Say What?: Commercials That Made Us Scratch Our Heads

[bilgistic]

6 hours ago, meep.meep said:

That just links to this thread.

D'oh! Fixed!

[funky-rat]

On ‎3‎/‎16‎/‎2018 at 4:38 PM, cinsays said:

There is a commercial for that "Counting On" show with the Duggar people.  It says they have never been alone together before and then it sounds to me like the person they are talking to asks them how many grandchildren they have and they look at each other and say something like, should we tell him?

These people are newlyweds in their twenties (or teens maybe, don't know), but they definitely don't have any grandchildren.

Can someone tell me what the guy is asking?

Not important but it bugs me.

I haven't seen that one, but several of the daughters are pregnant, and my guess is that whichever one it is will be revealing it on the next show (the show runs several months behind - my guess is it's Joy - she's either 19 or 20, and has had the baby, but as I said, the show runs a few months behind).  I haven't watched it in eons, but I see things posted online about their pregnancies, etc.  Their promos are usually badly edited.

On ‎3‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 8:55 PM, Tunia said:

This one, meep.meep?

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/7ige/cesar-home-delights-night-shift

"About Cesar Home Delights TV Commercial, 'Night Shift'

A security guard works the long and drawn out hours on the night shift, but he has has a furry sidekick. His dog keeps him company and entertains him. When it's meal time, he shows his appreciation by feeding his buddy Cesar Home Delights."

Yet another commercial that would make more sense if they aired the full one.....

[janie jones]

3 hours ago, funky-rat said:

Yet another commercial that would make more sense if they aired the full one.....

I'd never seen this commercial until I saw the full version posted above, and I still don't understand why his dog is at work with him.  Also, is he supposed to be on patrol around the building, or does he have a station he should be at, looking at security monitors?  Either way, he shouldn't be playing with his dog.  This guy should be fired.

I can understand why people thought he was a pilot though.

[funky-rat]

1 hour ago, janie jones said:

I'd never seen this commercial until I saw the full version posted above, and I still don't understand why his dog is at work with him.  Also, is he supposed to be on patrol around the building, or does he have a station he should be at, looking at security monitors?  Either way, he shouldn't be playing with his dog.  This guy should be fired.

I can understand why people thought he was a pilot though.

I don't really either, but it still makes slightly more sense than the little blip they usually show.

[Prevailing Wind]

Buick?  Woman driver with "Girl" baby shower cake picks up another woman who says, "You know she's having a boy, right?"  #1 - If she knew that, why would there be a GIRL cake in the back seat?  #2 - Driver, at some point, was pretty sure "she" is having a girl, or she wouldn't have ordered a gender-specific cake. #3 - If she knew that, somewhere along the line, shouldn't she be questioning if passenger really knows WTF she's talking about?  No. She turns the car around to get a BOY cake.  Talk about not having any self-confidence!  Annoys the crap out of me every time.  I imagine they arrive at the party with a slapped together BOY cake and Future Mom says, "What? I told you I'm having a girl!" and passenger woman starts laughing hysterically at driver, "You've been punked!!!!"

[Tunia]

^^^Yeah, that one always annoys me too.  If Buick driver knows prospective mom well enough to be put in charge of picking up the cake, why wouldn't she know her friend is expecting a boy?

[Prevailing Wind]

I'm tellin' ya...it's passenger that's lying to driver.

[Duke2801]

On 3/16/2018 at 12:42 PM, Ubiquitous said:

Why does Subaru insist on making ads set in an alternative dog universe?

Because dogs are awesome? I’d certainly be happy to live in “their” universe.

[Prevailing Wind]

I love the one where they all bark at the Mail Truck.

[Tunia]

On ‎3‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 12:43 PM, Prevailing Wind said:

Buick? 

<snip>

I imagine they arrive at the party with a slapped together BOY cake and Future Mom says, "What? I told you I'm having a girl!" and passenger woman starts laughing hysterically at driver, "You've been punked!!!!"

 

16 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I'm tellin' ya...it's passenger that's lying to driver.

When the cake is handed off in the driveway, prego mom says "I knew I could trust you guys with the cake."  Doubt she'd be so pleased if it specified the wrong gender...not to mention all the crepe paper and balloons at the doorway are blue.  Passenger is right - she's having a boy.

