Tuesday, February 28, 2023

See ya, wouldn't wanna onomatopoeia

Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature based on the idea that song lyrics are a form of poetry. But I don't think Gioachino Rossini is getting that award anytime soon.

If you don't know the reference, the slogan that ends the ad is - at least I would assume! - taken from an old joke, namely:

Q: Where does the Lone Ranger take his trash?
A: To the dump, to the dump, to the dump dump dump!

The key to this joke, however, is that the punchline is sung as onomatopoeia for the snippet of Rossini's William Tell Overture, famously used as the Lone Ranger's theme song. In print, it doesn't work so well. And spoken out loud, bereft of context, it sounds completely ridiculous!

Other than that, this ad is fine for a local (or local-style, since technically it runs in various markets) commercial. It certainly communicates what The Dump is and what they sell, and gives clear reasons why you might want to shop there. I had always assumed the name was no more than a gag along the lines of naming your college town bar The Library - "Oh, where'd I get this couch? Picked it up at The Dump! Haw haw haw!" But this commercial reveals that's not why! Or at least, not exclusively why. I'm sure they thought of it, but apparently it's not that cheesily simple. So overall, high marks for the actual messaging.

But man, there's low-budget and then there's NO-budget. Rossini died in 1868 - his works are definitely in the public domain. You couldn't even find someone to toot this out on a recorder so you wouldn't have to awkwardly recite it?

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