For Real, Yo

Scott Hardie | February 21, 2003
It's been a joke for a little while now that "extreme" has become so overused (and subverted by poser advertising execs) that it has actually come to mean the opposite of its vernacular meaning. I hereby submit that "real" (and alternately, "keeping it real") has also crossed that line. From the beef industry's hilarious web site for girls (thanks defective yeti) to those ubiquitous Coke commercials with the Arquettes and other celebs, the word "real" when used in advertising seems to mean the exact opposite of its normal meaning, and it's just getting more ludicrous. Do something for me please, those of you who watch a lot of television? Count how many commercials use that word within a set time frame and get back to me? I only watch Survivor, but in tonight's one-hour episode I counted three uses.

Anna Gregoline | February 25, 2003
This terrified me. BEEF! PINK! FOR GIRLS!