Say What?: Commercials That Made Us Scratch Our Heads

[OSM Mom]

19 hours ago, ennui said:

I scratch my head at all the Valentine's Day ads that target hopeless men who haven't a clue. The Giant Teddy Bear, and the Footie Pajamas. Guys? No. 

Don't forget the $30.00 bra and panty sets.  Yeah... No.. 

[proserpina65]

23 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

As I mentioned in the Holiday thread...a heart-shaped Papa John's pizza isn't the way to go, either.

I like the idea of pizza for Valentine's Day, but not Papa John's crappy pizza.

[Brattinella]

5 hours ago, OSM Mom said:

Don't forget the $30.00 bra and panty sets.  Yeah... No.. 

Never in all my born days have I seen a PUSHY sales-lady in the Bra Department.  If anything, you can't FIND one.

[Gam2]

Just saw the toilet paper commercial (can't remember which one) that shows the dad teaching his teenage daughter how to shave her legs. They're both shaving down their legs. Down, not up. I've been shaving my legs for 50 years and not once did I shave down my leg. Stupid people. Were there no women on that shoot?

[ennui]

Maybe that's the whole point. Dads don't know how to shave legs. But he's trying! Maybe someone in gym class can show her. Do they still have gym class?

[theatremouse]

I mean, technically I've been told it's easier on the skin if you shave with the grain, not against it. So even though I don't think I know anyone who shaves their legs that way, he might be doing her a favor teaching it that way?

[Gam2]

Shaving your legs down will never remove the hair which as far as I know is the whole point of shaving. And what does "shaving with the grain" mean? The only thing I know about the grain is carving meat against the grain to make it more tender. 

[riley702]

It might be easier on the skin, but it wouldn't get the hair very well. For me, anyway. When I did have hair on my legs, it was very fine and light in color and hard to cut on one pass. (TMI - never did have much in the way of body hair and getting sparser by the year. I have maybe a half-dozen fine hairs on each shin that you can't see from 3 feet away. If I ever went on Survivor, conspiracy theories would spring up about why I didn't have noticeable body hair.)

Edited February 11, 2017 by riley702
Jinx, Gam!

[Sandman87]

There's a Raisin Bran ad running now where a man and his daughter (I assume) are sitting on a dock. The background music that's playing? "Werewolves of London." Why? Are we supposed to think that he's going to transform and eat her or something?

 

2 hours ago, Gam2 said:

And what does "shaving with the grain" mean?

Shaving in the direction that the follicles naturally lean.

If this is hair:

/ / / / / / /

Then "with the grain" is this way:

 ---->

Speaking of shaving: What's the deal with all the ads I've seen recently that make it look like razors cost enough that you'll need a second mortgage to buy one, you have to fly to Antwerp to locate them, and the store clerks will make you go through a cavity search and background check before they'll let you even see the razors? Dollar Shave Club is one, but there are others. I can buy a pack of Bic razors at the store for pocket change, and they'll last a good long time.

Also, why do the razor companies think that we need multi-blade razors that look like cheese-graters with handles?

[bilgistic]

16 minutes ago, Sandman87 said:

There's a Raisin Bran ad running now where a man and his daughter (I assume) are sitting on a dock. The background music that's playing? "Werewolves of London." Why? Are we supposed to think that he's going to transform and eat her or something?

 

Shaving in the direction that the follicles naturally lean.

If this is hair:

/ / / / / / /

Then "with the grain" is this way:

 ---->

Speaking of shaving: What's the deal with all the ads I've seen recently that make it look like razors cost enough that you'll need a second mortgage to buy one, you have to fly to Antwerp to locate them, and the store clerks will make you go through a cavity search and background check before they'll let you even see the razors? Dollar Shave Club is one, but there are others. I can buy a pack of Bic razors at the store for pocket change, and they'll last a good long time.

Also, why do the razor companies think that we need multi-blade razors that look like cheese-graters with handles?

Name-brand multi-blade razor refills are pricey--like, $12 to $15 for a four-pack. Around here, they are locked up at drugstores but not at Target. The multi-blade razors work better, IMO. In theory, if you have course hair and shave daily, you're burning through at least one cartridge a week. You could be spending ~$150-$200+ a year on razors, and then there's whatever cream or oil with which you shave. Save money and grow a beard! ;)

If you are a woman who just doesn't give a damn, like me, you buy an electric razor and hurriedly shave the legs if you are going to be wearing cropped pants. But most likely, you forget until you are walking out the door, but you don't care that much about conventional beauty standards anyway.

