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| | ==Explanation== | | ==Explanation== |
| − | {{w|Kix (cereal)|Kix}} is an American brand of cold breakfast cereal made of extruded and expanded cornmeal. Its slogan, "Kid tested, Mother approved," is well known in the United States. However, in this brainstorming session, the word "Approved" has apparently not yet been considered. A number of possible words and phrases for the ending have been presented and {{w|Strikethrough|stricken out}}, indicating that they were rejected; each one causes the slogan to be subject to increasingly absurd and comedic interpretations: | + | {{incomplete|Whiteboard wording needs to be addressed, including the rhyming/plays on themes/elephant at the end of the list...}} |
| | + | {{w|Kix (cereal)|Kix}} is a children's breakfast cereal. Its slogan is "Kid tested, mother approved". This implies that the cereal has been tested by kids (i.e. kids like eating it), and it is good enough for a mother to approve for her children to eat. |
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| − | #'''Selected''': This word may have been chosen as a {{w|slant rhyme}} of "Tested". This word shares a definition with "Approved", and states that mothers specifically choose this cereal over others. This phrase could also suggest that one mother ''herself'' had been chosen for some unstated purpose.
| + | The comic shows the possible brainstorming session of the company employees as they decide on the completing the slogan. Several words (ranging from the not-so-appealing to the downright {{w|Not safe for work|NSFW}}) have already been deemed inappropriate for the slogan, which is evident from the fact that they are {{w|Strikethrough|stricken out}}. Many of these use an alternate reading of "Kid tested", meaning that the ''kid'' was tested, not the cereal (to avoid such ambiguity, the authors of the actual slogan should have used dash between the words, i.e. "kid-tested", which was not done). |
| − | #'''Perfected''': It's likely that the previous word inspired someone in the brainstorming session to find a similarly positive word that rhymes with "Selected". It states that one or more mothers were directly involved in developing and refining the cereal's composition to a high degree. Much like with "Selected", this could also suggest that the mother was somehow improved to perfection during the test.
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| − | #'''Not Notified''': Relates to the world of experimental research and clinical trials. This phrase suggests that the children who tested the cereal did not obtain the required consent, which would generally involve notifying and getting permission from both parents.
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| − | #'''Watching Helplessly''': Again we can see that in a brainstorming session such the previous option may trigger this one as it is related to the dangers of testing. This phrase suggests that mothers were forced to watch their children test the cereal, and that the cereal or the test is unhealthy or dangerous.
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| − | #'''Infected''': This may be intended to show the group dynamic of the brainstorming session as it is inspired by option one and two, as infected rhymes with both selected and perfected, and by the third option as both relate to dangerous testing. This slogan states that an infectious agent was passed to the mother as a result of the test. This could also be interpreted as the mother having introduced the infectious agent into the cereal or testing environment.
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| − | # '''Consumed''': Continuing the trend of dark slogans this slogan says that the mothers were ''themselves'' consumed, perhaps by their children (by virtue of the mother being an ingredient in the cereal), the cereal itself, or something otherwise related to the test. Another possible interpretation is that the mother ate the cereal after the kid tested it, possibly because the kid did not enjoy the taste.
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| − | #'''Fucker''': This expletive is often paired with "Mother" to form the compound word "Motherfucker". In this case, the slogan changes to {{w|vocative case}}: "[This cereal has been] Kid Tested, Motherfucker!". This appears to be an "elephant" - a ponderous ending of a joke that contrasts sharply with the refined and mild humor of the previous options. The phrase itself basically only states that a child tested the cereal and implies that nothing else matters. Using a swear word on packaging of a food designed for kids is usually not a good idea. {{Citation needed}}
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| − | The title text conflates the phrase "Kid tested" with college entrance exams such as the {{w|Standardized Aptitude Test}} (SAT) or the {{w|ACT (test)|ACT}}. Instead of stating that a child tasted the cereal and gave their opinion on its quality, the cereal itself is an academic subject on which the child was tested. Randall, referring to how some parents enroll their children in special {{w|Test prep|classes or schools}} to prepare them to score well in this type of test, states that his parents extensively prepared him for a college entrance exam about Kix cereal. | + | The title text indicates that Randall's parents thoroughly prepared him before eating the cereal (testing it), while also playing on the "Kid tested" portion of the slogan by suggesting the test was quite serious. |
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| − | This comic may be a commentary about the uselessness of brainstorming sessions or the bad ideas that come out of them, as they are often started with the phrase “there are no bad ideas”. As the brainstorming session continues the original meaning of the slogan is lost, much like a game of telephone, and the session becomes less productive.
| + | Many parents send their children to {{w|test prep}} schools to improve their scores on college {{w|entrance examination}}s such as the {{w|SAT (test)|SAT}} and {{w|ACT (test)|ACT}}. |
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| − | Cereal advertising has previously been referenced in [[38: Apple Jacks]].
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| | ==Transcript== | | ==Transcript== |
| − | :[Ponytail, Megan, and Cueball are standing around a whiteboard on an easel; Ponytail and Cueball are holding red markers. The whiteboard reads:] | + | :[Ponytail, Megan, and Cueball are standing around a whiteboard. The whiteboard on easel reads:] |
| − | :[in Large] '''Kix''' | + | :'''Kix''' |
| − | :[Underlined] <u>Slogan ideas</u> | + | :<u>Slogan Ideas</u> |
| − | :Kid Tested, Mother... | + | :''Kid Tested, Mother...'' |
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| − | [following lines all in red and each crossed out]
| + | :<strike>Selected</strike> |
| − | :<font color="red"><s>Selected</s></font> | + | :<strike>Perfected</strike> |
| − | :<font color="red"><s>Perfected</s></font> | + | :<strike>Not Notified</strike> |
| − | :<font color="red"><s>Not notified</s></font> | + | :<strike>Watching Helplessly</strike> |
| − | :<font color="red"><s>Watching helplessly</s></font> | + | :<strike>Infected</strike> |
| − | :<font color="red"><s>Infected</s></font> | + | :<strike>Consumed</strike> |
| − | :<font color="red"><s>Consumed</s></font> | + | :<strike>Fucker</strike> |
| − | :<font color="red"><s>Fucker</s></font> | |
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| | {{comic discussion}} | | {{comic discussion}} |
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| − | [[Category:Comics with color]]
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| | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] |
| | [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | | [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] |
| | [[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]] | | [[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]] |
| − | [[Category:Food]] | + | [[Category:Comics with color]] |
| − | [[Category:Kids]]
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