Say What?: Commercials That Made Us Scratch Our Heads

[Sandman87]

Wait, what? What ad is this?

There's a series of CARFAX ads that have been running for a few years now (featuring a CGI "car fox"). It's a service that purports to show the history of the car that you're about to buy, so you know if it's been in any accidents or other disasters that might have caused hidden damage.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

There's a series of CARFAX ads that have been running for a few years now (featuring a CGI "car fox"). It's a service that purports to show the history of the car that you're about to buy, so you know if it's been in any accidents or other disasters that might have caused hidden damage.

 

Heh, sorry, I wasn't clear. I know what CARFAX is, but I didn't get the Dracula reference until I read Bruinsfan's post.

 

[Charlie's Angels]Isn't it amazing what you can learn on the.........Internet?"[/Charlie's Angels]

[Sandman87]

The latest "Truth" anti-smoking ad makes me wonder what they are smoking.

 

Firstly, they tell us not to post selfies that have been taken while we are smoking (because it would be free advertising for the tobacco companies), then they show us a bunch of pictures of people smoking. So it's a case of "Don't do it, and we're going to do it right now." Yeah, that'll show 'em!

 

Secondly, they play some cool sounding music during the ad, as if they were trying to make smoking look cool by giving the pictures a nifty soundtrack.

 

Now I'm kind of tempted to go find some pictures of people who are smoking so I can repost them.

[Blakeston]

I just spent an entire commercial trying to decide whether I was watching a commercial for some really bizarre movie or a SNL sketch.  It was a commercial.  The boy that beeps brought to you by GE. 

 

I had a feeling someone would have already mentioned this abomination.

 

The only explanation I can think of for it is that it's just so freaking bizarre that it would have to grab people's attention. But if you want people's attention, why show a half-second-long flash of your logo at the end, without any other indication of what the ad is for? The first time I saw it, I couldn't even figure out which company was being advertised.

Edited September 29, 2014 by Blakeston

[Muffyn]

Courtyard Marriott has these commercials I just don't get.  A woman is travelling in a horse drawn carriage in full  costume with her laptop.  A man is sailing on a Viking ship with a glass of wine.  Turns out they are in a lounge and/or bar of a Courtyard Marriott.  I don't understand what message they are trying to send. 

Courtyard leads to full blown schizophrenia perhaps?  Or causes hallucinations?  Temporal shifts?  Puts strong hallucinogens in their cocktails?  Is a secret vortex to hell? 

[Brattinella]

The "Fill and Freeze" commercials with Doctor Andrew Ordon.  He looks like a Florida Orange.  Great advertising!

[Rick Kitchen]

So that lady who is surrounded by people with the flu - everybody in the elevator has it, she walks past a guy and hands him a Kleenex.  Is the ad saying that everybody has the flu but her, or is she infecting everybody around her?

[xaxat]

According to New York state gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino, not only is current governor Andrew Cuomo a unicorn killer, Astorino's people resurrected the classic "Daisy Ad" to show that Cuomo also wants to nuke little girls. . . or something.

 

 

 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

According to New York state gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino, not only is current governor Andrew Cuomo a unicorn killer, Astorino's people resurrected the classic "Daisy Ad" to show that Cuomo also wants to nuke little girls. . . or something.

 

 

My mind is literally boggling right now.

[Lola16]

Cuomo wants to nuke anyone who asks him about the Moreland commission (anti corruption task force he started and then ended when it started investigating him and his cronies).  Astorino wants to nuke HUD and the Independence Party.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

The latest "Truth" anti-smoking ad makes me wonder what they are smoking.

 

Firstly, they tell us not to post selfies that have been taken while we are smoking (because it would be free advertising for the tobacco companies), then they show us a bunch of pictures of people smoking. So it's a case of "Don't do it, and we're going to do it right now." Yeah, that'll show 'em!

If they ran ads that made sense and actually discouraged people from smoking, they'd eventually put themselves out of business. Where did they get those pictures without violating copyrights? Did the subjects effectively get paid for smoking?

[Brattinella]

I don't know.  I don't see any of these celebrities holding up a pack of cigarettes.  They are smoking a non-identified smoke.  When I smoked, I ONLY smoked a certain brand (B&H Menthol).  In a pinch, though, there was a secondary choice, but only as a last resort.  I just don't see this as advertising cigarettes.

[GaT]

If they ran ads that made sense and actually discouraged people from smoking, they'd eventually put themselves out of business. Where did they get those pictures without violating copyrights? Did the subjects effectively get paid for smoking?

When I smoked, the "Truth" ads always made me want a cigarette. Not once did I feel discouraged by them.

[90PercentGravity]

Absolutely. If you are trying to quit, seeing people smoking anything makes it harder.

