First, it’s incredibly simple. Dead simple. You don’t even have to be able to read to see what’s going on. It’s like someone’s silly Youtube video… made pre-YouTube, and even the most inept moron could figure out what is being sold and what the product is.

Secondly, they don’t anthropomorphize the cat into a speaking feline-devil. The “subtitles” interpret what many people would probably think their cat is saying, and associating your pet with Meow Mix as they are mewing incessantly to eat is brilliant.

Third, the commercial and jingle both fall perfectly in line with the “Meow Mix” brand name.

Fourth, said jingle is annoyingly catchy. You can’t possibly see this commercial on any given day, go to the store and spot “Meow Mix” without hearing meows in your head. And the lyrics couldn’t be more simple. Meow. Whoever wrote the Meow Mix jingle must have some relative connection to “The Song that Never Ends” and “Who Let the Dogs Out”, or any number of daycare children’s songs.

Purina, well done.

• Freddy Krueger-esque stripes.
• The thin, long neck of a giraffe.
• A smile that never fades.
• A jaw that barely moves.
• Animated arms that flail about.
• The height of a toddler with the appearance of a tween.
• She has an obsession with being human.
• …and worst of all, she also speaks in French.

Honestly… is there one aspect of this toy that doesn’t say “creepy”?

Barbie is into trends…and into jeans.  But not too into jeans because the fact is she’s not wearing jeans.  But she does have long French hair and three pre-teen British singers backing her up, so she must be into jeans.

Ooooo!  Ken likey!

Barbie:  Hey Ken, come check out my new Dream Bed! It says “Barbie” on my blankets and pillows, it’s hot pink with fancy lace, even the canopy!  (Barbie jumps into bed)

Ken:  Well I must say Barbie, your bed’s pretty lame.  And there’s no room for me, either.

Barbie:  Sure there is, lay on your back, and I’ll get on top!  If you want the Queen size you’ll have to speak with Mattel.

Barbies with gimmicks reached a new cliche with Perfume Pretty Barbie – a Barbie with even longer hair and a small bottle of cheap perfume your kids will be smelling like for the next 5 days.    She also came with a transforming dress/skirt outfit and a hot pink Barbie-sized comb.

Barbie has made her way into the Entertainment business, but “The Rockers” was the best she could come up with?  Ah, well.

This commercial rocks out to the 80′s – big clothes, neon lights, and big hair.  Oh yes, even Ken has big hair (silver metallic clothes and a pink guitar, as well).  Thankfully he was sold seperately….

There’s also lots of dancing, which looks less like dancing and more like a slight bending at the hips while flailing your arms like you’re drowning.   Rock on Barbie.  Rock on.

Teddy Ruxpin was a cool toy from the 1980′s with some clever technology:  Instead of using the cassette with left / right for stereo, they adapted one of the tracks for mono audio and the other track for Teddy’s mouth movements.  This kept him talking in sync to what was coming out of the speaker.  There was an extra notch in the Teddy tapes so the cassette player in his backside would know if it had an audio tape or a Teddy story tape.  He told stories of his adventures with all of his pals including Grubby, a strange centipede-like creature with the same stupid/gentle smile who also became a toy.