Deal? (wait for it) Or no deal?

I'm finding that I have a weird kind of love/hate relationship with the TV game show Deal or No Deal. One the one hand, the show is really, really bad. On the other, I have repeatedly caught myself grinning from ear to ear as I watched it. It is bad, but it is entertaining.

I am a student of games; I love games of all kinds. However, the game mechanic in Deal or No Deal hardly even qualifies as a game - it basically boils down to "Pick a number." There is no skill involved in the game at all, really. Perhaps intuition, but that is an elusive quality to measure. Some understanding of probability is useful, but not as useful, I suspect, as accurate intuition. :)

The contestants on the show don't usually come across as being particularly smart. They all have that 'I really might win a million dollars' look in their eyes, when in reality the odds are often less favorable than they seem. The contestants are regular folks, sometimes with an emotional angle to their story... this guy's a firefighter, this woman's raising money for Special Olympics... artificial drama is manufactured with long pauses, sound effects, timely commercial breaks, audience participation ... but that's all there is, apart from 'Pick a number.' Deal or No Deal is a good production, but a crappy game show. I give it a year.

More subliminal advertising

If you're creating a game show, apparently what you need to do is name the game something that's a phrase, a phrase you can say repeatedly throughout the show itself. The repeating of the name serves as a kind of advertisement that will go mostly ignored by the conscious mind of many viewers. Note how often they use the spoken phrase "Deal or No Deal" or "The Weakest Link" or "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" on those shows.

Product Placement

Brent mused,

I just watched the episode of NBC's The Office (not BBC's The Office) where Michael is giving out the Dundy awards at the Chili's restaurant. Part of the end credits state that promotional considerstion was furnished by Chili's.

In other words, not only had I been watching The Office, but I had also been watching a Chili's commercial without realizing it. That made me a little angry. I've got nothing against Chili's (except that their restaurants need more kitschy memorabilia attached to surfaces about the place - maybe they could cover the tables with it), but I do worry a little about the proliferation of this sort of subliminal marketing.

I think it would be less offensive to me if advertisers were to use product placement instead of 30-second commercials, but they seem to use it in addition to the already existing ads. Bleh.

Thor Shield

Tired of people incapacitating you with a Taser? Maybe you should buy a suit made of Thor Shield, the new fabric that defends against energy weapons. Once the criminals are all wearing Thor Shield, what will the authorities do? Break out the Odin Gun, I guess, and keep on truckin' toward Ragnarok!

Auctioneers

What is your day missing? I'll bet it's mp3s of Champion Auctioneers. I might pull some of this stuff into GarageBand, it's almost hypnotically rhythmic ... which on some level is intended by those doin' the sellin', I suppose.