[90PercentGravity]

Every time I see this Latuda commercial is sounds like she is saying one of the risks is "triple swallowing."

 

[OmegaX123]

Every time I see this Latuda commercial is sounds like she is saying one of the risks is "triple swallowing."

I know she's saying 'trouble swallowing', and I can hear it that way if I really listen, but damned if it didn't sound like 'triple swallowing' at first to me too.

[Rick Kitchen]

I hate that Latuda ad because it looks like people who take it just float around in a cloud with no emotions.

[Brattinella]

That commercial always makes me think of the Twilight Zone episode of Facts of Life; "Toodie, Toodie".

[Muffyn]

Latuda seems to make people move in slow motion.  I fear she'll get hit by a car or fall into a pit.  As for triple trouble swallowing, having broken a cervical vertebrae last year and having had a few days when I couldn't swallow (I kept shooting soup out of my nose), that alone makes me fear this drug like no other.  

[janie jones]

It kind of sounds like "trupple" to me.  But I can't hate that commercial because that dog is fucking cute.

[Rick Kitchen]

I'm not too sure what to say about this ad, except that it made me laugh the first time I saw it:

 

[GaT]

Holy shit, that ad was made by stoners wasn't it? 

[LoneHaranguer]

At least Tomcat is a product you'd associate with rodents, unlike the car ad that starts with a hamster in a ball (like in the phone ad), then goes on to feature hamster people. There's no dialog in the ad, so I don't know if "Dad" got a new gig.

[bilgistic]

Poor mice.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Every time I see this Latuda commercial is sounds like she is saying one of the risks is "triple swallowing."

 

 

I listened to it four times, and I couldn't tell if she said "triple" or "trouble". Mostly what I was wondering is why the hell ads for anti-depressants have such a long list of things the medicine might do to you if you take it. Logically I know its probably to avoid lawsuits in case of mishaps, but it seems like the possible side effects of the drug far outweigh the positive things it can do.

[Brattinella]

Some of the conditions I see on those commercials are truly horrible, but DAMN the drugs are almost worse!  I don't know what the hell I would do if I needed them.

[Prevailing Wind]

Watching the ad here, I didn't hear "triple," but I saw it last night on live TV - and it certainly did sound like Triple Swallowing.  Yikes.  I think it's because they have to talk so darn fast to get the entire disclaimer in, they muddle the words.

[Watcher0363]

A ship load of money!

Booking Yeah!

Now we have

Half fast!

 

Well, are we not a clever species.

[Writing Wrongs]

What the hell is up with the Matthew McConaughey car commercials?

[xls]

When I smoked, the "Truth" ads always made me want a cigarette. Not once did I feel discouraged by them.

Especially when they show a bunch of cool young actors like the Twilight kids smoking.

[topanga]

There are commercials for xfinity TV (our local cable service) that brag that a viewer can record and watch 15 shows at once. And they repeat it later "watch 15 shows at once." How is it possible to watch more than one TV show at once?

[riley702]

What the hell is up with the Matthew McConaughey car commercials?

Not sure (I think he has a distinctly creepy, crazy serial-killer vibe myself), but Ellen DeGeneres has a little fun with it here:

 

Edited October 6, 2014 by riley702

[theatremouse]

they repeat it later "watch 15 shows at once." How is it possible to watch more than one TV show at once?

I'm not sure if you're asking rhetorically or really want to know, so possibly ignore me?

But they're basically advertising 15 tuners in their device. So normally, you can only record, or do picture in picture whathaveyou, from say two channels at once. Or you could record one thing while watching another, that kind of thing. Some other cable companies have recently come out with boxes that can do 6 at once. Personally, even though I know lots of folks have 500 channels (probably even I do) but the likelihood of wanting to watch/record more than say....4 at once  astounds me. Let alone 15. But hey I guess if all your favourite shows suddenly got moved to the same timeslot on the same day of the week...or possibly if you have a sports channel package wherein you'd want to have access to every game of a certain sport when they're all airing simultaneously, I guess that might be a use for 15 at once. That provider isn't in my area so I don't know if the service really just lets you record 15 at once, and the "watch at once" is poor phrasing, or if it means it does actually let you do a 15 picture in picture making tiny boxes on one screen too, but if it does...I'm guessing the point is probably for the sports scenario actually.

[topanga]

I'm not sure if you're asking rhetorically or really want to know, so possibly ignore me?

Thanks for the response, theatremouse, I was asking literally. We watch the NFL Game Mix channel on Sundays, and it's cool--but sometimes dizzying--to see 8 games on the screen at the same time. And that's just football, where you don't have to stay glued to the screen to understand what's going on. I can't imagine doing that with a TV show.

