Say What?: Commercials That Made Us Scratch Our Heads

[mmecorday]

Quote

Me:  “Wha?  Who has a ‘litter room’?” 

I live in a house with seven cats, so yeah, they get their own place to poop and pee.

[Maverick]

5 hours ago, janie jones said:

This is the filthiest thing I've ever read.

Then you aren't going to the right websites. 

[Bort]

17 hours ago, smittykins said:

Me:  “Wha?  Who has a ‘litter room’?”

I sort of do. I have a pet door that goes into the garage. She does her litter business in there.

[smittykins]

I think I’m going to start calling my laundry room(where Shadow’s box is located)“the litter room.”

Edited August 13, 2019 by smittykins

[Annber03]

8 hours ago, jenniferhartwell said:

I once worked at a radio station whose on-air brand was "the Beaver". It was, um, aimed at suburban housewives...

My family lived in Colorado a little over a decade ago, and while there, the station my dad worked at would run ads for a store in the area that sold fishing equipment and the like.

The name of that store? Master Bait n' Tackle. 

[SunnyBeBe]

I just saw for the first time the new commercials for disposable ladies' shavers by company named Billie.  They feature real women with actual hair on the underarm and leg.  Interesting.  The camera zooms in on the hair so you can see it being ready to be shaved.  lol  

[janie jones]

I like how those commercials show the product doing what it's supposed to do, as opposed to other razor commercials where the razor gets dragged across already hairless skin.

[Bastet]

5 minutes ago, janie jones said:

I like how those commercials show the product doing what it's supposed to do, as opposed to other razor commercials where the razor gets dragged across already hairless skin.

The company is calling the commercial series "Project Body Hair" and said this in the YouTube caption for the first one:  "For the past 100 years, razor brands have pretended body hair doesn't exist. Commercials show razors gliding over smooth, hairless legs. Strange, huh? Introducing Project Body Hair. A celebration of hair... wherever it is or isn't."  And, apparently, they are the first company selling women's razors to show body hair in their commercial.

I haven't looked at any others yet, but here's the first one:

I like the "whenever - if ever - you want to shave" line and that not everyone is hairless at the end of it (because I was prepared to scoff at a razor company touting yo, people - yes, even women - have body hair and then turning around and joining the chorus advocating we remove all traces of it).

[Ubiquitous]

I guess it's b/c we live in a germophobic society, but why are the people in the Clorox bleach commercials disinfecting their bathtubs for no good reason? Does anyone truly disinfect their bathtub before letting their child sit on the edge while you apply a Band-Aid to their knee?

[Browncoat]

8 hours ago, Bastet said:

The company is calling the commercial series "Project Body Hair" and said this in the YouTube caption for the first one:  "For the past 100 years, razor brands have pretended body hair doesn't exist. Commercials show razors gliding over smooth, hairless legs. Strange, huh? Introducing Project Body Hair. A celebration of hair... wherever it is or isn't."  And, apparently, they are the first company selling women's razors to show body hair in their commercial.

I haven't looked at any others yet, but here's the first one:

I like the "whenever - if ever - you want to shave" line and that not everyone is hairless at the end of it (because I was prepared to scoff at a razor company touting yo, people - yes, even women - have body hair and then turning around and joining the chorus advocating we remove all traces of it).

I like it!  I particularly like the woman shaving through the rips in her jeans. But this ad is also a prime candidate for the earworms thread.  🙂

[LoneHaranguer]

5 hours ago, Ubiquitous said:

I guess it's b/c we live in a germophobic society, but why are the people in the Clorox bleach commercials disinfecting their bathtubs for no good reason?

Since Clorox bleach has become worthless for traditional uses, like laundry, they need to come up with other reasons for people to buy it.

[chessiegal]

I remember one of my stepdaughter's toddlers pooped in the bath tub. After draining, Clorox ensued.

[Brattinella]

3 minutes ago, LoneHaranguer said:

Since Clorox bleach has become worthless for traditional uses, like laundry, they need to come up with other reasons for people to buy it.

You actually can still use Clorox for laundry, but it has to be 100% cotton.

[mmecorday]

My grandmother used bleach for everything. She'd buy Handi-Wipes and instead of throwing them away, she'd put them in a sink full of bleach to disinfect them.

I don't understand the Walmart commercials with the giant kids walking around.

[LoneHaranguer]

4 minutes ago, Brattinella said:

You actually can still use Clorox for laundry, but it has to be 100% cotton.

