Say What?: Commercials That Made Us Scratch Our Heads

[KWalkerInc]

Yesterday I saw a commercial for Kellogg's cereals that had a tie-in to the movie Sing 2.  I think they said they were giving away plastic spoons in the boxes?  I'm sure there were "prizes" when I was a kid that weren't great, but if I heard right about the spoons, that seems especially lame!  They must have gotten some good child actors though to pretend they were excited.

[Popples]

9 hours ago, KWalkerInc said:

Yesterday I saw a commercial for Kellogg's cereals that had a tie-in to the movie Sing 2.  I think they said they were giving away plastic spoons in the boxes?  I'm sure there were "prizes" when I was a kid that weren't great, but if I heard right about the spoons, that seems especially lame!  They must have gotten some good child actors though to pretend they were excited.

If I recall correctly, in the early 90s there was a cereal that had spoons in them. However, at least they had the gimmick of being color-changing spoons.

[smittykins]

I thought they stopped putting prizes in cereal boxes.

[proserpina65]

11 hours ago, KWalkerInc said:

Yesterday I saw a commercial for Kellogg's cereals that had a tie-in to the movie Sing 2.  I think they said they were giving away plastic spoons in the boxes?  I'm sure there were "prizes" when I was a kid that weren't great, but if I heard right about the spoons, that seems especially lame!  They must have gotten some good child actors though to pretend they were excited.

I think they're actually some kind of special  spoon/straw combination.  Still, nothing exciting.

[mbluecpa]

On 12/19/2021 at 12:19 PM, theatremouse said:

There's an ad for Dupixent with a dude walking around his neighborhood, crossing the street, looking at a garage sale, etc. In one shot, there is a tree in the road. Obviously, fake set it up sound stage type thing - or maybe CGI - but it's a tree that looks planted couple of feet in the road, like where a car might be parked. Other trees are planted in grassy areas, so it's not totally screwed up but there's this one that makes no sense.

At one point in that commercial, there’s a brief full shot of a tree in the street that looks like it has metal poles in either side of it, as if to prevent driving into it. Weird, and still bugs me, but apparently intentional. 

That commercial also has a couple of weird edits with discontinuity and a sidewalk that appears to start out of nowhere. To me, the actors’ flitting through the various activities makes them seem like disingenuous jerks but I do remember the commercial - so guess it’s effective. 

[iMonrey]

I understand why the Simplisafe guy is wearing a ski mask in the first set of commercials: he is a professional burglar so he knows security systems better than anyone. However, the one where he's in the bathtub makes no sense. It looks as though he has broken into someone's home, taken a bath and ordered a pizza, while somehow gaining access to the home owner's security system. Not exactly a good advertisement for Simplisafe. 

[chessiegal]

43 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I understand why the Simplisafe guy is wearing a ski mask in the first set of commercials: he is a professional burglar so he knows security systems better than anyone. However, the one where he's in the bathtub makes no sense. It looks as though he has broken into someone's home, taken a bath and ordered a pizza, while somehow gaining access to the home owner's security system. Not exactly a good advertisement for Simplisafe. 

Simplesafe guy in the bathtub is in his own home.

[Crashcourse]

But do we know that for sure?  It's not clear in that commercial.

[chessiegal]

Here's the description from iSpot.

Quote

SimpliSafe Video Doorbell Pro TV Spot, 'Pizza Delivery: Free Shipping'

As home security expert Robbert Larson relaxes in his bathtub, he is able to see who is ringing his doorbell via his SimpliSafe Video Doorbell Pro. As it turns out, the person on his doorstep is just there to deliver a pizza, so Robbert unlocks the door to let him in -- all without leaving the tub. For a limited time, SimpliSafe offers a 60-day risk-free guarantee and free shipping.

Plus, he tells the delivery guy at the end - same time tomorrow. Why would he say that if he wasn't in his own home?

 

 

[iMonrey]

Quote

Simplesafe guy in the bathtub is in his own home.

