Say What?: Commercials That Made Us Scratch Our Heads

[StaceyNotStacie]

There's a JC Penney commercial for Back to School with a bunch of tweens modeling their clothes to the Meghan Trainor sing "Me Too". I like the song, but it doesn't really seem appropriate for selling kids clothing, especially when adults are trying to promote individualism and anti-bullying. 

[GaT]

I was watching this commercial, & had no idea what it was for. Then it got to the end. I can't believe they advertise on TV.

[InDueTime]

11 minutes ago, GaT said:

I was watching this commercial, & had no idea what it was for. Then it got to the end. I can't believe they advertise on TV.

What. in. the. Hell?  Also, didn't this company get their site hacked a while back, with their client's names and info released?

[GaT]

4 minutes ago, InDueTime said:

What. in. the. Hell?  Also, didn't this company get their site hacked a while back, with their client's names and info released?

Yep. 

[theatremouse]

On 7/31/2016 at 7:55 PM, topanga said:

There were three spilling scenarios. One was the water bottle you mentioned. In the second, the wet dog came inside and shook herself --which dogs love to do--all over the hard wood floors. And in the third, Allyson Felix (the Olympic sprinter) was sitting on her bed, tying her shoes. There was a glass of orange juice on the floor (I know, I know), and the dog knocked it over. Apparently, she isn't fast enough to get to her dog before a glass is knocked over or before the dog gives herself a good shake. 

What I took from the commercial is that even though Allyson Felix is fast, her dog is even faster. And Bounty paper towels are faster than either one of them because they clean up spills quickly. 

There must be a shorter and longer version of it. As you lay it out, it makes more sense (although I still quibble with the water bottle example), but the one I saw didn't show all three. I completely agree their point was "she's fast, dog is faster", but I don't think the point was well framed in the shorter version I saw.

[smittykins]

3 hours ago, GaT said:

Yep. 

And a previous commercial forever ruined Climax Blues Band's "Couldn't Get It Right" for me.(I used to love that song...)

[LoneHaranguer]

5 hours ago, Stacey1014 said:

There's a JC Penney commercial for Back to School with a bunch of tweens modeling their clothes to the Meghan Trainor sing "Me Too". I like the song, but it doesn't really seem appropriate for selling kids clothing, especially when adults are trying to promote individualism and anti-bullying. 

The song is about thinking you're all that. I haven't seen the ad, but I can't imagine anybody doing so because they're wearing clothes from JC Penney. Isn't promoting individualism counterproductive to anti-bullying? Bullies attack people using being different as an excuse.

3 hours ago, InDueTime said:

Then it got to the end. I can't believe they advertise on TV.

The company's idea is that it's better to cheat with a stranger than a friend, and a sizeable number do so with their spouse's approval, so it's like any other business with clientele split across moral lines.

[riley702]

6 hours ago, GaT said:

I was watching this commercial, & had no idea what it was for. Then it got to the end. I can't believe they advertise on TV.

 

Saw another commercial that made me wonder if the cheaters have taken over the ads. Travelocity has an ad that touts "Wander wisely. Then come home with someone new." Except he's really saying, "Come home as someone new." Phew!

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Um, whut?

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/A1RU/lysol-with-hydrogen-peroxide-break-up-song-by-roxette

[Jamoche]

9 hours ago, GaT said:

Yep. 

And it turned out most of the "women" the guys were trying to hook up with were fake profiles.

[ennui]

Do any of you get the commercial for Untuckit.com, or is it regional? The idea is that it's a shirt that is designed to be worn untucked. The guy is nice looking an all, and the shirt looks okay, but every time I see the ad, all I can think is First World Problem. 

[GaT]

47 minutes ago, ennui said:

Do any of you get the commercial for Untuckit.com, or is it regional? The idea is that it's a shirt that is designed to be worn untucked. The guy is nice looking an all, and the shirt looks okay, but every time I see the ad, all I can think is First World Problem. 

I just saw this commercial for the first time about 10 minutes ago. 

[ebk57]

22 hours ago, Sandman87 said:

Just saw a new one for a line of frozen dinners called Devour. A mechanic is standing in the office of his garage eating lunch. He starts talking dirty to his lunch. And then he spanks it with his fork. The tag line at the end is "Food You Want To Fork."

Is that ad supposed to make me hungry, or horny?

Yes

[Amethyst]

Remember that wonderfully tacky commercial with the grandma in need of a knee brace?  They've updated it!