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/wmRZ/2018-buick-encore-ready-for-anything-song-by-matt-and-kim#

Edited March 25, 2018 by Tunia
typo

[peacheslatour]

Is it just me or does it seem like the music in commercials is getting better? JC Penney and Blue Nile come to mind. And even (horrors!) Wal-Mart.

[peacheslatour]

I spoke too soon. WTF Applebees? The supposedly Family Friendly chain is using some of the most inappropriate music in their commercials, to wit:

Billy Ocean: Hey (hey) you (you), get into my car
Who me?
Yes you, get into my car
Wooooooooooooooh. Wah! Yeah!

This in the wake of all the controversy about cat calling and the #METOO movement.

And then they use Come To My Window, a lesbian love song. NTTAWWI.

[Prevailing Wind]

8 hours ago, Tunia said:

 

When the cake is handed off in the driveway, prego mom says "I knew I could trust you guys with the cake."  Doubt she'd be so pleased if it specified the wrong gender...not to mention all the crepe paper and balloons at the doorway are blue.  Passenger is right - she's having a boy.

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/wmRZ/2018-buick-encore-ready-for-anything-song-by-matt-and-kim#

Well, damn. There goes my punking theory. I haven't seen the complete commercial. The one I've seen ends with driver turning the car around and then goes off to some other situation with a different model Buick, ending with a 3rd scenario, none of which resolve the baby shower cake.  Thanks for the enlightenment!

[proserpina65]

22 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

I spoke too soon. WTF Applebees? The supposedly Family Friendly chain is using some of the most inappropriate music in their commercials, to wit:

Billy Ocean: Hey (hey) you (you), get into my car
Who me?
Yes you, get into my car
Wooooooooooooooh. Wah! Yeah!

This in the wake of all the controversy about cat calling and the #METOO movement.

And then they use Come To My Window, a lesbian love song. NTTAWWI.

I love the Billy Ocean one.  I think it's a pretty clever use of it.  The Melissa Etheridge one doesn't bother me, but I can see a certain segment of the population getting up in arms about it.

Edited March 26, 2018 by proserpina65

[Eliot]

I am confused by one of those home DNA-testing commercials.

Whoever the announcer is goes on this long rhapsody about how "you find out that your great-great-great uncle was a fisherman in Ireland with blue eyes just like you!"

Shouldn't it be "blue eyes just like yours?" Otherwise, the person she's talking to would also be a fisherman in Ireland, no?

[Silver Raven]

2 minutes ago, Eliot said:

I am confused by one of those home DNA-testing commercials.

Whoever the announcer is goes on this long rhapsody about how "you find out that your great-great-great uncle was a fisherman in Ireland with blue eyes just like you!"

Shouldn't it be "blue eyes just like yours?" Otherwise, the person she's talking to would also be a fisherman in Ireland, no?

Thank you, I've been complaining about this ever since I saw that.

[meep.meep]

But the part where a home DNA test is able to determine that your ancestor was a fisherman doesn't throw you at all?

Maybe blue eyes, maybe Irish, but not employment history.   

[chessiegal]

I don't think they're saying a DNA test says he's a fisherman, I think they're tracing ancestors ability says he's a fisherman.

I read a Dear Abby recently where a woman said her mother and grandmother always touted their native American ancestry, and a DNA test debunked it. And another where a father had tests done on himself and all his kids and it turned out one of his sons wasn't his.

[riley702]

Whoopsie!

[proserpina65]

On ‎03‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 4:56 PM, Eliot said:

I am confused by one of those home DNA-testing commercials.

Whoever the announcer is goes on this long rhapsody about how "you find out that your great-great-great uncle was a fisherman in Ireland with blue eyes just like you!"

Shouldn't it be "blue eyes just like yours?" Otherwise, the person she's talking to would also be a fisherman in Ireland, no?

I thought the commercial was addressing the descendant who was also a blue-eyed fisherman.

[Eliot]

On 3/27/2018 at 8:10 PM, meep.meep said:

But the part where a home DNA test is able to determine that your ancestor was a fisherman doesn't throw you at all?

Maybe blue eyes, maybe Irish, but not employment history.   

Ha! Honestly, I was so hung up on the grammar the whole logic of the statement threw me!

