Stuart Elliott: Once Again, It's Time for "20 Questions"

Did President Trump get the idea for his allegations of midterm electoral fraud attacking people who quotput on a different hat put on a different shirt come in and vote againquot from a scene in the 1940 movie The Great McGinty where the title character does just thatSpeaking of Trump getting ideas was his scatalogical mangling of Rep Adam Schiff39s last name inspired by the Pop cable series Schitt39s CreekWhen the Wise Company runs commercials on cable TV for a Black Friday sale just how black and bleak will that Friday have to be for a firm that specializes in supplying emergency and survival foodWas it an act of selfcontrol or just an oversight that the author of the New York Times obituary of the screenwriter William Goldman waited 12 paragraphs before quoting his famous remark about the movie business quotNobody knows anythingquotDid the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences have second thoughts after voters gave the Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special to Glenn Weiss the director of the ABC broadcast of the 90th Academy Awards the lowestrated Oscar show in TV historyAfter all these years isn39t it nice to see the brand character Uncle Ben wearing an opencollared shirt instead of the blue jacket and bow tie that evoke stereotyped imagery of a servantAre the characters in radio commercials for the ATampampT Store promoting deals available only in New York City who say quotTake the Fquot referring to a subway train or being rude in a coded wayAre the tricky creators of a directmail subscription offer for the London Review of Books more proud of the envelope that misleadingly proclaims quotAccount Summary Enclosedquot since it39s an offer there is of course no account or of the dodgy flyer inside that describes the discount price as a quotcredit adjustmentquotDo shoppers who see magazine ads for the new Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse Thin ampamp Crispy brandamp160declaring it39s quota cookie straight from 1937quot make a point to doublecheck the packages for the expiration datesIf a proposed rule to add prices to commercials for prescription drugs is approved will manufacturers have to amend the disclaimers to include side effects such as sticker shock empty wallets and faintingHow many Hispanic customers of the Spectrum division of Charter Communications were freaked out when they received junk mail from the company in envelopes bearing in large letters the words quotOficial Abrir Immediatementequot quotOfficial Open Immediatelyquot and quotInformacon Importante Adjuntaquot quotImportant Information Enclosedquot which turned out to be peddling deals on internet and voice servicesWhy do new TV commercials that celebrate the Crunch candy brand as quotthe chocolate bar all Americans lovequot made with quot100 real chocolatequot not feature actual consumers but instead use as text on screen discloses quotpaid actor endorsementsquot by individuals who quotare fictitiousquotIs the Big G General Mills cereal Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios really just a version of the Big G General Mills cereal Reese39s Puffs reworked into Cheerios formDid the wonderful fullpage pink newspaper ads from the Cadillac division of General Motors that saluted Aretha Franklin on the day of her funeral make up for the absence of any kind of tribute ads from its Chevrolet division when Dinah Shore quotSee the USA in your Chevroletquot diedIf the CocaCola Company invests in drinks infused with cannabis extract wouldn39t it be a perfect opportunity to bring back the 1971 quotHilltopquot Coke commercial with its hippieish peace and love vibesamp160 Hat tip to Henry SpiererHow long will it be before Parade magazine introduces a companion to its popular featureamp160What America Eatsamp160called What America TweetsDoes anyone who buys products from Ripple which sells wholesome dairyfree plantbased foods remember when Ripple meant a sweet cheap flavored wine made by E ampamp J GalloDid the folks who came up with quotThe place to go foodingquot for the Fairway Market grocery chain come from the Midwest where quotLet39s go Krogeringquot for the Kroger grocery chain was a familiar sloganIsn39t the Environmental Defense Fund sending mixed signals by mailing to potential members printed quotcertificates of appreciationquot recognizing them quotfor your action and generous support to fight climate changequotIf a reporter asks Netflix executives if they realized that the title of one of their new series Insatiable is also the title of a classic pornographic movie starring Marilyn Chambers will they reply quotYou ask a lot of questions for someone from BrooklynquotEditor39s Noteamp160 Look for the next Stuart Elliott Report on Wednesday December 5Photo creditamp160 Bruce MarsUnsplashClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Stuart Elliott: Once Again, It's Time for "20 Questions"

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Stuart Elliott

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Stuart Elliott: Once Again, It's Time for "20 Questions"

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