Confessions of a Dead Beat Blog Dad/Zooey Deschanel

As of late when it comes to Pop Culture Dish, I've been the proverbial neglectful parent. Due to various other interests which have taken up my time (including writing for a second blog, Diversity Ink), I've paid less and less attention to my first born over the past year and a half. I plan on making a conscious effort to change my ways by devoting more time here at PCD. Although I won't

Pop Culture Trivia: The "Please Stand By" Edition

The next 15 questions deal with commercials of the past and present.  If you are a Pop Culture Trivia virgin and are about to be touched for the very first time, please read all the rules before taking the quiz:* Along with the Internet, the use of books, magazines, notes, data stored on a computer, etc. to help you come up with the answers is not allowed.* Please read the questions carefully.

CTFD: Lindsay Lohan vs. E-Trade

Don't mess with "The Lohan" unless you want to run the risk of getting slapped with a frivolous lawsuit. Multiple award-winning* actress Lindsay Lohan has filed a $100 million lawsuit claiming a TV ad for the Wall Street firm E-Trade is modeled after her and improperly invoked her “likeness, name, characterization, and personality” without permission, violating her right to privacy. In

Final Results of the Recent ManCrunch/Super Bowl Poll

With almost 2/3 of the vote, a majority of people said they did not disagree with CBS' decision to reject a commercial by the gay dating site ManCrunch during this year's Super Bowl. Although 4 people who disagreed with CBS shared their thoughts in the comments section, no one who sided with the "Eye network" chose to say why. I really wish that some of them had shared their thoughts because

The Super Bowl XLIV Rundown: Pop Culture Style

Here are my thoughts on this year's extravaganza:The Super Bowl Ads:This year's crop of commercials remind me of the ones for 2009. What I mean is that the commercials didn't seem to be trying to overshadow The Super Bowl. I don't know, maybe it has something to do with the economy and the reluctance of companies to shell out insane amounts of money for less than a minute of air time. Even

Please Take A Moment To Vote In the Current Super Bowl/ManCrunch Poll... Thank You

Late last month, CBS decided it would not air a commercial (see below) for the gay dating site Man Crunch during Super Bowl XLIV (which takes place on Sunday, February 7th). For more on the story, click here. As expected, CBS' decision is not without controversy. Regardless of whether you vote yes or no, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section of this post.

The WIRE: Week In REview, #1

Because the world of pop culture won't slow down to accommodate my hectic schedule, I haven't been able to blog about many of the stories that have unfolded recently. As a result, I decided that doing weekly summaries would give me a chance to touch on stories from the previous week that I didn't get around to covering. Here are a few of them:CTFD: The Sun-Maid Girl ControversyWelcome to "Not

Final Results of the Direct TV Ad Poll

Here are the final results of the poll in which I asked if the new Direct TV Ad with Chris Farley and David Spade is in poor taste:Yes- 41%I'm sitting on the fence- 32%No- 25%I wonder if the controversy will cause Direct TV to be reluctant to take the "dead celeb" route for future spots. Thanks to everyone who participated in the poll.Below is a clip of The Young Turks giving their take on the

Please Take A Moment To Vote In the Direct TV Ad Poll... Thank You

As you many of you know, Direct TV has made a series of commercials in which characters from popular movies and TV series break the fourth wall to promote the service's picture quality and HD availability. The latest spot features David Spade as Richard Hayden (his character in Tommy Boy) in new scenes shot specifically for the commercial and the late Chris Farley in footage from the movie.When I

Director of "Banned Sprite Ad" Sets the Record Straight

Film maker Max Isaacson is making a name for himself with a fake Sprite ad that he wrote, directed and produced. The fake spot connects the pleasures of oral sex with the thirst quenching taste of Sprite. A lot of people thought the banned "commercial" was real, which is understandable if you've seen some of the spots that do air in Europe. Isaacson has issued a press statement explaining that

Retro Commercials: The Monkees Pimp For Kellogg's

For awhile now, I have been meaning to bring back a feature that I used to do regularly on my blog... the retro commercial. Since I haven't done this feature since last fall, I thought I'd return with a vengeance and bring you not one commercial, but six!!The commercials below were all spots The Monkees did for Kellogg's, one of the sponsors of their TV show. I discovered these when I bought

The World of "The Most Interesting Man In the World"

Although I don't drink Dos Equis beer, I may start thanks to a series of commercials featuring a gent known only as "The Most Interesting Man In the World". When (or if) I grow up, I wanna be just like this guy! If you've seen these spots, you know that the man is more than worthy of the title. How can you deny a man who lives vicariously... through himself?! I wouldn't be surprised if

Final Results of the Recent Progressive Poll

In the recent poll in which I asked if you felt the two men in the recent Progressive commercial were gay, a majority of you said yes. As I mentioned in the original poll, I was reluctant to do conduct this poll at first. However, I am glad that I did because everyone took it in the spirit it was intended. The poll also generated some thought-provoking responses from many of you. One

Please Take A Moment To Vote In the Current Progressive Insurance Commercial Poll, Thank You

Introduction: At first, I was reluctant to do this poll for a couple of reasons. One is because the intent is not to debate whether or not homosexuality is right or wrong. Also, I didn't want people to misconstrue why I was asking the question by responding with "so what if the two men in the commercial are gay?". My reason for asking the poll question is simple: I find the different ways in

Super Sunday Summary

Although it seemed to me that there was less buzz than normal leading up to the big game, Super Bowl XLIII turned out to be one of the best in the championship game's history. The team I was pulling for took home the Lombardi Trophy, so it's all good. Since you don't come here to get in-depth sports analysis, I will leave it to ESPN and their ilk to break the game down.Luckily the game itself

Please Take A Moment To Vote In the Current Fast Food TV Ad Poll... Thank You

According to a new study, a ban on fast food TV commercials could reduce childhood obesity by 18%. If you'd like to read the story on the study, click here. Although most of us will agree that childhood obesity is a problem, I don't feel that banning fast food ads is the solution. These days, it's too easy for kids to lead a sedentary lifestyle. If we can get kids to put down the remote

Retro Commercial: Blip

Do the weirdest things from years ago ever pop into your mind for no reason? That's what happened to me when I was fixing a turkey burger sandwich yesterday evening. While getting all my condiments (Miracle Whip, lettuce, and tomatoes) lined up as my turkey burger was being heated, I started to think about the portable electronic game from the late 1970s called Blip. Very similar to the even more

Retro Commercial: Carlton Jams With the Jacksons

Since I was fairly busy during the end of last week, Michael Jackson's 50th birthday crept up on me like that panther in his "Black or White" video. This, combined with the fact that it's been awhile since I've done a Retro Commercial post led me to dig up this Pepsi spot from 1984. Making its debut on the Grammy telecast that year, this commercial featured The Jacksons and also introduced