It wasn't working for me. I even tried mixing up a wall-washing batch, something that used to turn an old t-shirt into brilliant white shreds, and nothing. To be fair, It's been a few years since I last tried it, but the company stopped running any ads touting it as a bleach; it's only been pushed as a disinfectant.

[chessiegal]

My husband takes a drug that discolors his T-shirts. He uses Clorox for all his whites, and it gets rid of the discoloration, brings them back to white.

[peacheslatour]

6 hours ago, Ubiquitous said:

I guess it's b/c we live in a germophobic society, but why are the people in the Clorox bleach commercials disinfecting their bathtubs for no good reason? Does anyone truly disinfect their bathtub before letting their child sit on the edge while you apply a Band-Aid to their knee?

Not if someone is going to sit on the edge but I do if I'm going to take a bath.

[Haleth]

20 hours ago, chessiegal said:

I remember one of my stepdaughter's toddlers pooped in the bath tub. After draining, Clorox ensued.

My son's cat will only use the bathtub.  At least it's easy to clean.

[catlover79]

On 8/13/2019 at 6:21 PM, Annber03 said:

My family lived in Colorado a little over a decade ago, and while there, the station my dad worked at would run ads for a store in the area that sold fishing equipment and the like.

The name of that store? Master Bait n' Tackle. 

This just in...we are all officially still in the third grade. 😂😂😂😂😂

[Annber03]

10 minutes ago, catlover79 said:

This just in...we are all officially still in the third grade. 😂😂😂😂😂

LOL, so true.

(That reminds me of another similar example of that: a few nights back I was watching that "Through the Decades" show, and they were talking about a place in New York called Love Canal, which was the site of an environmental disaster decades ago. 

The story itself was pretty horrifying and awful, but I couldn't help getting thrown out of it all a bit, because the company that was involved in the environmental disaster was called the Hooker Chemical Company, and they kept talking about the "toxic Love Canal" throughout the segment. I just couldn't help thinking, "Boy, they're just serving up the 'insert your own joke' setup on a sliver platter here, aren't they?" :D.)

[catlover79]

Just now, Annber03 said:

LOL, so true.

(That reminds me of another similar example of that: a few nights back I was watching that "Through the Decades" show, and they were talking about a place in New York called Love Canal, which was the site of an environmental disaster decades ago. 

The story itself was pretty horrifying and awful, but I couldn't help getting thrown out of it all a bit, because the company that was involved in the environmental disaster was called the Hooker Chemical Company, and they kept talking about the "toxic Love Canal" throughout the segment. I just couldn't help thinking, "Boy, they're just serving up the 'insert your own joke' setup on a sliver platter here, aren't they?" :D.)

Probably not the reaction they were going for!! 😉

[Ubiquitous]

Why did Red Lobster address me as "crap pants'"? 🤔

Edited August 17, 2019 by Ubiquitous

[Jynnan tonnix]

On 8/13/2019 at 6:21 PM, Annber03 said:

My family lived in Colorado a little over a decade ago, and while there, the station my dad worked at would run ads for a store in the area that sold fishing equipment and the like.

The name of that store? Master Bait n' Tackle. 

There's one just down the road from the Delaware Memorial Bridge called "The Master Baiter"

[catlover79]

14 minutes ago, Jynnan tonnix said:

There's one just down the road from the Delaware Memorial Bridge called "The Master Baiter"

Reminds me of a certain SVU quote...with Benson and Stabler speaking over a department store intercom...😳

[Ubiquitous]

Every time I see the Marriott commercial with the woman practicing something in sign language,  I wonder what's she going to do when a deaf client starts "talking" back to her and she's like "Wait! That's all I know how to say!"

[Cobalt Stargazer]

In a new ad for Spectrum, a woman spends most of it running away from various phone company reps who want to take away the phone she's carrying. They never identify the other companies, but the voiceover says something like, Are you tired of being expected to give up your current phone just because you change services? while the woman is fleeing from restaurants and down alleyways and across intersections with people in avid pursuit of her.

Um, whut?

[LoneHaranguer]

On 8/15/2019 at 12:07 PM, chessiegal said:

My husband takes a drug that discolors his T-shirts. He uses Clorox for all his whites, and it gets rid of the discoloration, brings them back to white.

He may need to be careful that he gets the right one each time. While shopping last night, I checked out the Clorox section at each store, and it appears that Clorox is selling a few different formulas with similar front labels. On the back, one doesn't even promise anything but disinfecting, while at the other extreme, there's a prominent warning about how caustic it is.

[sempervivum]

I may be late in seeing this, but I just caught an ad for Femigard (I think), which featured a tag line of 'Joie de Hoo Ha', and showed women in a gym or yoga class whose, er, hoo ha's 'sang' with happiness or something.

