complaint from a spelling geek
I just saw a Frosted Mini-Wheats commercial set at a Spelling Bee. The girl at the microphone is asked to spell "aardvark."
She starts out, "A-R..."
Then a little frosted mini-wheat tells her to concentrate. She knows this one. It's the first word in the dictionary.
She takes a breath and begins again, "A-A-R-D-V-A-R-K."
Anyone who has ever even seen a Spelling Bee knows that once the letters leave your lips, there's no taking them back. No matter who comes over and encourages you.
No matter if you've already been to the National Spelling Bee but get too cocky the following year at the silly school-level Bee and, thus, begin to spell the embarrasingly easy word "scribble" by starting with a "c."
No matter. The letters are out.
I can just hear them: Come on, no one will notice we're changing the rules a bit. Or if they do, they won't care.
Frosted Mini-Wheats, I care.
And that kid who passed out, stood up, and spelled "alopecoid" correctly and took 2nd at the National Bee definitely cares.
She starts out, "A-R..."
Then a little frosted mini-wheat tells her to concentrate. She knows this one. It's the first word in the dictionary.
She takes a breath and begins again, "A-A-R-D-V-A-R-K."
Anyone who has ever even seen a Spelling Bee knows that once the letters leave your lips, there's no taking them back. No matter who comes over and encourages you.
No matter if you've already been to the National Spelling Bee but get too cocky the following year at the silly school-level Bee and, thus, begin to spell the embarrasingly easy word "scribble" by starting with a "c."
No matter. The letters are out.
I can just hear them: Come on, no one will notice we're changing the rules a bit. Or if they do, they won't care.
Frosted Mini-Wheats, I care.
And that kid who passed out, stood up, and spelled "alopecoid" correctly and took 2nd at the National Bee definitely cares.
posted by pamela at 11:26 PM
3 Comments:
So starbucks is promoting a new spelling bee documentary on their hottie-holdies... hasn't this been done with "Spellbound?" How is this gonna be different?
That little girl's ears are ENORMOUS.
I'm so with you. You just know that countless elementary-school kids will be whining at their school spelling bee next year: "But that girl in the commercial was allowed to start her word over when she messed up... waaaaaahhhhh..." Brushing it off like it's no big deal doesn't cut it, consider what a big business spelling bees are now. If there was commerical with with a baseball player tagging-up for home before the fly ball is caught and he's called safe, you'd better believe people would up in arms.
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