This Year, Super Bowl Ads Are Strictly Monkey Business - Page 2

I so disagree with this assertion that opposable thumbs are overrated and that guinea pigs are the ad industry’s mammal of choice. Nope, it’s monkeys for me.

And I’m not alone, according to a story by the New York Times, CareerBuilder spent “in excess of” $2 million for last year’s three chimp commercials. They were such a hit that the company recouped the money spent on the ads in just three weeks. Office of the Apes returns with two 30-second spots during Super Bowl XL.

It’s a good move, because apes ‘r’ us. The popular primate references that come immediately to mind include the cymbal clanging fellow welcoming you to today’s blog (here’s an animated version), his cousin the organ-grinder monkey, the see-hear-speak no evil chimps, a monkey’s uncle, Hey Hey We're the Monkees, Tarzan’s faithful buddy Cheetah (although what’s up with this big cat name?), sock monkeys, Saturday Night Live's Dieter's monkey (just don't touch it) and Marcel, Ross’s capuchin buddy from Friends.

And who hasn’t had more fun than a barrel of monkeys after an evening of monkeyshines?

A quick search of Amazon for books mentioning monkey, which didn’t even catch Curious George since there’s no reference to his species in the title, got me 3,216 hits. The books range from "Monkey Business: Swinging Through the Wall Street Jungle," a look at an investment bank associate's daily routine, (mmmm, fun); to "Monkey Town," a fictional account of first love with the Scopes trial as backdrop (I’m not even going there!); to "Love Monkey," the lad-lit book that’s the basis of the new CBS show of the same name, although the book’s tabloid paper setting is now a record company, making it so much easier to fit up-and-coming performers and already-star singers into cameo roles.

Widen the search to all of Amazon's products, and you'll get 8,992 items in categories such as health and personal care (?), jewelry, apparel, beauty (again, ?) automotive and electronics, not to mention the expected areas of toys, music and movies.

Article Author: Kay Bell

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