Comments on: Bernhard Barfed

By: Dan Maguire

Dan Maguire — Sat, 26 Aug 2006 16:49:01 +0000

I have not seen the ad, and hopefully I will not. Ilana’s description will have to suffice. I accept that the ad is disgusting, and that Sandra Bernhard is your typical pretentious, pseudo-radical know-nothing. (Didn’t she play a psycho in “The King of Comedy”?) What I wonder is this: a firm engages in advertising to increase profits. In theory, the firm identifies a target audience likely to buy its product, then chooses how to promote its product to that target audience. Of course, some advertising campaigns work and others don’t. As disgusting as the ad may be, I wonder if it will actually succeed in increasing MAC sales and profits. Perhaps their target market is middle-aged psychotics.

In general, I am free to change the station if a television commercial is too disgusting. I don’t know if and where I would draw a line for “over the top”, but the ad as described doesn’t cross it. Disgusting and offensive, yes, but I can see disgusting and offensive material on any given sit-com.

By: Stephen W. Browne

Stephen W. Browne — Sat, 26 Aug 2006 14:03:30 +0000

As an English teacher abroad, I used to like to show-and-tell the story of the meeting of the magnificent Sarah Bernhardt and Eleanora Druse.

Berrnhardt attended a performance by Druse, and in between acts sent her a note, “Sarah Bernhardt says Eleanora Druse is a wonderful actress.”

Druse took a pen, made a slight alteration and sent the note back. “Sarah Bernhardt, says Eleanora Druse, is a wonderful actress.”

[Priceless. More, more]

By: Reed Shipman

Reed Shipman — Sat, 26 Aug 2006 12:08:09 +0000

Well, I do not know about the lips, but I would be really wary about throwing down and ravishing someone with a mouth big enough to drain a swamp and strain out the alligators through the gaps in her teeth.

Reed