[janie jones]

11 hours ago, ennui said:

Do any of you get the commercial for Untuckit.com, or is it regional? The idea is that it's a shirt that is designed to be worn untucked. The guy is nice looking an all, and the shirt looks okay, but every time I see the ad, all I can think is First World Problem. 

I had to look this up because I haven't seen the commercial.  I have to say I think this is one of the most ridiculous false-problems I've ever seen.  Their website touts the ideal length of their shirts.  WHERE IT FALLS ON YOU DEPENDS ON YOUR TORSO.  "Regular" shirts will hit the ideal spot on some people, and not on others.  These shirts will hit the ideal spot on some people, and not on others.  Not to mention that whether the shirt will cover up your pants pocket also depends on where your pants sit on your hips.  And other brands makes shirts with hemlines like that.

[Rick Kitchen]

When I was a kid, back in the Dark Ages, poncho shirts were in style.  They had V-shaped hems that were made to be untucked.  Our school wouldn't let us wear them untucked.  We were not happy.

[peacheslatour]

5 hours ago, janie jones said:

I had to look this up because I haven't seen the commercial.  I have to say I think this is one of the most ridiculous false-problems I've ever seen.  Their website touts the ideal length of their shirts.  WHERE IT FALLS ON YOU DEPENDS ON YOUR TORSO.  "Regular" shirts will hit the ideal spot on some people, and not on others.  These shirts will hit the ideal spot on some people, and not on others.  Not to mention that whether the shirt will cover up your pants pocket also depends on where your pants sit on your hips.  And other brands makes shirts with hemlines like that.

I always liked those shirts from the 50's that Wally Cleaver wore (with buckle back chinos, natch!) They hit just at his hips and had buttons on the sides. I think Kramer had some vintage ones on Seinfeld, too.

[Jaded]

Moved to the annoyed and outraged thread... :)

Edited August 4, 2016 by Jaded

[riley702]

I just responded to this in the Annoyed thread.

[Ubiquitous]

On ‎8‎/‎2‎/‎2016 at 1:06 AM, Sandman87 said:

Just saw a new one for a line of frozen dinners called Devour. A mechanic is standing in the office of his garage eating lunch. He starts talking dirty to his lunch. And then he spanks it with his fork. The tag line at the end is "Food You Want To Fork."

Is that ad supposed to make me hungry, or horny?

Is this what is meant by "food porn"?

[LoneHaranguer]

Sprint is running ads where the "can you hear me now?" guy is bragging that the company's reliability is within 1% of the competition. Why are they doing this? That may have been fine a decade ago, but with smartphones it's like if the U.S. Postal Service had ads wanting you to switch because they were "only" losing 1% of the mail (the USPS is actually at least a couple of orders of magnitude better than that and still have a bad rep).

[friendperidot]

I don't really care much about Iphones or services, I live in the city, get service at any time, hate AT&T, but my phone works. But the "can you hear me now" guy is not with whatever company he was with when he did those commercials.

[Bastet]

Quote

But the "can you hear me now" guy is not with whatever company he was with when he did those commercials.

I've only seen it once, but that's the point, isn't it?  That he spent all those years promoting the "Can you hear me now?" company (Verizon?), but has now realized this other company (Sprint?) is the real deal.

[smittykins]

I always laugh at those Sprint commercials because their reception sucks monkey balls in my area(I briefly tried Boost Mobile, which uses their towers).  I'm not crazy about Verizon, but they do have the best coverage.

[Ubiquitous]

There's an Olympics-related ad that has me scratching my head which features a gymnast about to do her routine having flashbacks to her mother having to coax her into the storm cellar as a tornado approached and inspiring her. How exactly would running away and hiding form a tornado inspire her?

[Brattinella]

2 minutes ago, Ubiquitous said:

There's an Olympics-related ad that has me scratching my head which features a gymnast about to do her routine having flashbacks to her mother having to coax her into the storm cellar as a tornado approached and inspiring her. How exactly would running away and hiding form a tornado inspire her?

Wow.  I haven't seen that one yet, but WOW.  Tornadoes and/or tornado shelters are NOT inspiring!!

[chessiegal]

I took that Olympics ad to mean her Mom always had her back.

[ennui]

7 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

I took that Olympics ad to mean her Mom always had her back.

I agree; it's a tribute to the parents who support their child's dreams. I imagine it's a lot of work to raise an Olympian.

