An odd thought crossed my mind as I was prepping dinner tonight (and watching TV). Why is it that commercials featuring speaking animals have those animals speaking in foreign accents?
Good point - I don't get the bee that sounds like Antonio Banderas (what is that commercial even advertising?). But Southern accents are the bone of contention in my house, as my wife enjoys referring to me as "Jim Foxworthy." I tell her: (1) the man's name is "Jeff"; and (2) my accent isn't that bad anymore after 20 years in California.
Yeah, I saw two more last night. The Gecko ad (English accent) and then the Maria Sharapova Canon camera ad with her little, foreign-speaking dog. Why?
These are critical questions that the rest of the blog world is too scared to confront.
Maybe Americans would be offended if the dog on TV sounded to much like them, so the producers make them sound like those other people? British accents are supposed to make people sound smarter, so perhaps that is it. I mean would we listen to the Gecko if he sounded like Jim Foxworthy? The Gecko is really starting to annoy me. This is important stuff Streak.
I'm pretty sure the gecko is Kiwi (or at least Australian) rather than British. The stereotype for that accent is of badass Crocodile Dundee types, which is hilarious coming from a bitsy lizard that makes me, a toothpick with vocal cords, look like a WWF wrestler.
6 comments:
Good point - I don't get the bee that sounds like Antonio Banderas (what is that commercial even advertising?). But Southern accents are the bone of contention in my house, as my wife enjoys referring to me as "Jim Foxworthy." I tell her: (1) the man's name is "Jeff"; and (2) my accent isn't that bad anymore after 20 years in California.
Yeah, I saw two more last night. The Gecko ad (English accent) and then the Maria Sharapova Canon camera ad with her little, foreign-speaking dog. Why?
These are critical questions that the rest of the blog world is too scared to confront.
"Jim Foxworthy." That is funny.
Maybe Americans would be offended if the dog on TV sounded to much like them, so the producers make them sound like those other people? British accents are supposed to make people sound smarter, so perhaps that is it. I mean would we listen to the Gecko if he sounded like Jim Foxworthy? The Gecko is really starting to annoy me. This is important stuff Streak.
I am sure there are some social psychological basis to these, but it escapes me.
I'm pretty sure the gecko is Kiwi (or at least Australian) rather than British. The stereotype for that accent is of badass Crocodile Dundee types, which is hilarious coming from a bitsy lizard that makes me, a toothpick with vocal cords, look like a WWF wrestler.
The gecko sounds sort of cockney to me, or what they expect Americans would think cockney accents to sound like.
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