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, Sandman87 said:

Speaking of shaving: What's the deal with all the ads I've seen recently that make it look like razors cost enough that you'll need a second mortgage to buy one, you have to fly to Antwerp to locate them, and the store clerks will make you go through a cavity search and background check before they'll let you even see the razors?

Is that not an exaggerated version of reality in your area?  Because it is here -- they're fairly expensive, and their size makes them easy to conceal and thus steal (who would be doing this en masse, I do not know -- it doesn't seem high on the list of items stolen for personal use, nor do I imagine a tremendous black market) -- so they're locked up in many grocery and drug stores.  (Meaning one doesn't have to undergo Hanns Scarff style interrogation to procure one, but again with the exaggeration of a real situation in which one must track down an employee to unlock the case.)

I get my razor blades at Costco -- a nice, big multi-pack no one is afraid of me stuffing in my pocket, so I simply drop it in the cart and head for check-out at a good price.  But I'm familiar enough with the different scenario at many grocery/drug stores that many of those commercials make me laugh.

[peacheslatour]

19 hours ago, theatremouse said:

I mean, technically I've been told it's easier on the skin if you shave with the grain, not against it. So even though I don't think I know anyone who shaves their legs that way, he might be doing her a favor teaching it that way?

I remember seeing the guys on Queer Eye saying you should shave with the grain and I always thought that was weird. If you go with the grain you won't get a clean shave.

[Prevailing Wind]

Quote

There's a Raisin Bran ad running now where a man and his daughter (I assume) are sitting on a dock. The background music that's playing? "Werewolves of London." Why? Are we supposed to think that he's going to transform and eat her or something?

No. The Zevon Estate sold the marketing rights to a very aggressive company. They're placing their music whereever they can. "I saw a Werewolf eating a bowl of Raisin Bran at IHOP and his hair was perfect..."  Hey! Ol' Warren's making more money off that song now that he's dead than he did while he was alive.

[ennui]

30 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

I remember seeing the guys on Queer Eye saying you should shave with the grain and I always thought that was weird. If you go with the grain you won't get a clean shave.

I think you shave your face with the grain? I've seen men shave downward on their cheeks. I think it's to reduce ingrown hairs.

[Brattinella]

32 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

I remember seeing the guys on Queer Eye saying you should shave with the grain and I always thought that was weird. If you go with the grain you won't get a clean shave.

Maybe that's the technique they use to get that 5 o'clock shadow/tiny stubble effect.

[ennui]

18 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

"I saw a Werewolf eating a bowl of Raisin Bran at IHOP and his hair was perfect..." 

Oh. I thought his hair was purple.

[Jamoche]

On 2/9/2017 at 11:46 AM, ennui said:

I scratch my head at all the Valentine's Day ads that target hopeless men who haven't a clue. The Giant Teddy Bear, and the Footie Pajamas. Guys? No. 

Or Fifty Shades of Bad Fanfic. Or pretty much any "romantic" movie that opens on Valentine's weekend and vanishes by the next.

[slensam]

3 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

No. The Zevon Estate sold the marketing rights to a very aggressive company. They're placing their music whereever they can. "I saw a Werewolf eating a bowl of Raisin Bran at IHOP and his hair was perfect..."  Hey! Ol' Warren's making more money off that song now that he's dead than he did while he was alive.

Have they used "Lawyers Guns and Money" for any law firms yet?

[Prevailing Wind]

Not that I know of.  <insert winky face here.>

Y'know, it would be kind of ironic if one of the mesothelioma firms used it, seein' as that's what killed WZ.

Edited February 11, 2017 by Prevailing Wind

[Brattinella]

"I saw a Werewolf sipping a Pina Colada at Trader Vic's.  His hair was perfect."  This line never fails to crack me up!

[peacheslatour]

10 minutes ago, Brattinella said:

"I saw a Werewolf sipping a Pina Colada at Trader Vic's.  His hair was perfect."  This line never fails to crack me up!

Did you ever see I Was A Teenage Werewolf with Michael Landon? His hair was indeed perfect.

[Brattinella]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

Did you ever see I Was A Teenage Werewolf with Michael Landon? His hair was indeed perfect.

LOL!  Yes, I did!  And it was!

