The Prompt
Do a Fanfiction of your favorite or least favorite TV commercial
Brenda Rech
Brenda is happily married with two beautiful daughters, three dogs, two cats and a bird named Amy Farrah Fowler. Her flower gardens are forever at the beginner’s stages as she would rather hike with her husband and dogs or explore her writing. Her favorite breakfast is crispy bacon and strawberry jam on white toast. She is currently working on her first novel and has a monthly newsletter ‘Thru the Window’
Join the discussion: what will you do with today’s prompt OR how did it go? Need support? Post here!
I really thought I would have to pass by today’s prompt, but I finally was able to do it. I wrote a story (or a new commercial) about Mr. Clean. A 1950s mother brings him to her home to clean the foul mouth of her teenage son. About 700 words, and I struggled for every last one of them! Third person, present tense.
Never tried my hand at fan fiction before so this was a treat.
I wrote an abbreviated script for The Office around Michael’s Scott’s notion of a staff party to celebrate diversity as a company mission, focusing on Oscar and the Latin community. Naturally, Michael comes to the party dressed as Carmen Miranda (no one else is in costume), Phyllis has made her Holy Cannoli Guacamole, and there’s a pinata with Dwight’s face on the side and Oscar’s selling tickets for the honour of first swing.
Great fun!
I was not familiar with Fanfiction, so this was my first try. I used Mikey from the Quaker Oats Life Commercials. Mikey and his two brothers are adults and still living at home. It’s not about cereal this time, but their mother’s new recipe. Everyone knows she’s not the best cook. After trying it, Mikey says, “Everybody was right. I do hate everything.”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was going to write to this prompt. But then I found a commercial that inspired me and had a blast writing a flash piece – “A Day in the Life of the Most Interesting Man in the World”. Thanks for the fun, Brenda!
I’ll be honest – wasn’t sure I wanted to do this one. But then I found a commercial to focus on and ended up with a nifty pice of flash, “A Day in the Life of the Most Interesting Man in the World”. I had a ball writing it! Thanks for the prompt, Brenda! 😁👍🏻
I wrote a piece echoing some of the Voltaren commercial where a woman who had hurt herself and lumbers down the staircase ends up going for another run with her husband. Mine is a grandma who cheered on her grandson’s baseball team all the way to the finals but she suffers from laryngytis, her boss calls telling her that an important boardroom presentation has been moved up. She imagines her coworkers presenting her work, but as she knows about the importance of timbre, phrasing and pausing, she will have none of it. She reaches for one tablet of long lasting Ultravox in her medicine cabinet and leaves the house singing an aria. She strides into the boardroom and her presentation earns much applause as well as praise from her boss.
The difficulty for me was to present the relief provided by an over the counter medication while a corticosteroid normally needs a doctor’s prescription. That is where make-belief comes in… Will a viewer of the add reach for Ultravox?
Great prompt! I didn’t have to think too long before I recalled a series of commercials shown every Christmas. Here’s the link to my story, “The rising cost of love.”
https://www.jimthewriter.net/the-rising-cost-of-love/
“Let It Be”
The Serial “Bade Achchhe Lagte Hain” was going on TV. Priya, the protagonist was looking as serene as ever under the shower at the request of her husband, Ram Kapur. She let the water splash over her face with her hands, shaking the water off it a while later to throw some at her handsome, bearded husband. Priya was stepping out of it when she was pulled from behind by Ram Kapur, who, full of love and longing, eased his chin onto her shoulder.
And a hot romantic scene was unfolding.
Sitting on bed, Shubham, a man in his late thirties, had his eyes transfixed on Priya. She was a hauntingly beautiful lady and the chemistry between her and Ram Kapur was beginning to capture the imagination of the whole nation.
“Is tea ready?” He asked, turning to his wife, Gorima.
“Let it simmer for a while and then I’ll bring it. It’ll give you the right taste then. ” She answered, getting up from the chair.
Soon there was a Commercial Break and Gorima ampled across to the kitchen to bring tea for both of them.
