*A*S*H' was on CBS, too, so the 'mock letter' was to the right network, just 25-plus years late."
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