15 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I thought the commercial was addressing the descendant who was also a blue-eyed fisherman.

That was my question. I was wondering whether the commercial was implying the descendant inherited the blue eyes or had inherited the blue eyes plus the entire profession. That’s why grammar matters!

[meep.meep]

Once a grammar nazi, always a grammar nazi!    :-)

[Prevailing Wind]

[Julzygirl]

On 3/17/2018 at 7:51 PM, meep.meep said:

I keep seeing a dog food commercial that has me perplexed.  There is a nerdy guy in a high rise office building conference room.  He's wearing some kind of uniform, with a tie.  So, I figure he's a security guard or maybe an airline pilot.  He feeds a little white fluffy dog some dog food and the dog eats it all up fast.  Then the guy sighs and eats his own snack and looks out of the window.

Who is he?  Why is he in the conference room?  Why is the dog there?  If he is a security guard, why doesn't he have a bigger dog?  Are we all supposed to bring our dogs to our office buildings for dinner now?

Why?

OMG!!! I know right. That is the stupidest one. I was also wondering what the point of that whole scenario? To me it felt like the dog inhaled all it's food and then wanted the guys food too. Lol. Also, it looks like the guy only has a crappy piece of toast or something and he's not very happy with it. Are they trying to make the dog food look more appealing than the man's snack??? I just do not understand.....at all.

[Maverick]

 What message is Whole Foods trying to communicate with their new series of commercials?  'Cause it seems like:  "Our customers are awkward, creepy and morons.  If you're any or all of the above, shop here too!"

[Silver Raven]

There is a whole series of really, really weird European ads with creepy anthropomorphized animals for Orangina soda, but this may be the most wtf? one of the bunch.

[Julzygirl]

On 12/31/2017 at 2:02 AM, spaceytraci1208 said:

The Geico ad where they're playing Pictionary with the sloth...I always wonder who the hell invited the sloth and why are they so frustrated with it? It's not like they didn't know it's a sloth lol

That sloth cracks me up big time. I know it's so stupid too. I can't help it. 

[peacheslatour]

15 hours ago, Julzygirl said:

That sloth cracks me up big time. I know it's so stupid too. I can't help it. 

Sloths are never not funny.

[InDueTime]

Every time I see this Samsung ad, I wonder why the family didn't take the stuff off the front of the old refrigerator before it was hauled away.  I can understand that they likely wouldn't want magnets on their new computer-operated fridge, but they didn't want the family photos?

[proserpina65]

On ‎03‎/‎31‎/‎2018 at 10:05 PM, Maverick said:

 What message is Whole Foods trying to communicate with their new series of commercials?  'Cause it seems like:  "Our customers are awkward, creepy and morons.  If you're any or all of the above, shop here too!"

I do like the cheese one, though.  I want to go to Cheese School!

[Aquarius]

Ha!  I thought that guy in the Cesar commercial was a pilot and that he was in a pilot's lounge on a layover, spending some time with his dog.  How his dog was in the pilot's lounge was a head-scratcher, though.  I did NOT get security guard at all.

[friendperidot]

I don't really mind the security guy with his little dog while on duty. It's a long, duty and having a dog along might help him stay awake. Of course, a Pit Bull or German Shepherd might be considered better guard dogs, but little dogs can be really obnoxious barkers if something is out of place. Chihuahuas (thanks to Les Nessman, I will never forget how to spell Chihuahua) are Pit Bulls in tiny bodies. My Pit runs away from Chihuahuas, he doesn't know they would be one tasty, but bony bite.

[Prevailing Wind]

My condo next-door neighbor has a Shih Tzu and that lil thing barks whenever *anyone* is on the porch.  It's horrible on the days I make multiple trips bringing groceries in - she doesn't seem to recognize it's me each time.  Oddly, though, she's very quiet when "mom" isn't home. She barks to alert the human, so when the human isn't home, there's no need to bark. NOW she's got a foster brother and they BOTH bark. It's driving my skittish female cat nuts; Bosco, the male, wants to make friends with the new dog, since he & Bella are already buddies.

