Having plonked myself in front of the TV for too many hours over the last few days (to research modern American video editing techniques), I found myself laughing along with some of the advertising. Here are three that stood out; sorry I haven’t been able to find video links of these. I’ll keep looking.

McDonalds. A man leans back in his office chair, asleep. A woman comes in, and explains that he’s fallen into a food coma after a heavy lunch. She sets down her bag, says that she’s having a McDonalds salad at her desk, and writes something on the man’s head. “We’re up for the same promotion.” In the next scene, the man walks into a meeting with his boss, excuses his tardiness with a phone call to China. His forehead tells a different story; it says WEASEL in thick black marker.

MasterCard. They are mocking their own “priceless” campaign. A geeky gas station attendent is ringing up the purchases of a young couple. Slushy, $3. Potato chips $2. Gas $31. Then he looks at them keenly. “Starting a life together…?” The woman shakes her head ever so slightly. “Rekindling a flame that has never gone out…?” Another shake of the head. “Satisfying a slushy fix?” She nods yes. “Priceless.”

Kohler. An old woman in bed at home speaks Italian to her family. As the camera pans across family photos and pictures of her in daring activites as a young woman, subtitles translate her telling the family not to be sad, she has lived a long life and done everything she ever wanted to do. The camera reaches the window by the bed and we see the neighbor throwing open tall windows to reveal a gorgeous bathtub. The old lady exclaims “Damn!” then falls back, eyes closed and still.