But who wears a ski mask in the bathtub? The conceit of the ad campaign - that this is a "famous" burglar so maybe he's hiding his identity - doesn't really work right in this situation. And if you're not familiar with the previous commercials where the character is introduced, all you know is this is some guy taking a bath in a ski mask. 

You shouldn't have to Google a TV commercial to understand what's going on.

[janie jones]

On 12/22/2021 at 4:29 AM, Haleth said:

And I see nothing wrong with the guy who tells the grocery store manager what a good job the deli worker is doing.  That's a nice thing to do!

I don't think those commercials are trying to say there's anything inherently wrong with these actions, just that they're things "your parents" do. It's only "wrong" if you don't want to act like your parents, which is why they're taking Dr. Rick's classes.

On 12/23/2021 at 3:16 PM, chessiegal said:

Simplesafe guy in the bathtub is in his own home.

Doesn't that make it even more weird (and creepy) though?

I hate all of those commercials, but on the subject of the bathtub one, I particularly hate when he pretentiously says "entrez vous," which isn't even grammatically correct French -- it should just be "entrez."

[chessiegal]

23 minutes ago, janie jones said:

Doesn't that make it even more weird (and creepy) though?

Not to me. I take these commercials as a parody spoof, where normal doesn't exist. I think they're funny.

[Leeds]

I've recently been seeing commercials for a place called CHEF'STORE.  I think the name is supposed to be clever, but not only does the name itself make me want to throw things, the fact that apparently it has to be ALL CAPS makes it worse.

[CrystalBlue]

2 hours ago, Leeds said:

I've recently been seeing commercials for a place called CHEF'STORE.  I think the name is supposed to be clever, but not only does the name itself make me want to throw things, the fact that apparently it has to be ALL CAPS makes it worse.

Is this the commercial?  iSpot.tv US Foods 'Make the Most of It.'

They're missing an 'S' or using the apostrophe instead of a space or other punctuation.  I guess the ALL CAPS is meant to be seen better on the signage?

The ad makes me hungry!

[Crashcourse]

My question is, where the hell is this woman going?  It looks like she lives alone, she has no purse, no keys.  Even if she doesn't live alone, is she going for a walk in high heels?

 

Edited December 28, 2021 by Crashcourse

[Prevailing Wind]

Yes. She's going for a walk in high heels with keys, ID, & phone jammed into her pockets.

[Crashcourse]

It doesn't look like there's anything in her pockets.

[Browncoat]

It doesn't look like there's space for anything in her pockets.

[CrystalBlue]

4 hours ago, Browncoat said:

It doesn't look like there's space for anything in her pockets.

There's room for her business card or a condom, I'm sure.  Maybe even one of those Welcome to My Vagina hormone-free insert birth control thingies.  A Tampax recommended by Amy Schumer?  What's your size?

[Leeds]

22 hours ago, Browncoat said:

It doesn't look like there's space for anything in her pockets.

Just her bony hips.

[Gharlane]

There's a commercial I keep seeing for one of D+'s garbage shows, some sort of competitive reality baking show for children showing some of the things they presumably made and ends with the hosts marveling at their creations and ending with one asking the other "Could you do that at your age?" and him replying "I couldn't do that at my age!", which confuses me a bit because I am pretty sure he's a semi-famous baker and had a candid reality show about his bakery for many years on this channel! 

[Gramto6]

1 hour ago, Gharlane said:

There's a commercial I keep seeing for one of D+'s garbage shows, some sort of competitive reality baking show for children showing some of the things they presumably made and ends with the hosts marveling at their creations and ending with one asking the other "Could you do that at your age?" and him replying "I couldn't do that at my age!", which confuses me a bit because I am pretty sure he's a semi-famous baker and had a candid reality show about his bakery for many years on this channel! 

Yeah stupid ad. I don't watch the show but have read the forum Kids Baking Challenge. Duff Goldman and Valerie Bertinelli host. They are very young bakers and from what I have read their products are not that good...