I'll probably regret saying this, but, can commercials get any weirder?

[dleighg]

On 8/5/2019 at 9:20 AM, funky-rat said:

They are what used to be Wisk.

really? Wasn't Wisk the "Ring around the collar" detergent? Wow I haven't thought about *that* in years. (Persil)

[funky-rat]

34 minutes ago, dleighg said:

really? Wasn't Wisk the "Ring around the collar" detergent? Wow I haven't thought about *that* in years. (Persil)

Yep - that was Wisk.  It's all my mom ever used because my dad worked in a factory with chemicals that made his clothes smell bad, and it was the only one that got the smell out.  I have sensitive skin, and it doesn't irritate either.  I wrote to Wisk when I heard it was being discontinued, and they told me it was becoming Persil.  It's all I use now.

[smittykins]

Every time they would sing “Ring around the col-lar!” I would respond with “How about ‘Wash yer dirty ne-eck!’”

[peacheslatour]

15 minutes ago, smittykins said:

Every time they would sing “Ring around the col-lar!” I would respond with “How about ‘Wash yer dirty ne-eck!’”

Right? I remember the one with the MIL saying something like your wife doesn't get your shirts clean enough and then the husband and the MIL glare at the poor wife like she's a murderer. My mom used to shout Hey buddy! Wash your own shirts!

[QQQQ]

16 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

In a new ad for Spectrum, a woman spends most of it running away from various phone company reps who want to take away the phone she's carrying. They never identify the other companies, but the voiceover says something like, Are you tired of being expected to give up your current phone just because you change services? while the woman is fleeing from restaurants and down alleyways and across intersections with people in avid pursuit of her.

Um, whut?

Ironic, since giving up my phone is exactly what I would have to do if I switched to Spectrum.

[Ubiquitous]

4 hours ago, funky-rat said:

Yep - that was Wisk.  It's all my mom ever used because my dad worked in a factory with chemicals that made his clothes smell bad, and it was the only one that got the smell out.  I have sensitive skin, and it doesn't irritate either.  I wrote to Wisk when I heard it was being discontinued, and they told me it was becoming Persil.  It's all I use now.

I wonder why they renamed it? I always assumed Persil was some new cheap-ass brand, like Purex.

[smittykins]

OTOH, “Those Dirty Rings” is totally my new band name.

On an 80s bumper for the CBS Late Movie:

”We will return to “The Cloud,” starring Dennis Weaver.”

Oh, right, McCloud...

[WendyCR72]

On 8/15/2019 at 11:32 AM, chessiegal said:

I remember one of my stepdaughter's toddlers pooped in the bath tub. After draining, Clorox ensued.

Now I have the pool scene from Caddyshack in my head!

[funky-rat]

12 hours ago, Ubiquitous said:

I wonder why they renamed it? I always assumed Persil was some new cheap-ass brand, like Purex.

I did to, but it's actually a fairly simple thing:

Persil has existed for some time in Europe.  The company that makes Persil bought out Wisk (presumably for their formula), re-branded it Persil, and launched on a wide-scale in the US (originally, pre-Wisk Persil was only sold at Wal-Mart).  Not sure if the Persil that is sold here is the same as the Persil sold overseas.

Edited August 20, 2019 by funky-rat

[HighMaintenance]

3 hours ago, funky-rat said:

I did to, but it's actually a fairly simple thing:

Persil has existed for some time in Europe.  The company that makes Persil bought out Wisk (presumably for their formula), re-branded it Persil, and launched on a wide-scale in the US (originally, pre-Wisk Persil was only sold at Wal-Mart).  Not sure if the Persil that is sold here is the same as the Persil sold overseas.

I saw the commercials for it in Europe before I saw one in the U.S.  However, I was a long time Tide user but somehow I started breaking out from using it - not sure if they changed the formula or not.  I switched to Persil and like it.  Of course the commercials with that hunky Peter Hermann didn't have anything to do with my decision.  Nope.  Not at all...

[SoMuchTV]

Okay, I recently got Hulu, and I've been binging on a particular show, so I keep seeing the same ads.  And there's one for something called "Flipp" - ("flipp - with 2 p's").  And they seem to keep bleeping out something that seems to be related to the "2 p's" - with microwave beeps or airhorns...  What am I missing? Is there some reference I'm not getting?

[janie jones]

Is it a play on how "flippin'" can be used as a substitute for "fuckin'"?