[Prevailing Wind]

3 hours ago, Brattinella said:

"I saw a Werewolf sipping a Pina Colada at Trader Vic's.  His hair was perfect."  This line never fails to crack me up!

I love singing, "Little ol' lady got mutilated late last night..."

[Brattinella]

The latest DQ commercial; I cannot UNHEAR when I hear "Chocolate Blizzard Pubic Cake".  I don't even know what the real name is!

[Qoass]

This morning I saw an ad with a former Obama administration employee endorsing Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court.  It was paid for by some group in tiny writing on the bottom of the screen and I think it was on MSNBC.  Huh?  It's not like there's going to be an election so what purpose does this ad serve?  To point out that maybe the Citizen's United case needs revisiting?

[Moose135]

2 hours ago, Qoass said:

 It's not like there's going to be an election so what purpose does this ad serve?

To get you to contact your Senator and let them know you want him/her to confirm Gorsuch.

[LoneHaranguer]

On 2/11/2017 at 2:37 PM, peacheslatour said:

I remember seeing the guys on Queer Eye saying you should shave with the grain and I always thought that was weird. If you go with the grain you won't get a clean shave.

There used to be an ad with an animation showing how a multi-blade razor works. One edge is supposed to pull out on the hair for another to cut. That's likely to work better going with the grain, especially if that's what the designer of the razor expected. 

[peacheslatour]

From SNL 1975:

Announcer (V/O): From the straight razor, to the safety razor, to the injector system, and finally the highly acclaimed twinblade cartridge. 

[ The announcer picks up a twinblade and shows it to the camera ] 

Announcer: Almost perfect, yet not quite the superlative groom. Introducing the Triple-Trac. 

[ DISSOLVE to a close-up of the three-bladed Triple-Trac razor ] 

Announcer (V/O): Not just two blades in one system, but three stainless, platinum teflex-coated blades melded together to form one incredible shaving cartridge, easily fitted into your old twinblade holder. Triple-Trac's triple-threat cartridge, with more close shaves than ever before. Here's how it works. 

[ DISSOLVE to a cartoon showing a how the Triple-Trac shaves a whisker ] 

Announcer (V/O): The first blade grabs at the whisker, tugging it away from your face to protect it from the second blade. 

[ The cartoon shows how the Triple-Trac yanks painfully at the whisker ] 

Announcer (V/O): Blade number two catches and digs into the stubble before it has the chance to snap back and injure you, pulling it farther out so that it is now ready for shearing. 

[ The cartoon shows an even more painful whisker-yanking ] 

Announcer (V/O): Triple-Trac's third blade, a finely-honed bonded platinum instrument, cuts cleanly through the whisker at its base, leaving your face as smooth as a billiard ball. 

[ Finally, the cartoon shows the Triple-Trac completely shaving the whisker ] 

[ DISSOLVE back to the announcer against the black background, holding up a Triple-Trac ] 

Announcer: The Triple-Trac. Because you'll believe anything

[Prevailing Wind]

I think of that SNL bit every time I see a commercial for a multi-bladed razor.

[isiscloud]

On 12/29/2016 at 2:19 PM, ennui said:

H&R Block commercial ... something about the IRS and doughnuts, with Jon Hamm. The end is the doughnut lady saying he touched them all. What I want to know -- where's Richard Gartland and his green bow tie? I thought he was the face of HRB.

He's back with Jon. Really love those ads. But Jon's kind of smarmy (throwback from Don Draper?); maybe that's why they brought back Richard Gartland.

An ad that drives me crazy is the Ancestry one where the woman is standing next to her husband and says "i thought I married a ZICCOLI; an Italian (paraphrasing)." And then she says that they're really more Eastern European. She is not more Eastern European, he is. Her husband is cute and looks exactly like HIS ancestor, but she has nothing in this game...is she going to divorce him because of this, or what? 

Re: Nescafe with Sofia Vergara...where her son walks in...just a little creepy...

[xaxat]

Why do the helicopters keep flying straight at the giant ape!?

[janie jones]

1 hour ago, isiscloud said:

He's back with Jon. Really love those ads. But Jon's kind of smarmy (throwback from Don Draper?); maybe that's why they brought back Richard Gartland.

