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Subject:commercials From:Denise Weeks <denise-weeks -at- MAIL -dot- UTEXAS -dot- EDU> Date:Sat, 3 Jun 1995 09:04:41 -0500
Someone mentioned that they thought the boy-sucks-himself-into-Pepsi (or
coke? see how effective ads are?)-bottle ad was grammatically incorrect,
that the little girl said "He done it again" instead of "He's done it
again." Well, I've seen an ad that really perplexes me. It's a toothpaste
commercial. The woman looks into the camera and says "My dad has been my
dentist ever since my first tooth has come in." Thinking about this line,
repeating it like a mantra, I slip into an existential revery. Time and
teeth collide, it all keeps happening. (She's about 30, but maybe she just
got her first tooth?) Maybe I misheard, or maybe I don't understand this
use of the tense. Have others heard this?
While I can't claim to be an excellent grammarian (I have to look up the
rules all the time), I am often attracted (distracted?) by these errors and
oddities. (And I'm sure I made tons of my own mistakes, but hey, I'm not
being paid to write scripts for commercials.)
