AiAA: Boys & Girls Clubs of America

I watch a LOT of baseball.

In fact, you guys might not know this, but last summer I watched the local broadcasts of a few Major League teams and wrote abbreviated reviews of each one. My favorite part of the series was the chance to scrutinize the regional commercials. And, by "scrutinize" I mean "add Jimmy John's, White Castle and Steak n' Shake to my list of 'must-do fast food' before I die".

The below spot is actually a national ad from The Boys & Girls Clubs of America. It earns its "Adventures in Awful Advertising (AiAA)" tag by being Mrs. Bootleg's least favorite commercial of all time.



In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that I'm the one with the bachelor's degree in marketing (San Diego State, 1997). Advertising is what I did! Uh, 12 years ago. On the other hand, my wife's got a degree in criminal justice with an MBA in finance. Hardly the kind of background you'd want for reviewing 30-second YouTube clips.

This ad drives Mrs. Bootleg up the wall because of the young child cast alongside erstwhile Oakland A's pitcher Dan Haren. Y'see, Black women – regardless of age – have a bond like no other. They're also the most narcissistic species on the planet. If you don't believe me, then I assume you missed this week's broadcast of the NBA draft which featured dozens of 33-year-old mothers – freshly permed, weaved or wigged – anticipating their ten seconds of TV time immediately after their sons were selected.

I will call my wife downstairs when this ad airs if she's not around. She can seemingly find something new to hate about it every time.

"Haren's got more make-up on than she does!"

"They couldn't do NOTHING with her hair?!"

"If I was her mom, I'd have told them to make my baby look good!"

"No one brought a brush to the set? No one?!"


This one's for you, Mrs. Bootleg.