Shubham had a sip and put the cup back down on the saucer. When he looked at the TV, Alia Bhat, the nation’s heartthrob, was on the screen coming up the street riding on a scooty. Then finding the traffic police on the way, she broke into that dimpled smile that melted Shubham’s heart the first time he had watched the movie “Ashiqui 2” featuring her and continued to do so even now. The movie, by the way, brought her instant stardom.
Alia, glowing and cute as ever, removed her helmet and produced a lollypop from somewhere. The traffic police wasn’t impressed with her act for travelling insuranceless. Right then a popular score started playing on the the background :
Jane do na,
Pass aao na… (Please let go./No, no, Come closer instead.)
Next moment, the pleading look in Alia’s eyes had him transferred Shubham into a world of sunshine, love and laughter…….
Inspector Shubham, with his thick moustache, dressed in khaki and wearing a black cap, proceeded towards the rider on the scooter, shaking his head all along. He had a gut feeling that she was driving without the license and didn’t have her car insured. She was to be served a ticket in case she failed to produce the certificates.
As he stepped up, Alia brought up and stretched out her hand with the second, red hot,
mouth-watering lollypop to him. She was obviously trying to bribe him into letting her go free.
Inspector Shubham moved towards the scooter and bent his face closer to hers. It was as if the lyrics of the song were being enacted.
“Your scooter isn’t insured, is it? ” Inspector Shubham asked her. Finding her a bit scared, he showed her how by using PhonePe one can purchase a paperless, Byke Insurance instantaneously at ₹1.5/- per day.
“Thanks for the help,”A much relieved Alia said. ” Would you like a ride on my scooty? That’s the least I can do to express my gratitude.” She, like the temptress that she was, asked him innocently. For him that offer was a pure god-send. Alia, in the meantime, having put her helmet back on and pressed the brake with her left foot.
Inspector Shubham swang his left leg over the back seat and held her as a support with his hands from behind.
As the scooter sped past the market place, Inspector Shubham, felt like being transported to a dreamland. There he was floating in the sky with Alia dressed in a white grown, a baguette of red roses in her hand, beckoning him to get closer.
With that bel flower garland loosely tied around her plaited hair arranged in a bun at the back, she looked out of the world. Inspector Shubham found her standing behind those unshapely, cotton clouds, beaming and singing with her hands wide open:
Pass aao na… (Come closer).
Come closer, My Heart, what’re you waiting for?
“Shubho,” (His wife called him by that name endearingly) the familiar sound of Gorima brought him out of the trance like state, “The serial is over as “Kamana”, the next one, is about to start. You want to watch it or shall I switch it off? And dinner is ready, for your info. Shall I set the table?”
“No, come closer.”
“What?” Gorima blushed.
“No, let it be. I’m hungry.” He mumbled. The world of Alia dressed as a bride finally receding from his eyes.
The End
P. S : This story was based on the two-wheeler Insurance launched by PhonePe, a digital payments company.
I like how you incorporated the commercial and the actor’s hit into the day to day life of Inspector Shubhan. The push/pull ending was priceless!
Thanks for your kind words, Astrid. .
I am sorry about the spelling mistakes though.
Stay blessed. Best wishes.
Writing to your own prompt is quite difficult. I ended up writing about the Doublemint Twins and the jealousy that ensued between them. There was the girl twins and the boy twins. It needs a lot of fleshing out but there is an idea in there somewhere.
Today’s story is more of a slap at all the political commercials that have been on. And especially each of them accusing another of supporting trans people(*gasp* the ~horror~ *insert eye roll here*). So they’re all in one room being forced to watch a video of accounts from trans/non-binary people(all characters of mine) of how those opinions cause actual harm to them. I’ll just share the one part:
“What kind of nonsense is this?”
“I said no opinions,” Keane said and the politician’s mouth sealed itself closed. Sometimes having some of his father’s powers did come in handy.
And now I’m thinking I need to get back to Keane’s story(Loving the Devil).
Love this Fallon!
Good for you, Fallon! Hope I get to read the whole story one day.