[SoMuchTV]

2 hours ago, janie jones said:

Is it a play on how "flippin'" can be used as a substitute for "fuckin'"?

Maybe...? But it seems to have something specific to do with the "2 p's", so that doesn't totally make sense.

I can't skip past the ads on my Hulu, so when the ads come on I usually shift my focus elsewhere, and I don't catch the whole thing.  Then, you also can't rewind the ads (at least with the setup I have), so I can't go back and try to figure it out.  Maybe it'll come on often enough that I figure it out (or someone else will).  Or maybe it will go away...

[QuinnInND]

On 8/15/2019 at 10:02 AM, mmecorday said:

I don't understand the Walmart commercials with the giant kids walking around.

They're "going back big" like "Go big or go home". Its Walmarts thing this year for school. "Go back big". 

[Tom Holmberg]

2 hours ago, QuinnInND said:

Its Walmarts thing this year for school. "Go back big". 

I like big backs, and I cannot lie!

[SoMuchTV]

On 8/20/2019 at 4:56 PM, SoMuchTV said:

Okay, I recently got Hulu, and I've been binging on a particular show, so I keep seeing the same ads.  And there's one for something called "Flipp" - ("flipp - with 2 p's").  And they seem to keep bleeping out something that seems to be related to the "2 p's" - with microwave beeps or airhorns...  What am I missing? Is there some reference I'm not getting?

On 8/21/2019 at 11:25 AM, janie jones said:

Is it a play on how "flippin'" can be used as a substitute for "fuckin'"?

21 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

Maybe...? But it seems to have something specific to do with the "2 p's", so that doesn't totally make sense.

I can't skip past the ads on my Hulu, so when the ads come on I usually shift my focus elsewhere, and I don't catch the whole thing.  Then, you also can't rewind the ads (at least with the setup I have), so I can't go back and try to figure it out.  Maybe it'll come on often enough that I figure it out (or someone else will).  Or maybe it will go away...

Okay, I think I solved the mystery.  There's one woman telling another about a service called Flipp - she describes it as "Flipp - with 2 p's", then there's a series of sounds that apparently are supposed to sound like "2 p's" - a microwave going beep-beep, a bird going chirp-chirp, two short blasts of an airhorn, then someone scooping up two p-shaped noodles from a bowl of alphabet soup.  So in a way I guess it worked - it got my attention enough to look up what they do.  But it sounds like an aggregator of ads from various stores...?  Something that I'd never see a need to use.

[topanga]

1 hour ago, SoMuchTV said:

Okay, I think I solved the mystery.  There's one woman telling another about a service called Flipp - she describes it as "Flipp - with 2 p's", then there's a series of sounds that apparently are supposed to sound like "2 p's" - a microwave going beep-beep, a bird going chirp-chirp, two short blasts of an airhorn, then someone scooping up two p-shaped noodles from a bowl of alphabet soup.  So in a way I guess it worked - it got my attention enough to look up what they do.  But it sounds like an aggregator of ads from various stores...?  Something that I'd never see a need to use.

On 8/21/2019 at 11:25 AM, janie jones said:

Is it a play on how "flippin'" can be used as a substitute for "fuckin'"?

Thanks for the explanation, Somuchtv. But the way the women were staring at each other happily... I thought it was a new online dating app. I never paid close enough attention to catch the sounds. 

[sempervivum]

On 8/20/2019 at 7:53 AM, funky-rat said:

Persil has existed for some time in Europe. 

I was watching a 1965 episode of (original) Perry Mason, where he's doing something in Germany, and there's a big billboard for Persil next to the West Berlin airport. Never would have registered on me if I hadn't been following this discussion!

[Ghost of TWOP Past]

"IS A DIRTY CRAP MAKING YOU SICK?" 

I beg your pardon? 

Oohhhh! "Dirty C.P.A.P." Guys, maybe you should have left the periods in the abbreviation and not used all-caps. 

(So you don't have to look it up, some kind of breathing assistance mask thingy.) 

[chessiegal]

It's for people who have sleep apnea and other breathing issues while sleeping. I know people who have to use them, and yes if they get dirty, it's bad news.

[Bastet]

20 minutes ago, Ghost of TWOP Past said:

Guys, maybe you should have left the periods in the abbreviation and not used all-caps. 

It's an acronym - it stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure - so the capital letters are standard, and periods are generally not used.  They can't help it that a P and an R look similar.  And it's pronounced see-pap, so it doesn't sound anything like crap. 

[Ghost of TWOP Past]

I doubt I'm the only person to misread that first screen. 

Edited August 23, 2019 by Ghost of TWOP Past