Le Parisien…. Better to Read One Than Meet One

The following French TV advertisements (each 30 seconds to 45 seconds long) are for a local Parisien newspaper called: "Le Parisien." In the south, one of the "local" newspapers is called "La Provencal". Anyway, these TV ads poke fun at the local Parisians. My friend Laurie turned me on to them.

I think I have lived in France too long… because though each TV ad made me laugh, shaking my head yes, the caricatures played out in these ads do not bother me as they did twenty odd years ago. The ads poke fun of the Parisian. Though not even a handful of Parisians are like this… Nevertheless, the portrayals do hold recognizable weight.

What is best about these ads, is that the French know how to laugh at themselves…even when it isn't funny. If I might add the ads show mostly Parisian men… sort of like "Male Blond Jokes."

 

 

 

The Parisien and the Men's Room

 

 

 

 

The Parisien as a Tour Guide

 

 

 

The Parisien and the Business Card.

 

 

 

 

The Parisien and the Babysitter

 

 

 

 

The Parisien while Waiting at a Traffic Light

 

 

 

 

 

The Parisien and the Poll Booth

 

 

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My French Husband and my Mother in Law are still cracking up…. they are not Parisiens. The jokes about the Marseillaise are worse, but they are not from Marseille. The jokes about where they are from start with the words Hard Headed and Stubborn.



Comments

26 responses to “Le Parisien…. Better to Read One Than Meet One”

  1. I am laughing so loud! I love the babysitter and the voter, OMG – aah, reminds me of when I was in Paris and the commercials were so self explanatory.
    Merci, Corey, I need that laugh.

  2. Oh Corey, these are priceless! I loved the one with the baby… and the last one – oh my… I just spent a 1/2 week with a true Parisian man, while attending a seminar in Boston. A sworn bachelor at 60, but charming, and definitely a ladies man, we had breakfast together every morning! Nothing like the stereotypes above, but definitely very Parisian!!!
    Thank you for the hint about videos. I’ll give it a go, although I have nothing worth posting yet…
    Love and kisses,
    Ulla

  3. Brenda L. from TN.

    LOL! how funny! the babysitter is the best! although the Voting Poll is true of most ALL men!
    Thanks for the LOL!!

  4. The voter and the tour guide. Thank you for the giggles.

  5. LOL. Recently I saw a movie Rien à déclarer which, apart from making fun of xenophobia, was also full of jokes about the French and the Belgians. I am glad to be able to see more of European humour in movies and TV ads since I moved back. I do love English humour and some good American comedies or ads (notably a recent ad with the Old Spice guy), but it’s nice to get a few European jokes now and then.

  6. What a HOOT! Thank you, thank you, thank you! A perfect start to my day.

  7. …..♥…..

  8. Merisi in Vienna

    *giggles*

  9. just goes to show that people are the
    same the world over….here these
    start with ‘have you heard the one
    about the ‘aggie’
    ‘the NoDak’
    ‘the Okie’
    etc.etc.etc……..!!!!
    missy from the bayou 🙂

  10. Joanne Tuchman

    The perfect way to start my day!!! Laughing is the best medicine even when you don’t need medicine. Thank you for so often making me smile first thing in the morning.

  11. A friend of mine while looking around a little Paris antique shop (emphasis on the word little) had to practically stick her head inside a dresser while the male owner was talking to her because he ripped the loudest fart and never said excuse me, just kept right on talking about the dresser like nothing happened !

  12. I am laughing! So funny!

  13. Laurie in San Francisco

    The Sweet Life in Paris-David Lebovitz
    If you’re at a red light and don’t floor it the nanosecond after the light changes to green, an explosion of horns.
    Dog doo doo in the streets.
    A hurried Parisian standing behind you in line. They’re desperate to be where they rightfully feel they belong: in front of you. Hence the rampant line cutting in Paris.
    A great read on how one falls in love with-and even understands-one glorious, maddening city!!

  14. Your blog is a learning world, everything is included.

  15. Having lived in Paris as a student, these were LOL funny. Merci!

  16. All very funny. My favorite was the Eiffel Tower one with the Japonais. So typically Parisien.

  17. What a laugh! All of them.
    Trouble starts when we all take ourselves too seriously.

  18. Hihihihi as Astérix would say…merci, Corey. Though I’d translate the tag line at the end (“Le Parisien…il vaut mieux l’avoir en journal”) as “The Parisian…Better as a Paper than in Person.”

  19. Brenda, Walker, LA, USA

    Ha! You last statement about “Hardheaded” was the funniest~!

  20. ellen cassilly

    Funny especially the card on the windshield.
    E

  21. Very funny!

  22. So, the incident at the traffic light is really universal – isn’t it?
    Laughed out loud. Thanks.

  23. Thank you for the laughs. They were all hilarious.

  24. Rebecca from the pacific northwest

    wonderful. thanks.

  25. I just read this now…I am laughing..thanks Corey!

  26. Jean(ne) P in MN

    Hilarious!

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