An ad that drives me crazy is the Ancestry one where the woman is standing next to her husband and says "i thought I married a ZICCOLI; an Italian (paraphrasing)." And then she says that they're really more Eastern European. She is not more Eastern European, he is. Her husband is cute and looks exactly like HIS ancestor, but she has nothing in this game...is she going to divorce him because of this, or what?

I saw part of an episode of Mad Men once that left no impression on me other than that Mad Men was boring as hell, so I confidently say that my idea of Jon Hamm being smarmy is without Mad Men influence.  I think he's just smarmy.  And while I'm at it, he's not even good looking.

Don't even get me started (again) on that dummy in that Ancestry ad.

[revbfc]

I don't mind the Charmin commercials with the bears, but I do have a problem with underwear being mentioned when all the bears are nude at all times.  Seriously!  Look at all the bear ads and show me one where clothes are worn.

Calling that one cub "skids" does make sense, but ew.

[Haleth]

11 hours ago, isiscloud said:

An ad that drives me crazy is the Ancestry one where the woman is standing next to her husband and says "i thought I married a ZICCOLI; an Italian (paraphrasing)." And then she says that they're really more Eastern European. She is not more Eastern European, he is. Her husband is cute and looks exactly like HIS ancestor, but she has nothing in this game...is she going to divorce him because of this, or what? 

The other thing that bothers me about the ad is that the guy holds up a photo and says, "This is the ancestor I didn't know about."  The photo isn't that old, maybe from the 40s or 50s?  And the guy didn't know about this man?  Unless grandma was fooling around with the (Eastern European) milkman why would he not know about one of his grandparents?

[St. Claire]

According to Teen or Young Miss or whatever else crap I was reading when I was learning to shave, we are supposed to shave down the leg to avoid ingrown hairs. I never believed it, though, because the Daisy ("when you shave with Daisy, you go a little crazy!") and Clicker razor (which were way easier to hold, but rusted up in the blink of an eye) commercials showed ladies shaving from the ankle to the knee (but never their upper leg, whereas Neet and Nair showed me how to have fully smooth legs!) and now that I'm middle-aged, I've never met a woman who got an ingrown hair from shaving. Not saying it doesn't happen, just that I've never experienced it.

[peacheslatour]

10 minutes ago, St. Claire said:

According to Teen or Young Miss or whatever else crap I was reading when I was learning to shave, we are supposed to shave down the leg to avoid ingrown hairs. I never believed it, though, because the Daisy ("when you shave with Daisy, you go a little crazy!") and Clicker razor (which were way easier to hold, but rusted up in the blink of an eye) commercials showed ladies shaving from the ankle to the knee (but never their upper leg, whereas Neet and Nair showed me how to have fully smooth legs!) and now that I'm middle-aged, I've never met a woman who got an ingrown hair from shaving. Not saying it doesn't happen, just that I've never experienced it.

I've had it happen in a er...certain area. :(

[Brattinella]

14 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

I've had it happen in a er...certain area. :(

Me, too.  That's why I don't do it anymore.

[Jamoche]

Alarm starts beeping, Mom is in bed. Kid comes in and goes "Mom, my toe hurts." Mom just invites kid into bed. Tagline is something about ignoring the alarm for another few minutes.

Huh? OK, if kid had said "my tummy hurts", well, that happens to kids, and in that tone of voice it's nothing urgent, and cuddling up with Mom may be all it needs. But why would a toe hurt unless it was actually damaged? Even if it's just stubbed, I'd at least look at it.

[CoderLady]

I got the feeling that the kid is making it up just to get a snuggle and that Mom isn't fooled one bit by this nonsense.

Randomly funny thing: the CC says "My throat hurts" although the kid clearly is saying "toe." I guess the captioner couldn't handle the non sequitur.

[theatremouse]

That ad just came on my TV and I'm now actually pretty sure she did say "throat". She's just mumbling/not enunciating/speaking quietly.

[St. Claire]

12 hours ago, theatremouse said:

That ad just came on my TV and I'm now actually pretty sure she did say "throat". She's just mumbling/not enunciating/speaking quietly.

I've always heard it as "toe," and assumed that this was just one of those drama llama children who always has some phantom ailment that requires cuddling or extra attention. 

[theatremouse]

To be honest, what I really heard was "my tro hurts" (ie "throa-"), which I interpreted as her sort of squeaking it out due to it hurting, as an acting choice. It's not a hill I'd die on or anything, but I'm pretty sure the "r" was in there. That coupled with the cc gives me the impression they were going for a sore throat sitch.

