Back in 1991, folks didn't have the internet to generate bullshit, nor could they use it to call out some corporation on said bullshit. Back then, you could get away with a four-and-a-half minute mini-infomercial to tout something like Sizzler and what they considered a dynamic new dining concept that they felt was exactly what not-completely-out-of-control-fat-assed-yet America needed.
With slogans like "Sizzler is the choice every day" (which sort of implies a lack of choices, doesn't it?), a "We Are The World"-esque soundtrack (good luck not singing it in your head when it's over), images of food such as "fresh fish" that appears to be stuffed with the insides of old golf balls and populated by people who look like they sprung to life after a folder full of stock photos had chemicals spilled on it and then was struck by lightning, this is truly an epic achievement in the field of complete and utter failure. Because the one we had in Tampa has looked like this for well over ten years now:
 |
| "It's unique! It's bold!" It's closed and has long since been turned into a Chinese buffet! |
Here are some screencaps with even more snarky commentary...
Lots of girls play baseball now. In 1991, I guess it must have been harder to find one who actually knew how to grip a bat.
Why do I have a feeling that this jog finishes up here?
Sadly, this tender moment came to a sudden and tragic end when real sailors (the ones with Navy regulation haircuts) came over from that ship and beat the living daylights out of this guy.
The only thing that lesbians in hard hats enjoy more than reviewing blueprints is eating at Sizzler! ("Sizzler" may be a euphemism, if that helps you enjoy this joke more).
The phone! Look at the phone! Look at it!
Oh hi, black people! Huh? No, we didn't almost forget to include you.
The last of the hot, big-haired girls of the '80s were rounded up and put in storage by Sizzler for the purpose of making this commercial.
Some of the last of the hot, big haired girls of the '80s were a little psychotic by then.
I was going to make a comment about 1991 Sizzler excluding gay men but they got one. Way to go. Very progressive of you, 1991 Sizzler. Of course he's a waiter.
Jesus, last of the hot, big haired girls of the '80s! Get a room within a room!
Go, go, go with a smile!
If you weren't hungry before, this image of an old lady shaking off sweat in slow motion like a freshly-bathed Golden Retriever should do it for you.
"See those trees over there? Yeah, we'll just chop those right the fuck down and we'll have enough room to build forty or fifty Sizzlers easy."
Notice, of course, that the black folks weren't shown IN the restaurant.
ReplyDeleteI think we're supposed to assume they're in there: in the back of the kitchen with the Hispanics.
ReplyDeleteI feel like they had a hat budget for this production.
ReplyDeleteWhen I moved to America (in 1991, as it happens) this was, along with commercials for Little Caesars ( pizza pizza!) and Coke (whenever there's a beat there's always a drum!), one of the most ubiquitous. I actually ate at a Sizzler a time or two. And survived to tell the tale.
ReplyDelete