"Hey, you dang woodchucks! Quit chuckin' my wood!"

There is little time to watch t.v., but somehow I do catch some commercials. GEICO has been running a new series of ads that draw on popular sayings and rhymes. My favorite had been the little piggy who cried "wee, wee, wee" all the way home. Tonight I saw the woodchuck one for the first time!!!

****** I had to take the video clip out because it would run on its own EVERY time you went to this blog. **********

I teach Economics to 12th graders and it is a required course for all students at our high school. It is not easy to get students into a topic like economics but I try to get them to realize it is all around them. Commercials are a great example. We discuss the economics behind t.v. ads including: how the ads match who the networks think are watching (no beer commercials during Oprah or feminine products during football); the affect DVRs and online watching has had on the whole system of t.v. ads; and just overall cost of an ad according to the possible viewership and ratings of a given show (cost of a Superbowl ad vs. an ad on during a 2am show of "Friends.")

It is also important for students to become more aware of the economic psychology of consuming all these ads. I try to point out when the purpose of an advertising has worked on me, like when I see a Pizza Hut ad at 4pm and all of the sudden I want to drive to the nearest one for dinner. It is a form of Consumer Literacy! I know I will remember GEICO for a long time!!! Darn it, I hate it when "the man" has succeed with his ad! I'm still not a customer yet!