Say What?: Commercials That Made Us Scratch Our Heads

[Brattinella]

Actually, the wording says that Red Bull didn't affect performance or speed, etc.  I hope folks didn't REALLY think they would grow wings.

[Sandman87]

So now their slogan can be "Red Bull gives you money."

[DoughGirl]

There's a new ambulance chaser commercial that claims they can get ovarian cancer victims money from baby powder and Shower to Shower companies because the powder has been proven to cause ovarian cancer. How could you prove that you ever used the powder?

[wovenloaf]

I saw a Match.com commercial today where the woman said she hadn't tried Match yet because she didn't want "to have to sell herself." I mean...I get they're saying she doesn't want to have to feel like she's marketing herself or convincing people to date her. But, why on earth would Match decide that phrasing it as "selling" oneself was a good idea?!

 

"Hey women, if you use Match, you won't have to sell yourself on the internet!!!" Umm...

Edited October 10, 2014 by wovenloaf

[Bastet]

In the commercial where one woman knows a bunch of information - her high school GPA, her IQ, etc. - but not her credit score, the tidbit that causes an "Oh, wow [you know that?]" response in her friend is knowing her blood type.  Really?  I'm certainly aware there are people who don't know their blood type, but I hardly think knowing it is so unusual as to cause that reaction.

Edited October 10, 2014 by Bastet

[Bruinsfan]

There's a new ambulance chaser commercial that claims they can get ovarian cancer victims money from baby powder and Shower to Shower companies because the powder has been proven to cause ovarian cancer. How could you prove that you ever used the powder?

 

That commercial just makes me picture some con man yelling "Ow! My ovaries!"

Edited October 10, 2014 by Bruinsfan

[Rick Kitchen]

Red Bull is giving $10 to anybody and everybody, without requiring proof that you ever drank it, as the result of a lawsuit.

[Brattinella]

Or $15 in Red Bull products.  Because it doesn't give you WINGS. :)

 

What a litigious society we live in.

Edited October 10, 2014 by Brattinella

[Brattinella]

In regards to the ads for Care dot com, a nanny service:  Being a crime buff, it occurs to me that website would  be a good place to troll if you were a bad guy.  They give out driving records, job history, age, picture, etc. 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

That commercial just makes me picture some con man yelling "Ow! My ovaries!"

 

I totally just heard that in the voice of the idiot who's cleaning his ear with a Q Tip in the ad for the WaxVac.

[Brattinella]

Okay, Cobalt, you really made me laugh with that one!  Jeez, the guy with the Q-tip!  OW!!!

[Sandman87]

That commercial just makes me picture some con man yelling "Ow! My ovaries!"

This made me think of Invader Zim: "Ow! My squeedly spooch!"

Edited October 11, 2014 by Sandman87

[friendperidot]

I'm rather in awe of something I just saw, Ashley Madison - guys singing, "looking for someone other than my wife", now they advertise for cheating husbands? (late night tv ads - unbelievable)

[Prevailing Wind]

 

That commercial just makes me picture some con man yelling "Ow! My ovaries!"

I suppose they remove ovaries during gender-reassignment surgery, huh?  Otherwise, it just might happen...

[Brattinella]

Ashley Madison, the ads, the concept just make me INSANELY MAD.  Advertising for cheating pigs.

[OmegaX123]

Or $15 in Red Bull products.  Because it doesn't give you WINGS. :)

 

What a litigious society we live in.

I read the article about this. It's not the "Red Bull gives you wiiiings!" slogan that they're suing/have sued over. It's the fact that the 'mental alertness and focus' claims are unproven (and in fact either don't work for everyone, or just plain don't work).

[Lola16]

This new Toyota ad isn't so much of a head scratcher as much as it is "what were you think ad agency?!".

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8unft7p054Q

 

It's as though the took music and the visuals from the Viagra ads and merged them with the old Mastercard Priceless ads.   Bah.

[90PercentGravity]

Sugar-free caramel makes about as much sense as vegan bacon or decaf coffee.

[Stella MD]

So, Diet Coke produces hallucinations?

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I'm rather in awe of something I just saw, Ashley Madison - guys singing, "looking for someone other than my wife", now they advertise for cheating husbands? (late night tv ads - unbelievable)

 

 My jaw is about to unhinge itself right now. I even youtube'd it for proof that it exists. I won't post it because I don't want anyone sending me a bill for their destroyed computers. Sheesh.

