Farewell to Arms

I gave up TV a few years ago for the greener pastures of the Internet, so far its been a life changing experience. I’m no longer running home to watch my favorite shows or channel surfing to fall asleep. By giving-up the idea of ‘current’ in my normal diet of procedural dramas and late night punditry, the internet is a bottomless well of on-demand content. But, once and awhile I get to sit in front of a real TV signal, live people and all. Of the few times that’s happened, I realized how obvious it was that you’re really watching commercials with story interruptions. I also noticed major trends in thematic programming (vampires, sci-fi, 80s TV) and commercials, but one thing stood out in particular.

Maybe by chance, but I had watched a group of unrelated commercials all using one prop in particular – the robotic arm. From cell phones, credit cards and bicycles to TVs, cars and deodorant. The robotic appendage had replaced the hand model and the SAG actor all together. Of all the products depending on such robotic presentation, only the automobile seemed the appropriate salesman. Robots have been a fascination on TV since the first black and white programs, but just the robotic armature is something new. What could a robotic arm possibly communicate better then a doe-eyed model? When did we decide that an animated robotic arm was an appropriate prop for soap?

Could this be a trend spawned by male techno-lust and Bjork? Or could this be a sign of things to come. In an increasingly technical world, have consumers outgrown the need for human representation in exchange for robotic mannequins? Ironically, I hope we don’t forget that our appetite for such electronics are not assembled by mechanical hands, but Chinese ones.

Below are a few videos as evidence of our fascination with the robotic arm. Special note goes out to the Chevy Malibu for replacing human parents with the efficient metal variety. I’ve also included a commercial using robotic legs, for shoes obviously, and at the bottom is a reminder of how car commercials use to be made.