Are there any commercials with sign language?

Question: Are there any commercials with sign language?

Answer: Yes, there have been several commercials with sign language.

Perhaps the most-talked about one is the one that aired for the Super Bowl in 2008, a Pepsi commercial featuring actual deaf Pepsi employees, "Bob's House." This commercial showcased a deaf joke. In this joke, two deaf people found where another deaf person lived by blowing the horn as they drove down the street in the dark. Even before the Super Bowl was actually played, this commercial was heavily blogged in the deaf community and reported on in the media.

One of the first was McDonald's "Silent Persuasion" commercial that aired in 1986. In 1990, there was a Citibank advertisement with sign language, and in 1993, a Kellogg's Corn Flakes commercial.

Other known commercials that have used sign language include the following:

• MTV - "'Blame"
• Yahoo - "Snaps"
• Kodak - "Sign Language"
• Earthlink - "Sign Language"

In addition, an About.com visitor wrote that she had seen a signed shampoo commercial in Hong Kong, that featured a deaf supermodel. Plus, an About.com visitor said that in Norway there was a signed commercial for a newspaper that featured a deaf and hearing couple having an argument over breakfast.

Another About.com visitor wrote in May 2006, "I saw an Aleve (pain-reliever) commercial on TV during American Inventor (ABC) last Thursday. A sign language interpreter was endorsing the Aleve for her hand /wrist pain. She signed during the entire commercial while talking. She said her name was Andrea Heisler."

Searches of community video sites like YouTube can locate commercials with sign language. At the time YouTube was searched, these commercials were found:

• A Thailand commercial for a toothpaste. Captioned.
• A Marlee Matlin Macintosh commercial
• A memorable Bell Atlantic 911 commercial featuring signing young children

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