[90PercentGravity]

OMG, that Ashley Madison ad is hilariously cheesy and ridiculous. Let's be honest, those two guys are looking for each other. The ad is being very cheeky.

[friendperidot]

I've noticed that Carnation Breakfast has changed the commercial from adding fresh/breast milk to just add milk. And I keep seeing/hearing ads for Our Time - dating service for old folk (like me), I think they should ad a tag line - "young folks just don't get it".

[Aquarius]

The "Man of Today" Boss Bottled ad . . . The first few times I saw it, I heard him say, "And you can see it in my deets."

 

I thought, "DEETS?  Really??  What's next, 'You should totes go out and buy this fragrance'?"  Made me so mad.

 

Then I realized Mr. Butler was saying, "And you can see it in my deeds."

 

Edited October 15, 2014 by Aquarius

[90PercentGravity]

I heard "deets" too and was like WTF? But then I realized it was "deeds," only that doesn't even really make sense in the context. What are these deeds Gerarde Butler is talking about?

[cynicat]

You'd think Sarah's Mom would be wealthier considering she discovered neosporin.

http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7MDx/neosporin-all-better

 

 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I do not think that word means what they think it means.

[Prevailing Wind]

Inconceivable!

[Haleth]

I heard "deets" too and was like WTF? But then I realized it was "deeds," only that doesn't even really make sense in the context. What are these deeds Gerarde Butler is talking about?

 

Who cares?  That accent is sexy as hell.  He can say anything he wants. <swoon>

[Sandman87]

The "Man of Today" Boss Bottled ad . . . The first few times I saw it, I heard him say, "And you can see it in my deets."

Maybe the main ingredient in that stuff is insect repellent.

[meep.meep]

Who thought that making Tony Hoult look like a nerd was a good idea?

[90PercentGravity]

I have no idea what McDonald's is thinking with this new ad campaign. People aren't going to go online to get those answers, the take away is just going to be "I've heard you put horse meat in your hamburgers" and such.

[Rick Kitchen]

I have no idea what McDonald's is thinking with this new ad campaign. People aren't going to go online to get those answers, the take away is just going to be "I've heard you put horse meat in your hamburgers" and such.

 

I was thinking the exact same thing.  Very much a wtf commercial.

[Bastet]

"If painful sex after menopause is affecting you, talk to your doctor about [some drug]."

"You shouldn't take [drug] if you ... are pregnant."

 

Huh?

 

(I assume that, to cover all bases, they're thinking of the women who are pretty much through menopause but aren't yet officially post-menopausal, but it just sounds ridiculous hearing "after menopause" several times and then hearing pregnancy among the laundry list of reasons one shouldn't take this stuff.)

[Bruinsfan]

I suppose the disclaimer could be for younger women to keep them from eating their mom's/aunt's prescription medications as if they were Tic Tacs.

[Bastet]

Really, the whole concept makes me shake my head, because in the cost/benefit analysis one must undertake in deciding whether to take any drug, this one comes out to "Hell, no."  One could either use a topical lubricant when needed, or ingest a pill daily and open oneself up to side effects that include increased risk of things like stroke and cancer.  Gee, that's a tough one.

[Brattinella]

 

Bastet

 

Really, the whole concept makes me shake my head, because in the cost/benefit analysis one must undertake in deciding whether to take any drug, this one comes out to "Hell, no."  One could either use a topical lubricant when needed, or ingest a pill daily and open oneself up to side effects that include increased risk of things like stroke and cancer.  Gee, that's a tough one.

 

And the listed side effects are suspiciously close to those of REAL estrogen. I don't get the idea that this is better than.

[Kate the Great]

I don't hate the commercial advertising medicine for totally blind people* to solve non-24 circadian rhythm disorder (although it's kind of grimly voiced and shot), but I am confused as to why it's on TV. It seems like a condition that would kind of self-select for medication, in that it wouldn't need to be advertised on TV, but would be something someone with it would probably mention to his or her doctor, and wouldn't need to convince people to buy it.

 

Can anyone explain why it's so prevalent? I just don't get it.

 

* Their description; not mine.

[Prevailing Wind]

You don't have to *watch* "Jeopardy!" to enjoy it.  Even some sighted folks listen to tv a lot.

[Kate the Great]

It's not the watching vs listening thing that puzzles me, but the fact that it needs advertising dollars thrown at it at all.

