Verizon recently aired a new commercial set during a robbery. Maybe you’ve seen it. If you did, you may remember it more as a Slim Jim commercial. I did.

The ad begins with a common convenience store robbery. But then, an everyday Joe solicits the help of an uncommonly attractive woman to string together a rope made of Slim Jims.

“On my count,” he tells the doe-eyed woman with Rambo fueled confidence. Or is it Slim Jim fueled confidence? I’m not really sure.

The man then marches towards the bad guy and saves the day by…strangling the would-be-robber with the Slim Jim rope? We don’t know exactly what happens because the commercial abruptly cuts to a bar scene and blah, blah, blah. At least that’s what I heard at that point.

On about the fourth or fifth viewing, I finally paid attention to the loosely connected bar scene and message. The cable goes out in the bar right at a crucial moment during the big game, which never actually happens – unless you are watching the World Cup final on WENY news and miss the end of the game due to a weather report. But barring that, it’s pretty rare.

The hero of our story then whips out a tablet with the game playing on it in crystal clear picture with zero latency which I also really doubt.

The problem is that the bar scene feels so typical that it’s easy to tune it out. Further, Slim Jim is so prominently featured several times in the ad (e.g. next to the eye candy) that you would associate it with a Slim Jim commercial.

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Also, the use of this imaginary metaphor is also kind of odd. Apparently, the Slim Jim filled fantasy of saving the doe-eyed beauty in an act of meaty bravery was just that, a fantasy. So is saving the day with a Verizon Wireless device also just a fantasy?

Either way, I hope that ConAgra Foods, maker of Slim Jim, paid Verizon lots of money or at least thanked them for making a memorable Slim Jim commercial.

Agency: McGarry Bowen