Writers evidently prevailed in a TV commercial script.

[MrPixel]

Probably many of you in the US are familiar with a current Consumer Cellular commercial. You know, the one with an iPhone sticking out of a back pocket of somebody driving a riding lawnmower. The answering operator/actor realizes, "Ah. A pocket dial. Well, somebody's pocket..." and she goes on with her spiel. I always would think to myself, "Everybody I know calls that "a butt dial".

I just saw a slightly modified version of the same commercial, where the script has been changed to, "Ah. A butt dial. Well, somebody's butt..."

It did my heart good, that the initial comedy envisioned by the creative team has been allowed to poke through.

 

[Paul_Chance]

Part of that is the agility of the advertising agency. What we see is a minute or two from literally hours of material where they are trying dozens of minor variations.

Then, when commercials are aired, they go to their focus groups, who provide real-world feedback. Then, it's a relatively simple task to recut the commercial and insert whatever changes they need.

I'd be pretty sure on that commercial their focus groups had the same feedback we had "it's a butt-dial, I've never heard of a pocket dial".

 

[intim8]

It did my heart good, that the initial comedy envisioned by the creative team has been allowed to poke through.

More than once lately, I've seen ads with something mildly racy in them, they run for a few days or maybe a week, then suddenly turn into a tamer version. I don't think it is the company pulling back on the racy version because it was objected to, it feels like a strategy, to put the racy one out, then pull it back before anyone really consciously registers it. Then people wonder whether they were hearing it right.

One company has done this twice. The first time was "You bet your sweet Aspercreme", that became, "You bet, if it's Aspercreme." Sounds like a pre-planned sleight of hand... or voice.

 

[Devinter]

they go to their focus groups, who provide real-world feedback

... I feel like there's an erotic story here somewhere. Focus group for a fun new toy, perhaps?

 

[Britva415]

... I feel like there's an erotic story here somewhere. Focus group for a fun new toy, perhaps?

Facilitator: "No, thank you, Mrs. Blake. Let's see, who's next? Miss Jones? Right this way for your, ah, feedback session, please."

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I remember years ago watching an ad in England. I cannot remember what it was for, but it featured a young couple casually talking; he was twirling a soccer ball. Back on the other side of the pond a week later, I saw precisely the same ad, but their accents had been overdubbed and it was a basketball.

 

[intim8]

... I feel like there's an erotic story here somewhere. Focus group for a fun new toy, perhaps?

Or a foucus group for an aphrodesiac.

 

[intim8]

Or a foucus group for an aphrodesiac.

Or wait, make it an April Fool's story, and the focus group is for a new candy that they're not told is an aphrodesiac. Double-blind test, dontchya know. In fact, only half of them get the aphrodesiac version, but the other half eventually succumb to the placebo effect.