[riley702]

I don't hate the commercial advertising medicine for totally blind people* to solve non-24 circadian rhythm disorder (although it's kind of grimly voiced and shot), but I am confused as to why it's on TV. It seems like a condition that would kind of self-select for medication, in that it wouldn't need to be advertised on TV, but would be something someone with it would probably mention to his or her doctor, and wouldn't need to convince people to buy it.

 

Can anyone explain why it's so prevalent? I just don't get it.

 

* Their description; not mine.

Maybe folks don't know there's something out there to help. I didn't know it existed. And it sounds like it might be helpful for some sighted folks, too. [TMI alert]  I've had insomnia my entire adult life and have long since quit seeking medical help for it, as anything I take quickly loses effectiveness. My "solution" is to simply plow through with little or no sleep for however many days in a row that I have to, then crash and sleep when I can.  :/  Yeah, not ideal, and hell on my social life. Interestingly, non-24 circadian rhythm disorder (which I also didn't know about), sounds an awful lot like what I've jokingly said for years. If I have absolutely no obligations on my time, I tend to stay up about 30-36 hours and then sleep 10-12. Being continually out of sync with the rest of the world is physically very stressful, and I've often wondered whether or not it contributed to my breast cancer in 2010. If I plug my pre-diagnosis stats into a cancer "calculator", it says my risk is much lower than the general population. No family history on either side, and yet I got a screamingly aggressive cancer before I was 50...

[LoneHaranguer]

 

Interestingly, non-24 circadian rhythm disorder (which I also didn't know about), sounds an awful lot like what I've jokingly said for years.

I once read about a study somebody did with people in caves and no time-keeping devices; a 24-hour rhythm in not natural, 25-26 hours is.

[GaT]

I can't find the exact commercial, but on FUSE music TV, they are showing what I now know to be a commercial for Disney's Fantasia Music Evolved game using Demi Lovato's version of "Let It Go". It's basically 2 girls playing the game, & the first few times I saw it, I couldn't figure out what the hell kind of music video it was. They don't really make it clear it's a commercial, so I sat through the entire song trying to figure it out. They're trying to pretend that they are random people invited to see the new game when it's pretty obvious they're were hired to do it. It looks kind of like this, but without the commercial aspect & it's the full song. I still don't understand how the game is played.

[Haleth]

And the listed side effects are suspiciously close to those of REAL estrogen. I don't get the idea that this is better than.

 

Side effects include hot flashes and night sweats.  As if we aren't suffering those symptoms without the pills.

[InDueTime]

The Progressive ad where where woman dresses up her hand as Flo, and has it saying, "Nailed it!" while she buys insurance and argues with it.  I'd just quietly back out of the room if I caught someone doing that.

 

The ventriloquist dummy from the other Progressive ad is creepy.

[ABay]

Ventriloquist dummies are inherently creepy. They're one of those things like clowns and mannequins that you just know are going to kill you the minute you turn your back.

[Rick Kitchen]

I don't even know what the ad is for, but there's an ad where a couple are out on a date, and the guy says one of his interests is collecting dolls.  He then hauls out a doll that looks like and is identically dressed like the woman he's dating (how he knew what she was going to wear is another creepy bit).  So the guy looks at the doll and says, "What?  Right here?" And begins kissing the doll.  Eek.

[Brattinella]

Rick Kitchen, that ad freaks me right the hell out.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I don't even know what the ad is for, but there's an ad where a couple are out on a date, and the guy says one of his interests is collecting dolls.  He then hauls out a doll that looks like and is identically dressed like the woman he's dating (how he knew what she was going to wear is another creepy bit).  So the guy looks at the doll and says, "What?  Right here?" And begins kissing the doll.  Eek.

 

I was just about to mention that one Rick Kitchen. I bet she met that guy on EHarmony.

Edited October 25, 2014 by Cobalt Stargazer

[InDueTime]

I don't even know what the ad is for, but there's an ad where a couple are out on a date, and the guy says one of his interests is collecting dolls.  He then hauls out a doll that looks like and is identically dressed like the woman he's dating (how he knew what she was going to wear is another creepy bit).  So the guy looks at the doll and says, "What?  Right here?" And begins kissing the doll.  Eek.

It was for Cars.com.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FHZ-A9-RdE

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Isn't that Jack McBrayer?