[Ubiquitous]

On ‎1‎/‎23‎/‎2017 at 0:46 AM, friendperidot said:

Kerri Walsh Jennings, one of the only reasons I've ever watched beach volleyball and only during the Olympics, is doing an ad for Honest. I haven't looked it up, I assume from the ads it is a line of environmentally acceptable household products. But I haven't been able to tell from the ads, I've looked. Is she spraying cleaner on the front of a gas stove with a burner on? From what I know of gas stoves, that doesn't seem very smart. I never spray any cleaner on the stove while I'm cooking anything. I have wiped up spills, but she is spraying. I just can't tell if the burner is on or not. 

If memory serves, it's sppsd to be a line of environmental products, but it turns out they really aren't.

On ‎2‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 6:22 PM, ennui said:

The current ad campaign is incomprehensible, so why not. (I didn't understand the "gold" Colonel during the SuperBowl. I shouldn't have to think this hard about fast food fried chicken.)

It's for their new "Georgia Gold" (get it?) chicken. It's pretty good, some sort of honey mustard, I think.

On ‎2‎/‎9‎/‎2017 at 6:38 PM, peacheslatour said:

My husband just got back from Costco and bought me a three pound cheese cake for V-day. He is trying to kill me.

Sounds like a good way to go. ;-)

[Muffyn]

On ‎2‎/‎14‎/‎2017 at 1:22 AM, revbfc said:

I don't mind the Charmin commercials with the bears, but I do have a problem with underwear being mentioned when all the bears are nude at all times.  Seriously!  Look at all the bear ads and show me one where clothes are worn.

Calling that one cub "skids" does make sense, but ew.

 

The bears wear hats and sunglasses and they put their naked bear butts on the furniture.  They are repulsive. 

Also, if they did wear underwear, why would the other bears be checking it out?  Why would they know that Skids has skid marks?  What kind of freakish scat-related kink are these supposedly young bears into?  Do we need to call Bear Protective Services?  

[revbfc]

4 hours ago, Muffyn said:

The bears wear hats and sunglasses and they put their naked bear butts on the furniture.  They are repulsive. 

Also, if they did wear underwear, why would the other bears be checking it out?  Why would they know that Skids has skid marks?  What kind of freakish scat-related kink are these supposedly young bears into?  Do we need to call Bear Protective Services?  

They know about the skids because that cub leaves them wherever he sits (hence my "ew" comment).

[Prevailing Wind]

Reminds me of Donald Duck. He doesn't wear pants, either. Just that middy blouse. So what happens when his shirt accidentally gets yanked off? He crosses his 'arms' over his nether regions, that we've been seeing all along. Even as a little kid, I didn't understand that.

[janie jones]

Or they'll be wearing a towel around their waist when they get out of the shower even though ordinarily they're wearing a shirt and naked from the waist down.

Edited February 19, 2017 by janie jones

[peacheslatour]

And what the hell is Goofy? Pluto is a dog. But what IS Goofy?

[bilgistic]

Thanks for making me laugh today, y'all. I needed it badly.

[DrSpaceman73]

On ‎1‎/‎23‎/‎2017 at 0:46 AM, friendperidot said:

Kerri Walsh Jennings, one of the only reasons I've ever watched beach volleyball and only during the Olympics, is doing an ad for Honest. I haven't looked it up, I assume from the ads it is a line of environmentally acceptable household products. But I haven't been able to tell from the ads, I've looked. Is she spraying cleaner on the front of a gas stove with a burner on? From what I know of gas stoves, that doesn't seem very smart. I never spray any cleaner on the stove while I'm cooking anything. I have wiped up spills, but she is spraying. I just can't tell if the burner is on or not. 

As mentioned before Honest is a company started by or endorsed by, probably more accurately, Jessica Alba. Its supposed to be environmentally friendly products. 

The problem has been

1.  some of the products don't work at all, like their sunscreen

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkroll/2015/08/03/the-failure-of-jessica-albas-honest-company-sunscreen-explained/#43345b06796e

2.  others are not at all safe

http://fortune.com/2017/01/11/jessica-alba-honest-company-baby-powder-recall/

The company has been a disaster since it was started. 

Also many complaints about it being impossible to cancel a subscription due to poor customer service

http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/10/its-really-hard-to-cancel-an-honest-company-subscription.html