Favorite Commercials

This post was originally planned to be released onto our blog on February 5, Super Bowl Sunday, after being in draft mode for over a year. We were already in Utah with Cynthia's family by the release date and it didn't seem appropriate to update on schedule. So, pretend that the world's greatest ads show football game is about to air and this post will seem a little more timely.

We love commercials. No seriously, we LOVE commercials. Not only do we watch the Super Bowl only for the commercials, sometimes we watch regular TV just for commercials! The Lovely Cynthia got a degree in advertising and I was considering the same for a short period of time.

I know a good commercial when I see one, but those aren't always our favorites. Some commercials have made such an indelible impact on us that they have become part of our lexicon and family culture. Below are some of the commercials that are still mentioned frequently in the Bushchicken household.

Verizon, 2009 - This commercial was one that we saw and just thought "Oh, snap! Oh no they di'dn't!". At least we would have thought those exact words if we were valley girls. I loved the juicy disparagement that's masked by a childhood favorite. I have not looked at AT&T (or the iPhone, an unintended consequence) the same way since.

TLC, 2006 - TLC (the network, not the hottie) did a whole "Life Lessons" ad campaign for many of their shows, but this one was by far the best thanks to the 80's reference. Strangely, the show being advertised is the only show we ever really watched on TLC! Anyway, "where'd you park the DeLorean?" is a common phrase for us now.

Colgate, 1996 - Ok, this is a perfect example of a not-so-great commercial that is still one of our favorites. I didn't remember which brand of toothpaste this ad was for until I looked it up recently, so the campaign was ineffective. But hey, those kids are durn cute. Kindergartners should be requisite in all ads. Mother. of. Pearl.

Jose Ole, 2002 - This commercial was so effective with brand placement that we actually misquote it in our household. We say "Daddy needs money for the Jose Ole Man", not 'a chimichanga'. Effective at brand placement, but NOT effective enough for us to change behaviors - we have never purchased a Jose Ole item.

Burger King, 2006 - The video above has several ads. The one we quote is the quick ad starting at :24. Not sure why this gives us the giggles, but we got whopper juniors just yesterday and I smiled because of this ad. I sure wish those burgers were STILL just a buck!

Old Spice, 2010 - Alright, everyone knows this commercial. We still quote it every chance we get. Surprisingly, this Portland-made commercial is probably also the best commercial on our whole list. Before this commercial I thought Old Spice only had one scent that was, IMHO, disgusting. But now...yeah, I wear two different Old Spice scents. Well-made, sticks with you, brand recognition, and changes behavior. I AM the man your man could smell like!

Now don't be stingy...share your favorite commercials with us.

Craig Von Thygerson

We haven't updated the blog in a long, long time. We had a couple posts in the queue, and then tragedy struck. Cynthia wrote most of this post 4 weeks ago and we've been trying to find a moment to finish it before rolling out any additional posts. 

Craig Thygerson was killed in a car accident on February 3rd. He was 42, the father of six children, and he was my sister's husband.

Because of the gospel I know that this is really a good thing for Craig. He endured to the end, and he did it well. My memories are not filled with Craig lounging around, taking life easy. Craig was a man of service. He was the one you would find fixing your car, helping with the meals, cutting wood for his neighbors so they could have fuel to heat their homes, and volunteering in church to help others. He was a small town country boy. He liked to ride horses and have fun outdoors. His circle of influence may have been small, but I don't think anyone had a negative opinion of Craig. He was a worker.

Craig was also a quiet man. He had a hard time hiding his smile, even though he tried to hide it often. He had a certain presence. We all liked having him around. And we miss him.

These are two songs from the funeral that brought peace to me. Count your Blessings and Be Still, My Soul. Every thought delivered peace from Heavenly Father that everything would be OK and everything is in His hands.

I still miss Craig. I wish he could be here sharing in all the family memories that are still ahead. But I know Craig is in the Lord's hands and I know we are all in the Lord's hands. That Heavenly Father is closely involved in the aspects of our lives and watching over us.

I also want to remember from the funeral the very strong feeling that Heavenly Father was orchestrating so many details of everyone's lives to work out so perfectly.

This picture of Craig was taken when he and his family visited us in Oregon last summer.

Obituary

Accident