This one is mainly for all the Boston-area readers.
Perhaps you know that Jordan’s Furniture has one of its mega-stores right on Route 128 in Reading. If you’re not from here, Jordan’s isn’t just a place to buy furniture, but they also have movie theaters—in this case, IMAX; a restaurant; an ice cream stand; and more. They turn furniture shopping into a family outing. They’re also the 800-pound gorilla of furniture in this area.
But the 750-pound gorilla, if you will, is Bernie & Phyl’s, a local company whose ads feature the very nasally and gravelly voices of the married couple who founded the stores, the eponymous Bernie and Phyl.
Well, right beside the highway in front of the Jordan’s in Reading is a fancy billboard, the kind that flips to show about four or five different ads. And this morning what do I see as one of those ads in front of Jordan’s?
An ad for Bernie & Phyl’s that simply says, “We’re the alternative.”
Who knew that buying a sofa would be so cutthroat?
P.S. I’m eternally grateful that at least Dean’s discount furniture is no more so that I no longer have to hear his deeply annoying ad tag line: “I dooooubt it.” (Imagine a thick Boston accent with the emphasis on the vowel. Brrrr.)
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What about Bob’s?
Bob? Yeeesh! He’s still trying to come up with his own catchphrase (I think he even used “I doubt it!) once or twice, but I didn’t mind him too much. But who’s the woman in his ads? His wife? His mistress? His secretary? Random eye candy? The public needs to know!
PS – Here in Haverhill, we have Newman’s Furniture. Truly awful merchandise, but the occasional gem. But Norman Newman has used the same logo for years – his floating head, in a B&W;photo from sometime back in the ‘70s that makes him look like Jim Jones. Weird.
I’m pretty sure I saw an article that said she’s some hired spokesmodel/actress and no relation. They need better writers/ad agency, whatever. Certainly better actor. Or maybe they just didn’t want Bob to look bad by comparison.
I thought the bad acting was the point…that’s what makes Bob’s, painfully, unforgettable.
Reminds me of two local commercials from back in Philly.
One was Betson’s Furniture. They’d start with a shot of some unknown location full of people. Then they’d have this bad edit of the location being empty except for one guy who turns to the camera and says, “Where’d everybody go???” And an off-carmera voice would yell, “They’ve gone to BETSON’S!!!…. BETSON’S FURNITURE!!!…”
The other was Krass Brothers Men’s Store, where… “If you didn’t shop at Krass Brother’s Men’s Store… YOU was ROBBED!”
Ever notice, too, that all those local businesses that advertised on those UHF channels at 3 in the morning were always “losing their lease!… everything must go!”
And then the following week they’d “just got their lease back!!!”
*sigh*
Have you seen the new Bernie and Phyl’s ads with their kids? I saw it for the first time last night.
Six words: “Light and Leisure – the purple building!”
Quality, comfort, and price. That’s nice.