Edited December 31, 2021 by Gramto6

[Gharlane]

3 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

Yeah stupid ad. I don't watch the show but have read the forum Kids Baking Challenge. Duff Goldman and Valerie Bertinelli host. They are very young bakers and from what I have read their products are not that good...

Yeah, Duff is kinda famous for making specialty cakes, so it bewilders me. Hokey smokes! I had no clue that was Valerie Bertinelli! I did wonder if the cakes shown in the commercial were really made by children...

[chessiegal]

Just saw an ad for an indoor grill - PowerXL. It comes with "secret recipes!" 🤣🤣🤣

[jennblevins]

There’s a current commercial on the Smithsonian Channel for their upcoming aviation-themed nights: new episodes of Air Warriors and Ice Airport Alaska.  That’s fine, but they’ve chosen to include the “Please fasten your seatbelts!” ding and a picture of the seatbelt light in a passenger plane coming on. Air Warriors is about military aviation and Ice Airport Alaska is about the operation of the airport in Anchorage — neither of them include any situations where the seatbelt light is usually relevant!

Are they just trying to annoy all the Air Disasters fans waiting for a new season of that?  Does the “fasten seatbelt” ding just say “aviation” noise to the ad people?  Am I just overthinking things?

[cynicat]

12 hours ago, jennblevins said:

There’s a current commercial on the Smithsonian Channel for their upcoming aviation-themed nights: new episodes of Air Warriors and Ice Airport Alaska.  That’s fine, but they’ve chosen to include the “Please fasten your seatbelts!” ding and a picture of the seatbelt light in a passenger plane coming on. Air Warriors is about military aviation and Ice Airport Alaska is about the operation of the airport in Anchorage — neither of them include any situations where the seatbelt light is usually relevant!

Are they just trying to annoy all the Air Disasters fans waiting for a new season of that?  Does the “fasten seatbelt” ding just say “aviation” noise to the ad people?  Am I just overthinking things?

Yes, I think the ding has that Pavlovian element that makes people pay attention.  Also yes, you're overthinking it, however that's what we all do here!!  There would be no PTV forums without overthinking things. 😀

[peacheslatour]

Does anyone know who sings I've Been Everywhere in The Nordic Track commercial? Google is not being helpful.

[InDueTime]

11 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Does anyone know who sings I've Been Everywhere in The Nordic Track commercial? Google is not being helpful.

This might be it.

 

[Prevailing Wind]

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/qJoN/nordictrack-go-somewhere-new-with-nordictrack-song-by-jade-bird

It IS Jade Bird.

[TheWalkinDude]

What the hell is Domino’s “hot, melty thigh cheese”?…Oh, five cheese…enunciate, voiceover guy…

[DrSpaceman73]

There is a commercial where a kid is doing chores and it shows the mom paying him via phone.  The two they show are like 'doing dishes$5' and 'taking out trash $3'.  It bugs me because that seems like a lot of money for those simple chores but I give them the benefit of the doubt because maybe it's a weekly rate and they just show him doing it one time?  Still a bit bothersome. 

 

But now thinking about it bugs me because I don't know what the ad is even for now.  I'd have to look.  The phone she is using?   A bank?  I do t know. 

Edited January 5, 2022 by DrSpaceman73

[Tom Holmberg]

1 hour ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

 

But now thinking about it bugs me because I don't know what the ad is even for now.  I'd have to look.  The phone she is using?   A bank?  I do t know. 

Probably for those "credit cards" for kids where parents (or anyone else, I guess) can add money and kids can spend it and the parents get a report of expenditures.  Really not an awful idea. 

[chessiegal]

3 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

There is a commercial where a kid is doing chores and it shows the mom paying him via phone.  The two they show are like 'doing dishes$5' and 'taking out trash $3'.  It bugs me because that seems like a lot of money for those simple chores but I give them the benefit of the doubt because maybe it's a weekly rate and they just show him doing it one time?  Still a bit bothersome. 

 

But now thinking about it bugs me because I don't know what the ad is even for now.  I'd have to look.  The phone she is using?   A bank?  I do t know. 

