Ving Rames and Vanessa Williams...for Radio Shack?

[Admin]

Fam, have yall seen those BLACK Radio Shack commercials with Ving Rames and Vanessa?

Man, I don't know about yall, but I am not feeling Vanessa in thos commericals at ALL. Ving is my boy and he comes across much cooler than old girl, but she needs to be replaced and fast.

I get a negative vibe from her when I see those. Q: Am I the only one? How do you feel?

Holla
:cool:

[14KBlaqWmn]

I think you may be taking those commercials waaayyyyy too seriously. LOL

[Admin]

I am, but then you know my steez, you know how I get down, I always take shyt too seriously. Thats either my downfall or the shyt that holds me together...kinda like glue.

Holla
:king

[SoftNwet]

Ving and Vanessa do not even seem to be vibing and there is no spark. At least Terri Hatcher and Howie Long act like they like each other!!!!!!:rolleyes:

[Vronni]

I would agree that there isn't alot of chemistry there

[djackso]

Admin, Have you lost your mind? I would watch Vanessa Williams take out the garbage, nigga! Pretty Eyes! Long Legs! Aging like fine wine! Who would you have? Vivicia Fox. ( Yeah, I swinging) Just joking. Radio Shack is low budget & needs a face that's all.

[Andre98]

Vanessa, for me has always been on my "Sh** don't stink" list. But I think I am feeling what Admin is saying also. Only saw two Rhames/Williams commercials so far, and I know when Howie Long and Terri Hatcher started their series, it would not compute for me, why two married people, that is, married to others, are hanging out so much. They are using their celebrity status "as is", not in a character role, yet they are in a setting that begs to be explained further, forget the cheap electronics. At least with those commercials that have different celebrities acting as though they are a family sitting down to dinner, they go to a hilarious extreme to suspend reality, and as a result, are damn funny! At least I think so. I laugh every time I see those!

With the Radio Shack commercials, they are attempting to create the subtle, playful sexual tension thing, yet trying to stay innocent about it. All I could think was how Howie would break Terri's bony ass in two in the sack. It took a few of them to have you stop trying to connect the dots and for 30 seconds, just let them be. So now they want to dip in the diversity pot. Fine, bring it. This pairing is as peculiar in it's chemistry as Hatcher/Long were. If that generates buzz, then the high paid ad executives that spend millions thinking it up have done their over paid jobs right.

(I probably should end this post here, but then that wouldn't be me.)

I sometimes wonder if I am just being too hard on my people as part of the conditioning by a society that tends to scoff at images of black folks in middle and upper class scenarios, especially those lacking immediate association with white folks. Hang with me as I go to the left field wall with this one. Again. "They", had their "fling" with the middle class Black image in the 80s with the Cosby show, which the subsequent imitators proved only Cosby himself could pull off. But, in no small part due to the mega media event that was O.J., "they" had their fill of considering the soul brother as an equal, and went back to preferring their darkmeat athletically or comedically entertaining, shaking their heads like the woman that had to throw out her boyfriend, wondering how they let themselves fall into a relationship like that in the first place.

I am glad they picked my man Ving. I am all for the brother doing more cerebral stuff, since he was brought up in the big bruising field hand mold. I think Vanessa struggles with that "ice princess" impression.... which I think is actually an unfortunate by-product of how well she has both played her roles in movies like "Soul Food" , and in how well she has stood up in real life under the tremendous pressure of her career beginnings. It's also the fair skinned woman's stereotype, and we tend to be harder on her from within the culture. Ironic, because we also were the unwavering segment of the public that she credits for pulling her through her most trying times. I need to give this Rhames/Williams scenario time. I think it's something you should take personally, or seriously in a way, because little by little, every image on the boob tube shapes the way we are perceived and treated down the line. Commercial advertisements have always created some of the lasting images of popular culture. We need to chalk up tons more of the positive ones.