My friend, the Seventh Day Adventist

I have an old friend, emphasis on the word 'old', who professes the religion Seventh Day Adventist. We engage in conversations regularly, all of them turning to religion after the first 20 seconds. We joke back and forth about different things (I will tell him how good my bacon cheeseburger is and he will tell me that all the meat eaters are going to be burned) and the conversation is friendly most of the time. Wilbur is a good guy. He wants the best for me, and I for him.

As a rule, he will always warn me that not observing the Sabbath on Saturday, similar to meat eating, will result in burning. He is more serious on this point, and to echo his sincere tone, I can only bear testimony to him that I know the Book of Mormon to be scripture and Joseph Smith to be a prophet. Though the conversation turns serious, neither of us allows it to become contentious. After debating further he always concludes the conversation with the exact same phrase, "Remember Tyler, ABC... Always Be Careful." My reply, "You too, Wilbur baby."

Long commercials have gone on too long. I was watching T.V. the other day and a commercial break came on. Normally, I flee from such situations, either to use the restroom, or find a snack somewhere in the fridge, but when I saw Patrick Ewing walk on the screen I was stuck. What in the world was this old basketball player going to do? He was an icon for the sport during his time and even now brings a feeling of nostalgia. I couldn't look away. This commercial, only 17 seconds long, is where the world of commercials could be headed. Later in the break two more Snickers advertisements came on (I'll admit I don't remember them as vividly).

Surely this is groundbreaking advertising. At least I've never seen it. They take the same amount of time as one advertisement would be, but they spread it out throughout the entire break. They effectively get their brand name out there three times, while everyone else gets it out once.

I find this type of "visual argument" quite effective. Commercials have always been effective at selling to their audience, but for those of us with extremely shortened attention spans, they become difficult to remember. Most of the time I can't even tell you what show I am watching if it's during a break. With the way Snickers has gone about it, they are constantly reminding us, "this is something you should buy." The appeal to sports through Patrick Ewing, and humor are a nice touch. Both of these make the ad memorable, and likeable, but the bigger effect is had in the repetition of Snickers advertisements throughout the break.