[Browncoat]

One of my neighbors has some random Heinz 57 dog, who can't remember who I am, either.  Last summer, after I calmed the dog enough for him to stop barking, I was giving pieces of sticks I'd picked up from the yard -- just playing, and as long as I stood mostly still in one spot, the dog was fine.  When I took a step, though, or went to get some more sticks, it was like the dog couldn't recognize me and would start barking again, and wouldn't come near me.  It was hilarious.

[Silver Raven]

5 hours ago, Browncoat said:

One of my neighbors has some random Heinz 57 dog, who can't remember who I am, either.  Last summer, after I calmed the dog enough for him to stop barking, I was giving pieces of sticks I'd picked up from the yard -- just playing, and as long as I stood mostly still in one spot, the dog was fine.  When I took a step, though, or went to get some more sticks, it was like the dog couldn't recognize me and would start barking again, and wouldn't come near me.  It was hilarious.

Out neighbor has a dog who's fine with me if I walk past it in the driveway but goes ballistic if I go past it out on the street.

[meep.meep]

19 hours ago, friendperidot said:

I don't really mind the security guy with his little dog while on duty. It's a long, duty and having a dog along might help him stay awake. Of course, a Pit Bull or German Shepherd might be considered better guard dogs, but little dogs can be really obnoxious barkers if something is out of place. Chihuahuas (thanks to Les Nessman, I will never forget how to spell Chihuahua) are Pit Bulls in tiny bodies. My Pit runs away from Chihuahuas, he doesn't know they would be one tasty, but bony bite.

I pay for a security guard for the facility where I work.  If he brought his pet to work he would be fired.  We don't allow regular employees to bring their pets in the building, why a security guard?

It was hard enough getting the guard company to assign someone who didn't look like he would faint at the first sign of trouble.  Who's going to be scared of someone walking around with a little purse dog?

[AppleCore]

There is a newer commercial for Bio Oil stretch mark eraser that shows a woman struggling to walk up stairs. After she uses the product, apparently, she can now confidently walk with her friends! In public! It took me a while to figure out what they were even selling, but I still can't figure out how having stretch marks makes it difficult to walk up stairs.

[funky-rat]

8 hours ago, AppleCore said:

There is a newer commercial for Bio Oil stretch mark eraser that shows a woman struggling to walk up stairs. After she uses the product, apparently, she can now confidently walk with her friends! In public! It took me a while to figure out what they were even selling, but I still can't figure out how having stretch marks makes it difficult to walk up stairs.

There's one that airs in my area for a portable oxygen device that doesn't confuse me, but it does bring up the same type of questions you have.  It has two women.  One is all smiles as she carries around her special oxygen device, living an amazing life.  Then there's Shirley, who looks like she will cut you if you look at her wrong.  Toting around her small oxygen tank is just destroying her life.  While the other lady (can't remember her name) shops leisurely at the grocery store, Shirley has to move like a mofo and then risks running out of oxygen while impatiently waiting in line (although you know she's going to write a check when she gets to the register).  The smiling lady gets out of her car with ease, but Shirley has to muscle that oxygen tank out of the trunk, and when she finally gets it out, she knocks the wheel off of it and it rolls away with dramatic effect (at which point my husband and I always bust out laughing).  Several other incidents ensue before Shirley wises up, and gets the portable device too, and then she is sitting on the patio with smiling woman, smiling herself.  The commercial infers that they are friends (with them sitting together at the end) so why wouldn't the smiling lady say "Hey Shirley!  Get one of these!  It's awesome".  Or is Shirley just a miserable old bat, who screams at kids to get out of her yard, and smiling woman decides to keep this to herself, to keep Shirley away?  Or maybe Shirley cheats at bridge?  The world may never know........

[friendperidot]

ok, funky-rat, you made me laugh. But, my mother had COPD, and had to be on oxygen, it was recommended that she get one of the amazing devices and she refused, she didn't trust it. I think it was a combination of her age, she was 79 when she died, her illnesses, both physical and bi-polar and she was a stubborn old bat (said with love, affection and grief of losing her, 10 years is a drop in the bucket for losing a parent.) Those devices were fairly new at the time and she just couldn't comprehend how she would be able to breathe. In the end, it didn't really matter, she went to the hospital, was in and out, for brief periods, including a 2 day stay in a nursing home, back to the hospital then to hospice, she died within about 6 weeks and most of that time she was hospitalized and all that time she was on oxygen. So maybe Shirley has to be around her friend and watching her friend enjoy life so she can adjust to the idea of the amazing device! I can't remember the friend's name either.

