Thursday, November 29, 2012

Amusing.





Six in the morning. The shops at the airport already open. The departure hall decked out in tinsel and a forest of identical silver Christmas trees. On the speakers Bing Crosby singing '' It's the most marvellous time of the year " over and over and over.  Purgatory must be like this. Two and a half hours before the flight goes. A very bored Angus asks a lady sales assistant what sort of person would buy a seven foot tall teddy bear. '' Guilty fathers " comes the tart response. $2600 . That's a lot of guilt . Probably also a lot of guilt inducing  alcohol at the airport bar. At the shirt shop they sell Fez's. Angus wants to ask who buys them but thinks better of it.

Brad Pitt in an advert. A dead ringer for Zonker in Doonesbury. This is probably not the mental linkage that the Chanel ad campaign intended.

The word ' only ' prominently displayed in all the stores. Champagne ' only ' $220, shoes ' only ' $430, chocolates ' only ' $32. A man at the electrical outlet tries to interest Angus in a laptop. ' Only ' $3220. Angus says he'll think about it.

Angus finds there's an earlier flight to Toulouse. The first day of the new winter schedule. The plane almost empty , twenty people at most on it.  Same airline. Would it be possible to get the earlier flight ? The lady at the gate doesn't even look at his boarding pass. '' You can't change your flight. It's regulations. If you wanted to be on the seven thirty you should have booked yourself on it ". She's sitting under a sign that says " To fly. To serve ". Angus finds this wryly amusing.


23 comments:

  1. Which airline would take a 7ft teddy as hand luggage?

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  2. Sorry, we're laughing...service is definitely a thing of the past. We were thinking a guilty father might have to buy another ticket and then sounds like there's no guarantee that Bobby Bear would be on the same flight.

    XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy

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  3. By the end of the holiday season, that teddy bear will be bought by someone feeling guilty and be given its own seat on a plane.


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  4. The service industry is killing itself!

    That Teddy bear would need his own seat on the plane. At least you'd have a quiet traveling companion!

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  5. you surely are joking right? she actually SAID "if you wanted to be on the 7:30 you should have booked yourself on it?" if that's true . . . i want to carry around a clown's seltzer bottle and spray the rude little pie holes. oh my. sorry. i got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning i guess. LOL.
    grumpy gus signing off now. always so glad you're home safely.

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  6. Laughed out loud this morning at the 'Zonker/Pitt' comparison and the Purgatory reference...both so true!

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  7. Brad Pitt looks like a homeless person who just got a charity wash & blow-out. The ad & the TV commercial are ridiculous but I think Chanel is savvy. Like it or not it has had a huge impact on the brand.... (even though it is not my cup of tea)

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  8. I watched the Brad Pitt commercial waiting for the punchline. It was such pretentious pap, I was convinced that there'd be one. But a bit like the shake and vac advert, perhaps it, and the brand that it's promoting, remains in the memory for all the wrong reasons. I'd love to know the impact it's has on their post Christmas sales figures!

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  9. I think you should put the fez on the gigantic Teddy.

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  10. I saw a television commercial for Chanel No5 featuring Mr Pitt. It looked like a Saturday Night Live spoof! People were talking alright, certainly not in a way Chanel expected. A breath of fresh air, I suppose. But I think the air was not a breath and decidedly unfresh.

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  11. There is a story everywhere, and everywhere you go you seem to find the best ones. :)

    B&L,
    Janelle, Maggie Mae and Max

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  12. You are absolutely correct, Pitt looks like Zonker. I hadn't been able to place who he reminded me of. Thanks for clearing that up.

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  13. See now, that's one of the reasons I knit.
    To survive airport waits.

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  14. You could always buy two of the bears to put outside your front door to greet your guests!

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  15. I want to know how the bear got his pants on over those enormous paws...
    Zonker - exactly!!

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  16. You nailed the Brad Pitt thing! Previously, I just thought he seemed like a potential axe murderer. Whatever Chanel's intent, the ad has people talking.

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  17. Gee did you check to see if your nose was still on your face after it was snapped at? Nice customer service. I think you should have bought a Fez. If I had the chance, I'd buy one.

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  18. I think you ought to buy a red fez for Christmas wear at least. Then that natty shirt and the bow tie set it off nicely.

    When I was a 14 year old kid, a neighbor gave me a bottle of Chanel #5 cologne for Christmas and wow! was I thrilled. 60 years later, not even Brad Pitt could talk me into it. And he IS Zonker! How perfect.

    Cheers,

    Jo

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  19. If you bought the large bear would it go in the hold? Or would you need to buy it a ticket and let it fly in the cabin?

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  20. THe Brad Pitt/ Zonker resemblence is Brilliant... Love it.

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  21. Purgatory must be like this.....love it...you do make me laugh.
    Still can't figure out that Brad Pitt Chanel #5 ad, but no need to I guess, it's got everyone talking, and the buzz is what they're going after, let's hope the sales corresponds.

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