[Sandman87]

I guess raising other kinds of children is no work whatsoever then.

There's an ad running on various networks now for the Atomic Beam USA flashlight. They all make a point of showing that it can withstand being french fried while it's turned on. Why is this considered a feature? Is french frying flashlights a thing that people do with any frequency? Is that what they mean by a "light snack?"

[friendperidot]

7 hours ago, Sandman87 said:

There's an ad running on various networks now for the Atomic Beam USA flashlight. They all make a point of showing that it can withstand being french fried while it's turned on. Why is this considered a feature? Is french frying flashlights a thing that people do with any frequency? Is that what they mean by a "light snack?"

they do all sorts of things to those flashlights, freezing, running over them with a humvee, but the part that irritates me is the strobe feature for chasing off attackers - I have to close my eyes and look away from the tv so that doesn't trigger a migraine.

[Prevailing Wind]

How does the user prevent getting disoriented while she's busy disorienting the attacker with the strobe feature? Idiotic commercial.

[Sandman87]

The funny thing is that they don't advertise one of the features that the light has for dealing with attackers, one that's both effective and visible in the ad: The semi-crenelated rim around the front of the lens. The way it's intended to be used, you hold the light in your fist tightly, with the lens sticking out of the bottom, and hammer an attacker in the face with it. Hurts like blazes, can do nasty damage, and leaves a distinctive ring-shaped injury where it hits.

How do I know this? I have a flashlight exactly like it, which I bought in a local store a couple of years ago for about half of what the ad is selling them for.

[Moose135]

14 hours ago, friendperidot said:

they do all sorts of things to those flashlights, freezing, running over them with a humvee...

I think their point is it will survive abuse to which that most people would never subject a flashlight.

 

2 hours ago, Sandman87 said:

The funny thing is that they don't advertise one of the features that the light has for dealing with attackers, one that's both effective and visible in the ad: The semi-crenelated rim around the front of the lens. The way it's intended to be used, you hold the light in your fist tightly, with the lens sticking out of the bottom, and hammer an attacker in the face with it. Hurts like blazes, can do nasty damage, and leaves a distinctive ring-shaped injury where it hits.

How do I know this? I have a flashlight exactly like it, which I bought in a local store a couple of years ago for about half of what the ad is selling them for.

I have a couple of them (one with a red light for when I'm out doing night photography) and I think they were about $10 each on Amazon.  And you are right about using the front edge as a weapon!

[Ubiquitous]

On ‎8‎/‎7‎/‎2016 at 4:22 AM, friendperidot said:

they do all sorts of things to those flashlights, freezing, running over them with a humvee

Holy Timex, Batman!

[Sandman87]

6 hours ago, Ubiquitous said:

Holy Timex, Batman!

And American Tourister, Robin.

[Stella Rose]

For months now I have seen a Time Warner Cable commercial and scratched my head.  Lady is leaving her house - and kids with her brother.  I hear her saying "Make Hay for Uncle Pete".  Okay....   What does this mean?  I am missing something.

Today, had mute/subtitles on and I see it's "Behave for Uncle Pete."  Oh!    Well, that makes sense.  till don't hear it, but it makes sense.

[BusyOctober]

There's a new Toyota RAV4 ad with a camping couple and their dog.  The guys tosses a stick into the fast moving river for the dog to fetch.  The couple gets in their vehicle and chases the dog down stream.  Wet and tired dog swims out with stick and the guy throws it back into the water, but now it's the girl's turn to drive. So....I am not a dog owner, and I know there are some dogs who love being in water, but I think the guy and his GF are dicks for joy riding while their dog is potentially drowning.

[Brattinella]

2 minutes ago, BusyOctober said:

There's a new Toyota RAV4 ad with a camping couple and their dog.  The guys tosses a stick into the fast moving river for the dog to fetch.  The couple gets in their vehicle and chases the dog down stream.  Wet and tired dog swims out with stick and the guy throws it back into the water, but now it's the girl's turn to drive. So....I am not a dog owner, and I know there are some dogs who love being in water, but I think the guy and his GF are dicks for joy riding while their dog is potentially drowning.

I SO agree with this!  This couple is extraordinarily mean to their dog!

[xaxat]

Lots of questions today.

Who convinced Alicia Keys that Cosby Show circa 1990 was a good look?

How is it that GE hires so many people with who have morons for their friends and family?