I think showing 5 cents for taking out the trash or 10 cents for doing dishes wouldn't seem like it's really worth it. I'm curious how the kids can use their cards. I do a lot of online purchases, and sometimes I notice must be 18 years or older to order. Do merchants know it's a card for kids and not accept it? Not my demographic. Both parents of our grand kids would not use something like that.

[Tom Holmberg]

4 hours ago, Tom Holmberg said:

Probably for those "credit cards" for kids where parents (or anyone else, I guess) can add money and kids can spend it and the parents get a report of expenditures.  Really not an awful idea. 

Probably Greenlight card. (That's the one I always see ads for)  https://www.greenlight.com/

[proserpina65]

On 1/3/2022 at 2:08 PM, Prevailing Wind said:

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/qJoN/nordictrack-go-somewhere-new-with-nordictrack-song-by-jade-bird

It IS Jade Bird.

Remind me to avoid her then, 'cause I hate that version.

 

[Kimmmmmm]

On 12/23/2021 at 11:07 AM, proserpina65 said:

I think they're actually some kind of special  spoon/straw combination.  Still, nothing exciting.

And one more thing to end up in a landfill

[Blergh]

The discussion of the Eggo commercial with the Dino Toddler whose mother 'interviews' her (with a piece of Eggo stuck on the end of a fork) for 'refusing to wear pants' in the Commercials That Enrage, Annoy Subthread got me to wonder who the white woman was supposed to be who was  wordlessly walking in the kitchen behind the African-American mother and child. 

Was this other woman supposed to be the child's other mommy/ mother's wife/companion, a visiting platonic  friend of the family who stayed overnight, or the family's cook/child's nanny? 

I know that one shouldn't expect extended exposition or family dynamics in a 15-second commercial but what was the point of having this other woman  present especially since she didn't contribute  to the dialogue or actions and they could have easily just had it be the mother and daughter solo?  

 

Edited January 11, 2022 by Blergh

[Gharlane]

15 hours ago, Blergh said:

The discussion of the Eggo commercial with the Dino Toddler whose mother 'interviews' her (with a piece of Eggo stuck on the end of a fork) for 'refusing to wear pants' in the Commercials That Enrage, Annoy Subthread got me to wonder who the white woman was supposed to be who was  wordlessly walking in the kitchen behind the African-American mother and child. 

Was this other woman supposed to be the child's other mommy/ mother's wife/companion, a visiting platonic  friend of the family who stayed overnight, or the family's cook/child's nanny? 

I know that one shouldn't expect extended exposition or family dynamics in a 15-second commercial but what was the point of having this other woman  present especially since she didn't contribute  to the dialogue or actions and they could have easily just had it be the mother and daughter solo?  

I assumed it was a clumsy attempt at filling some list of checkboxes, because yeah, who is she and why is she there.

[Blergh]

14 hours ago, Gharlane said:

I assumed it was a clumsy attempt at filling some list of checkboxes, because yeah, who is she and why is she there.

That's what I thought,too.

I suppose that that character might have originally had dialogue/interactions with the   Breaking News Eggo Mom and Dino Tot but those might have gotten edited out. I guess the performer got paid for just walking behind the other two but I can't imagine that this spot alone will launch her into a Madge-the-Manicurist career arc- much less have been able to use the salary  from this to erase student loans.

Edited January 13, 2022 by Blergh

[peacheslatour]

40 minutes ago, Blergh said:

That's what I thought,too.

I suppose that that character might have originally had dialogue/interactions with the other two Breaking News Eggo Mom and Dino Tot but those might have gotten edited out. I guess the performer got paid for just walking behind the other two but I can't imagine that this spot alone will launch her into a Madge-the-Manicurist career arc- much less have been able to use the salary  from this to erase student loans.

Perhaps there is a longer version of the commercial? Maybe she gets to do something like *thought bubble* "Why don't they like my waffles?"

