The Jury’s Out
It seems like I can’t go more than a few weeks without posting about commercials and, I’m the first to admit, most of those posts have been curmudgeonly rants. It’s Tuesday and if you have been coming here for a while, you know what that means: Top Sites Tuesday, where we offer out Two Thoughts for the day. My Thought Number One is that it seems to me that few of today’s TV commercials are actually about the product they are advertising. Beer companies feature miniature coaches and car commercials feature dullards who head off to Vegas, forgetting they’re they’re on a test drive. Insurance companies feature lizards and pigs on zip lines. Other commercials, in an attempt to be entertaining, offer humorous vignettes that hold my attention but hardly mention what they are selling. A good example is this one about a juror who’s determined to hold out regardless of the evidence.
It took me some time to track this down because I couldn’t remember the advertiser, Time Warner Cable. Still, I like the commercial because I’ve been on this jury.
Some years ago, I sat on the jury in a prostitution case. The police officer testified that he found the phone number of the accused in a phone booth and called her. He claimed that she invited him over to her apartment, then gave him a price for her services. The woman claimed that it was a blind date and that when the plain clothes policeman came on to her too strong, she said …. sarcastically … The only way you’re going to get it is to pay for it. So, was she a hooker or he a jilted Lothario? They were the only two witnesses. When we settled into the jury room and went around the table, each juror giving his or her first impressions, one little old lady said, Oh, she can’t be a hooker. She looks like such a nice girl. This bit of wisdom was countered by a middle-aged male juror … who we later found out lived with his mother … who said, She must be a hooker. She went out on a blind date at ten o’clock at night. It was a long week in the jury room.
While many people I know will do anything to avoid being seated … this is Thought Number Two … I’ve always enjoyed being on juries. Where else can you learn about the new and different forms of logic that
others use, handle crack cocaine, and perform your civic duty? And although most of my engineer colleagues claimed that lawyers never want to seat scientists because they know too much, I usually ended up on the jury if I was called. Why? Because after all the questioning by the lawyers was done, the judge would ask, Can you put aside your opinions and follow my instructions to the jury? I’d answer, Yes, and be selected because the attorneys weren’t against seating engineers, they were against seating engineers who didn’t want to serve.
If have any interesting jury experiences, leave me a comment and whether you do or not, take a minute to push my button … gently … to make me Number One on Top Sites Tuesday #134.
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Tags: commercials, curmudgeonly rants, humor, Top Sites Tuesday, memes, jury duty
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January 17, 2012 at 9:39 am
I’ve received notices several times, but the first time I was every part of the jury pool and actually seated was nine years ago. It was a long murder trial. We had ton plan on being there for almost four weeks, although we did have some days off when the judge was involved in some other cases.
The victim was a suspected drug dealer and the perp was a known drug dealer. There was a supposed eye witness (the victim’s girl friend), but I seriously doubted that she saw the murder. I suspected that she committed the murder, but she wasn’t on trial.
We had instructions to disregard the perp’s previous crimes, although the prosecution did its best to bring in witnesses who somehow were involved with this guy’s business.
After three weeks of testimony, we went in to deliberate. I didn’t think the defendant did it and I didn’t think the prosecution proved their case. The cops made several mistakes, plus the media showed the defendant on TV before interviewing the girl friend. His picture was also in the newspaper the day they went to interview the girl friend at her mother’s house.
It was an interesting situation because the jury split 7 guilty/5 not guilty. The problem was believing the girl friend for the guilty. She was pretty and well-spoken. The 7 guilty verdict jurors could not believe she lied, even though we on the not guilty side pointed out how the cops used a six-pack (pictures of six possible perps) with the perp in an orange jump suit in the picture. Plus, the fact he had been shown on TV and in the newspaper before they interviewed her also brought her identification into question. She and the boyfriend were splitting up at the time. It went on and on. Oh, they never proved that the defendant and the victim even knew each other.
Well, the jury hung and a mistrial was called.
It was exhausting, but educational. I respect the process and the other jurors took their responsibility seriously, as I did.
January 19, 2012 at 8:03 am
Wow. I’ve never been on anything that long. The question of believability is incredibly subjective, unfortunately. It really is too bad there isn’t a definitive test for lying, although our system probably wouldn’t allow it to be mandatory then would say you had to disregard it if the accused not to take it.
January 17, 2012 at 12:44 pm
I love that commercial, I know some people like him. I think they are really funny but most people get very annoyed by them.
When I was in advertizing the most important part of the commercial was to make sure people remembered the name of the advertiser! Sometimes the people that create the commercials get so carried away with making it really good that everyone remembers the commercial but not the name of the advertiser. Those are the commercials I like the best! LOL!
Here’s your click ………
Love and Blessings,
AngelBaby
January 19, 2012 at 8:04 am
I agree. There’s nothing that makes me change the channel like one of those commercials that repetitive repeats the product name but I’ll hang around for the ones that have a story.
January 17, 2012 at 1:08 pm
My favorite TV commercial these days is that pig on the zip line. Typical of the Geico commercials of late they’re hunprous and based on characters (the Gecko, the Caveman), now the little piggy that goes “wee, wee, wee” all the way home.
As a student of the media and a lot of broadcast experience in my bckground I believe — despite they’re silly nature — are an effective means of advertising.
When it comes to time to shop for auto insurance what companies do you think will come to the consumers mind? Progressive (Flo, the red lipsticked spokeswoman) and Geico come to mine. All because of their prominent and humorous advertising campaigns on television.
Of course, that’s just my opinion. And you know what they say about those.
Good job Bud! Always enjoy reading your blog.
January 19, 2012 at 8:08 am
I rarely base my purchases on advertising, and in fact, I often won’t buy a product that has an annoying commercial (like the Dr. Pepper 10 is for Men commercial). I’ve read that the primary demographic for many commercials is young men because they can still be influenced. Guts my age are nobody’s deomographic, as I once wrote in a post by the same name.
January 17, 2012 at 6:27 pm
The flying pig is something – a great tactic to get you to go to their website to see more flying pig LOL
I’ve never been called to jury duty, although it would be an interesting experience.
Clicks
–Trina
January 19, 2012 at 8:08 am
How did you manage to avoid jury duty? They are after me every two years!
January 17, 2012 at 6:30 pm
Hi Bud,
Gotta love those commercials!
I guess I’ve never had the pleasure of Jury Duty.
Wolf
January 19, 2012 at 8:09 am
OK, both you and Trina with no jury duty. What’s the deal? I get called regularly.
January 18, 2012 at 5:40 pm
I have no interesting stories. I was called once and sat for half a day waiting before the majority of us were sent home. That was it.
And this is my favorite commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO_uJVL8KkA
January 19, 2012 at 8:12 am
Yes. I love that commercial! Seeing a whiny RoseAnne get “logged” is perfect and the line, “Now my front hurts!” is a gem. Actually, there are several clever ones in this series.