Adverts

This is what a summer sky looks like Originally uploaded by itsjustanalias.

I would hesitate to judge a country based on its adverts, I’m pretty sure the UK wouldn’t come out of such an analysis well. It appears to be partwork season on Spanish TV at the moment (rather than the post-christmas season in the UK) and every other advert seems to be for something you can buy in lots of parts…. for example:

• Build a remote controlled rally car (75 parts… what do you do if you miss one?)
• A model of the Bismark (125 parts, €6 a piece)
• The best films of Cantinflas (The most famous Mexican cinema star ever)
• A mallorcan doll’s house (for the ladies)
• Soldiers of the 20th century (Each week a new soldier, after a couple of months you can recreate your favourite massacres)
• Figures of the far West (This one was advertised by a Hugh Laurie lookalike, I thought I was watching an episode of House to begin with, Liz started laughing as soon as he appeared with his table top full of mini indians, cowboys and… erm more cowboys and indians).

The other predominant advertising trope is ‘La regularidad’. What on ITV is sometimes referred to as ‘that bloated feeling’ is here much more focussed on regularity. Activia is sold as an answer to that perennial summer problem of not being able to go (after eating at the wrong hours, attmpting to use strange loos, different water). After a couple of yoghurts everyone seems to be able to point to their stomach, wiggle the finger up and down and whisper ‘es mejor’ it’s better. A good digestive transit is the new black, it seems. And of course now the summer is over you need another yoghurty bowel enhancer to cope with the return of work/school/stuff…