[shapeshifter]

"According to New York State Law, it's forbidden to make small talk on an elevator.⁕
"But here's something that is legal: Sports betting."
https://www.ispot.tv/ad/qmid/draftkings-sportsbook-new-york-law-small-talk

 

_________________________________________________________

⁕ grunge.com/731482/weirdest-laws-in-new-york

[dleighg]

16 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

⁕ grunge.com/731482/weirdest-laws-in-new-york

I heard that ad-- I had no idea they were SERIOUS LOL.

[janie jones]

On 1/11/2022 at 1:17 PM, Blergh said:

The discussion of the Eggo commercial with the Dino Toddler whose mother 'interviews' her (with a piece of Eggo stuck on the end of a fork) for 'refusing to wear pants' in the Commercials That Enrage, Annoy Subthread got me to wonder who the white woman was supposed to be who was  wordlessly walking in the kitchen behind the African-American mother and child. 

Was this other woman supposed to be the child's other mommy/ mother's wife/companion, a visiting platonic  friend of the family who stayed overnight, or the family's cook/child's nanny? 

I know that one shouldn't expect extended exposition or family dynamics in a 15-second commercial but what was the point of having this other woman  present especially since she didn't contribute  to the dialogue or actions and they could have easily just had it be the mother and daughter solo?  

 

I think if it had been a guy standing there not saying anything, we'd assume it was the dad and not the neighbor/uncle/Tony Maselli so I feel it's safe to assume it's the kid's other mom.

Edited January 14, 2022 by janie jones

[Bastet]

1 minute ago, janie jones said:

I think if it had been a guy standing there not saying anything, we'd assume it was the dad and not the neighbor/uncle/Tony Maselli so I feel it's safe to assume it's the kid's other mom.

Yeah, she's preparing two cups of coffee while the other woman is toasting the waffle, so I assume they're a family. 

[Blergh]

5 hours ago, Bastet said:

Yeah, she's preparing two cups of coffee while the other woman is toasting the waffle, so I assume they're a family. 

Possibly but she also could be  a visiting platonic family friend who stayed overnight or the family cook/nanny even if the family doesn't insist on her wearing a uniform first thing in the morning. That's all.

[bosawks]

Ugh, the no gas,  no squeegee guy is back.

Get out of the bay so someone else can get gas, you selfish prick!

[Mrs. Hanson]

There is an ad running for a Clean Origin diamond company.  The ad is promoting situations that might be new in 2022:  Two females, holding hands and asking if the other wants kids, asking to split the check, etc.  But the opening scene is a young woman enters the kitchen, asking the male "Hmmmm what's for dinner?" Am I missing something or are men who cook that rare?

[Haleth]

18 hours ago, bosawks said:

Ugh, the no gas,  no squeegee guy is back.

Get out of the bay so someone else can get gas, you selfish prick!

Yes!  He's so smug about putting a few pennies worth of gas in the tank.  Sorry, guy, you are still a jerk.

[chessiegal]

5 hours ago, Haleth said:

Yes!  He's so smug about putting a few pennies worth of gas in the tank.  Sorry, guy, you are still a jerk.

IMO, the gas station owner is the jerk. Talk about poor customer service. It's not costing him anything to let the guy use the squeegee. I'd never get gas from him ever and let the world know what a jerk he is.

[SnarkySheep]

On 12/23/2021 at 7:13 PM, chessiegal said:

Here's the description from iSpot.

SimpliSafe Video Doorbell Pro TV Spot, 'Pizza Delivery: Free Shipping'

As home security expert Robbert Larson relaxes in his bathtub, he is able to see who is ringing his doorbell via his SimpliSafe Video Doorbell Pro. As it turns out, the person on his doorstep is just there to deliver a pizza, so Robbert unlocks the door to let him in -- all without leaving the tub. For a limited time, SimpliSafe offers a 60-day risk-free guarantee and free shipping.

 

Not to mention:

A) Who goes and soaks in a tub right until the time your food is supposed to arrive? By the time you towel off and get to it, it'll be cold.

B) It's creepy. No employee delivering a pizza should have to interact with a customer in their bathtub for any reason. The fact that there is no fallback on this makes me wonder how people would react if, say, the pizza delivery person were female.