[Prevailing Wind]

 

What the hell is up with the Matthew McConaughey car commercials?

Nobody knows.  Not even him.

[Sandman87]

The burger technology of Carl's Jr. has advanced now to the point where people can use their grease-bombs to join the Mile High Club. So many questions. Does that mean we need to worry about mustard-stained underwear now? Will we get arrested for ordering from the kids' menu? Will porn sites need to add a search category for "greasy buns"?

[Aquarius]

Will porn sites need to add a search category for "greasy buns"?

 

I'm pretty sure that category was covered before Carl's Jr. got into the act.  ;-)

[Neurochick]

What the hell is up with the Matthew McConaughey car commercials?

 

Very "True Detective-ish" to me.

[Bruinsfan]

Especially when they show a bunch of cool young actors like the Twilight kids smoking.

Seems to me that would be an effective warning. "Oh no, if I smoke I'll be stuck with a perma-scowl and be completely incapable of expressing other emotions, just like Kristen Stewart!"

[mmecorday]

I was watching MeTV this weekend and there was a commercial for the channel's morning lineup. I could have sworn the announcer said "The Gonorrhea Show." But when I looked at the screen, I was relieved that she had actually said "The Donna Reed Show."

[Watcher0363]

I am expanding on an earleir post with this excerpt from an article on commercials like the ones below. I highlighted the part that really caught my attention.

 

Some would say this is just a cheap trick to bring some cursing into the homes of quiet Americans who are just minding their own business. Maybe it is, and it's hilarious! Perhaps some other ad agencies could come up with something as clever as this little spot. Sadly, however, they'll probably just settle for the same old thing, and the apathetic viewing public will continue to not demand better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-10FadzQAJ4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=I03UmJbK0lA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GQdhS57hUyk

 

For some reason, the older I get, the less I appreciate cursing. Especially in the youth and in public.

[Lola16]

I was watching MeTV this weekend and there was a commercial for the channel's morning lineup. I could have sworn the announcer said "The Gonorrhea Show." But when I looked at the screen, I was relieved that she had actually said "The Donna Reed Show."

Ha.  They have one for the Brady Brunch too.  Yummy.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I was watching MeTV this weekend and there was a commercial for the channel's morning lineup. I could have sworn the announcer said "The Gonorrhea Show." But when I looked at the screen, I was relieved that she had actually said "The Donna Reed Show."

 

*wipes Coke off the screen*

 

Sounds like one of those old health films kids used to have to watch during Sex Ed Week.

[xls]

Seems to me that would be an effective warning. "Oh no, if I smoke I'll be stuck with a perma-scowl and be completely incapable of expressing other emotions, just like Kristen Stewart!"

Ahahaha-smoking makes you boring!

[Sandman87]

Life Alert's current commercial has this line: "Sharon, we've received a smoke signal coming from your kitchen." I don't know about you, but I'm not sure how I feel about an emergency alert service that relies on smoke signals. Maybe they should look into that newfangled telephone technology that I've been hearing so much about.

[riley702]

Speaking of phones, I just saw a Basic Talk commercial with a guy saying, "If you don't believe me..." listen to this guy, introducing a newscaster who is chomping on a sandwich that he quickly throws off-screen before repeating what first guy told us. We then cut back to first guy, who is... chomping on that same sandwich! That he then hides behind a prop. How is this supposed to make me want Basic Talk?

Edited October 7, 2014 by riley702

[mmecorday]

 

Life Alert's current commercial has this line: "Sharon, we've received a smoke signal coming from your kitchen." I don't know about you, but I'm not sure how I feel about an emergency alert service that relies on smoke signals. Maybe they should look into that newfangled telephone technology that I've been hearing so much about.

Every time I see that commercial, I expect the dispatcher to follow up with, "We suspect the presence of an Indian in your cupboard."

[LoneHaranguer]

 

How is this supposed to make me want Basic Talk?

Some ads are just intended to get name recognition.

[Rick Kitchen]

This is ridiculous.  A court has ruled that Red Bull has to pay its customers $13 million for lying that it gives you wings.  This lawsuit is just silly, but they won.

 

If you want a free $10 out of the lawsuit, follow the link in this article.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

This is ridiculous.  A court has ruled that Red Bull has to pay its customers $13 million for lying that it gives you wings.  This lawsuit is just silly, but they won.

 

If you want a free $10 out of the lawsuit, follow the link in this article.

 

Wait.....they said it gives you wings? I think Red Bull tastes like crap, so I don't drink it, but wings? Really? I think these people should have spent the money they used to hire a lawyer on a psychiatrist that enjoys a challenge that they believed that, not on the company for claiming it.