AND THE WORST AWARD GOES TO…
It’s that time of year again. Movie and TV people are birthing their large litter of self-congratulatory award ceremonies. There’s the Hollywood Film Festival Awards, the Critics Choice Awards, the Emmys, the People’s Choice Awards, the SAG Awards, the Golden Globes and the Oscars to name a few.
So, we’re going to give some awards, too. All Lame Spin, of course, but the winners are in similar categories to the Hollywood variety only for the worst rather than the best. And we’re sticking to commercials with a single topic, Obamacare. All of the entries feature Obamacare and/or its state versions and, incredibly, all are intended to get viewers to actually sign up.
Our winning entries are from three states, California, Colorado and Oregon, and one national ad. The categories are booze and sex, altered state of consciousness, worst musical adaptation and just plain freaky. And there’s a big overall winner. We’ll save that worst for last.
The State of California wins in the worst musical adaptation category for its “Drop It Like It’s Hot” video. The clip features an Obama impersonator rapping out support for Covered California in a parody of Snoop Dogg’s hip-hop hit. We just have to ask, what were they thinking?
Oregon claims the worst prize in the altered state of consciousness category. The winning entry is a bizarre animated video showing a flying menagerie of very odd people and animals whose states are anything but unaltered. The film looks like someone’s super bad trip. It’s enough to push viewers straight into rehab, which, of course, will drive the cost of health insurance even higher.
Colorado is without peer in the booze and sex category. In fact, there are so many worst contenders from the Rocky Mountain State that the award goes to a group of them. There’s the Broinsurance ad featuring three drunks with a keg, theleering woman holding a birth control pill dispenser and eyeballing a cutie standing next to her and several others. You have to adore these ads that encourage drinking and free love the frequent outcomes of which hike your healthcare costs.
The worst of the lot was a tough pick. It came down to a choice between the 6-hour Covered California infomercial featuring Richard Simmons and Pajama Boy from last fall. The Simmons embarrassment came out on the bottom bringing home the overall worst award for the Golden State. The informercial truly defies description – excerpts have to be seen to be believed.
For those among the Twitter set who thoroughly enjoyed deriding Pajama Boy, not too worry. Sitting cross-legged with his cup of hot cocoa and prim expression, he won bottom honors in the most freaky category. His parents still haven’t come out of hiding.
One observer referred to the Simmons performance as the lowest moment that Obamacare will ever suffer. Not necessarily. Stay tuned next year for another passel of the worst of the worst.