Remember adverts-WITHOUT-having people have their mouths open so wide?!!!!!
 

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This bugs me a lot.

I've noticed this starting in the past; about 8-9 years ago.!
That is pictures of people in a flyer in almost any advertisement-catalogue; be it from Walmart or Holt Renfrew.

What is the deal with the OPEN mouth shot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It used to be a smile or just a gal, content with what the store made her or him to wear for the shot and they were told to Smile or nowadays look-stern and thoughtful and mysterious.

Sometimes I see these pictures of these huge mouths that a grey shark would envy. I'd love to throw some reality in their mouths -making them realize how stupid they look AND I don't want to see their insides!

Perhaps I can blame Tom Cruise for all this...remember when he put on his shades and gave out that big to ready to eat sausage grin.
This is a time delay that the public has picked up years later!!

Anyways..........

I will just be happy if we can ever get all of these drug commercials off of the tube... really had enough of them!

Not only all of the above but I question with some adverts. just what are they are trying to sell? The relationship between the adv. and the product is just not there. So I have to try and really listen and it becomes a kind of game. Hard sells are drugs(symptoms of this that, do not take if blah blah blah etc). Also tough sells, life insurance , no med. questions asked etc etc. Good ads. are Mazda, and.......I can't think of any. :)

Only one thing is bothering me: drifting new cars in commercials. A drifter car is highly modified. What are we teaching?

Statistically one in 34 people will have a serious car accident in their lives. I dont mean to be alarmist but sad to say there are walking dead among particularly the young folks. But for the grace of God go I. Older now, hopefully smarter and way more patient in traffic than I used to be.:)

"So I have to try and really listen" That's the whole point of this odd stuff. They got you to listen to the commercial and, of course, that's what they want. I think they've figured out that unless the commercial is odd nobody pays it any attention nowadays.

Any ad, whether it's obnoxious or hilarious, is ineffective unless the viewer remembers the product name. Everyone remembers Mentos because of their lame, Euro-quirky scenarios and gawd awful jingle--even "Family Guy"references them. A horrible ad to watch but we all remember the product (and can probably sing the jingle.) A successful ad.

Conversely, some of the most entertaining and funny ads we can recall, but forget the product because we are so entertained by the presentation. Failed ad.

To the OP. I agree with what you've observed. Some ad company "opened the box" to that element in a successful ad campaign and others followed suit, with their own variations. It's a cycle that will pass and be replaced by some other element that will soon be over used and tired. (What about the use of "classic rock" songs in ads, totally unrelated to the product? What a bore.)

It's all about the response from the audience in recognition. If you hate the ad but remember the product, they've done their job. Even if you boycott the product, the name is remembered by millions of others who, at the spur of the moment will pick up the product because it's the only one that has a familiar name.

Nail hit right on the head here!!!