[funky-rat]

10 minutes ago, friendperidot said:

ok, funky-rat, you made me laugh. But, my mother had COPD, and had to be on oxygen, it was recommended that she get one of the amazing devices and she refused, she didn't trust it. I think it was a combination of her age, she was 79 when she died, her illnesses, both physical and bi-polar and she was a stubborn old bat (said with love, affection and grief of losing her, 10 years is a drop in the bucket for losing a parent.) Those devices were fairly new at the time and she just couldn't comprehend how she would be able to breathe. In the end, it didn't really matter, she went to the hospital, was in and out, for brief periods, including a 2 day stay in a nursing home, back to the hospital then to hospice, she died within about 6 weeks and most of that time she was hospitalized and all that time she was on oxygen. So maybe Shirley has to be around her friend and watching her friend enjoy life so she can adjust to the idea of the amazing device! I can't remember the friend's name either.

Definitely not minimizing COPD - I knew a few people who had it - but that commercial is just so over-dramatic and over the top that it's laughable.

[funky-rat]

Smiling woman is Mary.  Here it is, for those who haven't seen it.  Pay particular attention the wayward wheel when Shirley gets her tank out of the trunk.

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/AESz/inogen-one-g4-mary-and-shirley

**ETA: I guess the wheel just breaks.  I could have sworn it rolled away**

Edited April 4, 2018 by funky-rat
My Bad Memory

[peacheslatour]

You'll also notice that Shirley in the first picture has the color muted while Mary's is bright and clear.

[AppleCore]

4 hours ago, funky-rat said:

Shirley has to move like a mofo and then risks running out of oxygen while impatiently waiting in line (although you know she's going to write a check when she gets to the register). 

funky-rat, you made me snort with laughter at this one! Now I'll look forward to seeing this mini drama :)  The color saturation really does bring it all home. I'm so glad Shirley was able to make it into the Technicolor dream world that Mary enjoys. Maybe now she'll stop cheating at bridge!

[bilgistic]

I'm irrationally bothered that neither Shirley nor Mary are wearing the mini-tank bag(?) strapped across their body. If one is carrying something around all day, it needs to be hands-free, especially since one now has so much freedom! That tank would be falling off the shoulder, and even though it's revolutionarily lightweight, one should still distribute the weight evenly.

[friendperidot]

funky-rat, I didn't think you were minimizing COPD. I enjoyed your re-cap of the commercial. And I'm very happy to know the friend's name is Mary!

[peacheslatour]

Now kiss...

[janie jones]

16 hours ago, AppleCore said:

There is a newer commercial for Bio Oil stretch mark eraser that shows a woman struggling to walk up stairs. After she uses the product, apparently, she can now confidently walk with her friends! In public! It took me a while to figure out what they were even selling, but I still can't figure out how having stretch marks makes it difficult to walk up stairs.

Is she wearing a skirt?  Is she worried about someone under her on the stairs glancing up and seeing her back-of-the-thigh stretch marks?  That, in my opinion is dumb, but it's the only thing I can think of!

[Aquarius]

On 4/3/2018 at 7:18 PM, meep.meep said:

It was hard enough getting the guard company to assign someone who didn't look like he would faint at the first sign of trouble.  Who's going to be scared of someone walking around with a little purse dog?

Especially if he's dressed up in a pilot costume.

[Eliot]

6 hours ago, funky-rat said:

Smiling woman is Mary.  Here it is, for those who haven't seen it.  Pay particular attention the wayward wheel when Shirley gets her tank out of the trunk.

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/AESz/inogen-one-g4-mary-and-shirley

**ETA: I guess the wheel just breaks.  I could have sworn it rolled away**

I’m so disappointed. I really wanted to see the tank rolling, rolling, rolling away. And I say this as someone whose mom was on oxygen; she would have totally laughed with me.

[funky-rat]

11 hours ago, Eliot said:

I’m so disappointed. I really wanted to see the tank rolling, rolling, rolling away. And I say this as someone whose mom was on oxygen; she would have totally laughed with me.

It would have made this commercial even better.  My husband said he thought the wheel rolled away too, so at least we both were wrong, lol.