Jackass

Yesterday I attended a screening of the One Show winners of 2005. My favorite ads: the Nike Chariots of Fire spot and the British Honda spot with the choir making the sounds of the car. Gorgeous.
There was a category of World humor and American humor, and sad to say, at least in this One Show list, the chosen American spots were mostly awful. The World humor spots were smart and clever and sophisticated. The American spots were smarmy, mean spirited, stupid, and utterly devoid of either wit or charm (Sunburst is the worst offender, followed very closely by the Miller Lite audition spots) Not funny. At all. (except for the caveman FedEx spot, which I adore).
There is a style that is inexplicably in vogue these days here in the US which I think has long ago overstayed it's welcome, and which wants to be deadpan and ironic but which is nothing else but ignorant smarminess. The Starburst clients can come back to me and tell me that they are selling tons of candy to teenage morons, and I still don't care, because these commercials encourage imbecility, instead of giving someone something fun to wrap their two neurons around.