The Onslaught of ABBA

At least out here in L.A., it's impossible to go a half hour watching TV – maybe even 10 minutes – without seeing another goddam Mamma Mia! ad. The counter-programming against The Dark Knight ain't a bad idea, but if this movie fails, it won't because of an anemic ad campaign. Everyone who would want to see this film and watches TV knows it exists at this point. (Plus, they know it must be exciting – it has an exclamation mark right there in the title!) Sure, everyone who wasn’t planning to see it thoroughly hates it at this point, but can that really outweigh the overall draw of repackaged 70s (and early 80s) pop from Scandinavia? True, it may be no ABBA: The Movie (which, holy crap, was directed by Lasse Hallström), but you can't have it all!

Hey, to each their own, Meryl Streep seems to be having fun, and romantic comedies with weddings tend to do well. Still, I'll be very happy when the ads slow down and happier still when they disappear altogether. It's probably worse because there are also so many billboards out here, and this one is right on my block:


Look at that. That's goofy, glowing happy. Still, that can't hold a bronzed, blonde candle to the theatrical billboard that used to be everywhere:


Honestly, have you seen ever a woman in an ad that deliriously happy outside of a tampon commercial? You know what I mean:



I mean, that's practically reaching douche levels of happiness.

In any case, best of luck to Mamma Mia - I mean, Mamma Mia! And also to that film with the guy who dresses up like a bat.

(Cross-posted at The Blue Herald)