So we were riding up to the Catskills for the family ski trip, with the car

radio tuned to some New York area news station. An ad came on for one of

those companies that wants you to switch from oil central heating to natural

gas. After a fairly routine pitch, the ad told listeners that if they

wanted to sign up, they should call 1-877-IVE-GOT-GAS. Say what? Then

there was a little jingle, with a pleasant-voiced woman singling about the

delights of natural gas, ending up with a melodious rendering of

“1-800-IVE-GOT-GAS.” My kids, in the back seat of the car, were in

stitches. I thought it was a spoof, like those fake ads they do on Saturday

Night Live. No, it was real: I called 1-800-IVE-GOT-GAS and someone tried

to sell me a conversion to household natural gas.

Reminds me of a fiasco in the British advertising industry some years ago.

One of the big frozen-foods companies decided on a new marketing strategy

for frozen fish. They came up with a package they decided to call COD

PIECES….