An adult dreaming about being a hobo?

Go you. Keep aiming high.

Edited August 17, 2016 by xaxat

[janie jones]

I like how the Rav4 couple is super stoked about their dog being washed away by the current, while I, on the other hand, with adrenaline coursing through my veins, leaped over a fallen old-growth like a goddamn parkour expert chasing after my dog the time it happened to him.  But then, I care more about my dog's water safety than driving my car.

Edited August 17, 2016 by janie jones

[Amethyst]

This commercial is kinda gross for equating regurgitation with gum, and for once, the youtube comments make sense.  However, the video's actual description isn't much better.  

[erikdepressant]

I can be a germophobe sometimes, but I didn't know I needed antibacterial paint.  For my walls.

[theatremouse]

1 minute ago, erikdepressant said:

I can be a germophobe sometimes, but I didn't know I needed antibacterial paint.  For my walls.

I do. Or...notsomuch need, but want, certainly.

[Bastet]

Quote

I can be a germophobe sometimes, but I didn't know I needed antibacterial paint.  For my walls.

You don't. 

And I just can't deal with catering to people who do not have a compromised immune system yet treat all germs as a devil to be eradicated (thus, in an ironic twist, compromising their immune system).

Anti-bacterial paint.  Where will it end?

[riley702]

Preach it, sister!

[erikdepressant]

This commercial may be a local commercial, but I assume they're going to be attempting to go nationwide with this.  It's for an app called Takl (pronounced "tackle").  It's kinda like Craigslist, helping you connect with people who provide different kinds of services:

Every time I see this, all I can think is, "How will anyone be able to discuss this app in email or text?"  Auto-correct is going to change "Takl" to "Talk."  I wonder if they had to disable the auto-correct on their corporate headquarters' computers.

Edited August 18, 2016 by erikdepressant

[meep.meep]

18 hours ago, Bastet said:

Anti-bacterial paint.  Where will it end?

How is this wildly different from using regular paint and having to wash the walls first with something like TriSodiumPhosphate to kill anything that might be on the walls?  I've moved into some skeevy places.  You wash the walls to make sure anything that ever got on them is gone.  And I"m not a germaphobe by any stretch of the imagination.

I've only seen the commercial once - and I was rejoicing because she's actually painting a wall correctly!  Tape, then use a brush to do the edges and the corners, then finally get out the roller to do the big flat areas.

[Bastet]

Are they promoting using this paint in place of washing the walls before painting?  That would be dumb; paint a dirty wall and you're painting dirt.  Sit back and wait for the peeling to start. 

But the pitch is how it continuously kills bacteria for up to four years, so I don't think they're trying to say you don't need to wash the walls first.  I mean, maybe, but I think it's just another "eradicate every germ you come into contact with!" pitch since there's quite an audience for that these days.

Also, she has too much paint on her brush.

But I like the color.

Edited August 19, 2016 by Bastet

[bilgistic]

4 hours ago, erikdepressant said:

This commercial may be a local commercial, but I assume they're going to be attempting to go nationwide with this.  It's for an app called Takl (pronounced "tackle").  It's kinda like Craigslist, helping you connect with people who provide different kinds of services:

 

Every time I see this, all I can think is, "How will anyone be able to discuss this app in email or text?"  Auto-correct is going to change "Takl" to "Talk."  I wonder if they had to disable the auto-correct on their corporate headquarters' computers.

"Takl" makes me irrationally angry. The name isn't cute; it's annoying. I thought it was "take...oh, is that an L at the end?" because it's so bad.

Your autocorrect point is valid. Everyone would have to add "Takl" to their user dictionary in Word, Outlook and Excel, or whatever programs twee Millennial startups are using now. Wrd, Tlk and Xcl for iPad, I guess. No time for vowels when you're playing Pokemon Go and tweeting about your dinner.

And speaking of autocorrect, one of my greatest annoyances in my first-world life is people who constantly bitch about the autocorrect function on their phone, but won't just turn it off. "I actually really lick it! It saves Tim!"

"Dim it autocorrect!"

"Duck!"

Edited August 19, 2016 by bilgistic

[Brattinella]

The Zulily ads are driving me crazy.  One of them, the lady who lets her toddlers take over the phone to place a Zulily order (her one little girl is wearing FUR in one shot) And the other ad, where the lady has 2 kids, orders from Zulily EVERY DAY and they live on ONE INCOME.