Say What?: Commercials That Made Us Scratch Our Heads

[funky-rat]

15 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I agree that it's definitely a serious problem.  I'm just more sensitive to the smoking issue because I lived with parents who smoked Pall Malls until I was well into my 30s (their smoking, not my living there).  So second hand smoke is more of an issue for me.  And I guess e-cigarettes do eliminate that, but they deliver nicotine pretty efficiently and are addictive, too.

My mom was in that boat.  Four 4-pack-a-day smokers in her house.  People made fun of her constantly because she stank like an ashtray.  Turned her off of every trying smoking.  I didn't like visiting her parents, even though my grandparents were great people.  Their house was just thick with a smoky haze, and everything was tinged brown, and was sticky.  My mom's brothers lived at home until their parents both passed.  When they were cleaning the house in preparation of selling it, the buckets of water they used to scrub the walls down were just so gross.  Belive me, I get your point.

And like you, I have more of a personal connection to alcohol abuse (not just my husband - my parents didn't smoke and were good about booze, but other relatives, not so much).  I just feel that we've traded one vice for another, and I wish that in general, they'd be shining more of a light on how bad it's become.

[chessiegal]

I believe you see more anti-smoking ads because of the government's settlement with the tobacco companies.

[friendperidot]

Oh, Funky Rat, I understand, I'm a friend of Lois, but I hate what alcohol has done to too many people. But with my family, it's more about drugs. But when I was married, I could tell from the way the car pulled into the driveway that my husband had been drinking. My recovery is a daily struggle for me, one that lately I've been losing,

[peacheslatour]

Lol, T-Mobile using Sweet Emotion in their ads. Sample lyric:

When I pulled into town in a police car
Your daddy said I took it just a little too far
You're telling me things but your girlfriend lied
You can't catch me 'cause the rabbit done died
 

[Milburn Stone]

I have no idea what the M.C. Escher-like Dell commercial with Jeffrey Wright is trying to tell me.

[Ubiquitous]

On ‎10‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 10:29 AM, funky-rat said:

Ok.  Thanks - no, they don't make that clear.  I think I'm in their rewards program, but it's a waste, because if you don't buy pizza like twice a month, or a lot at once, the rewards expire quickly.

Dominos used to have a commercial that confused me in which they claimed that you could get rewards points for ANY pizza, not just theirs. I cannot believe they'd let you fill the account with other pizza and get a free one of theirs, but they never made the rules clear.

[peacheslatour]

34 minutes ago, Ubiquitous said:

Dominos used to have a commercial that confused me in which they claimed that you could get rewards points for ANY pizza, not just theirs. I cannot believe they'd let you fill the account with other pizza and get a free one of theirs, but they never made the rules clear.

They even showed a dog with a pizza squeaky toy.

[theatremouse]

8 hours ago, Ubiquitous said:

Dominos used to have a commercial that confused me in which they claimed that you could get rewards points for ANY pizza, not just theirs. I cannot believe they'd let you fill the account with other pizza and get a free one of theirs, but they never made the rules clear.

That was a limited time offer for tweeting photos of any pizza. 

[mmecorday]

There's an ad for Entyvio, a prescription drug for patient with UC or Crohn's. The announcer says, "You want to do one thing, but your gut says, 'Not today.'" So your gut is Arya Stark?

[chessiegal]

My husband has been living with ulcerative colitis for over 25 years. Most of the time it's controlled with a sulfa based drug with little to no side effects. It's such a frustrating disease as it's an autoimmune disease. It will never go away, and doctors have told him it will only get worse. And right now it's worse, to the point some days he carries a change of underwear and pants if he leaves the house. He finally contacted his doctor last week who prescribed doubling his dosage to 4 times a day rather than 2. I thought the doctor might try something like Humera, but it seems he doesn't think that's necessary yet. So frustrating for him and those who love him.

[slf]

Just saw a Volvo commercial that features a indie/acoustic cover of Lean On by Major Lazer, only they changed the lyrics from "blow a kiss, fire a gun" to "blow a kiss, into the sun" and all of it just....doesn't sound right. Like, could they not afford the lady who does covers for the online college commercials?

[Colleenna]

14 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

My husband has been living with ulcerative colitis for over 25 years. Most of the time it's controlled with a sulfa based drug with little to no side effects. It's such a frustrating disease as it's an autoimmune disease. It will never go away, and doctors have told him it will only get worse. And right now it's worse, to the point some days he carries a change of underwear and pants if he leaves the house. He finally contacted his doctor last week who prescribed doubling his dosage to 4 times a day rather than 2. I thought the doctor might try something like Humera, but it seems he doesn't think that's necessary yet. So frustrating for him and those who love him.

So sorry to hear this. I hope your husband is able to get some relief from his symptoms. 

[Bort]

22 minutes ago, slf said:

Just saw a Volvo commercial that features a indie/acoustic cover of Lean On by Major Lazer, only they changed the lyrics from "blow a kiss, fire a gun" to "blow a kiss, into the sun" and all of it just....doesn't sound right. Like, could they not afford the lady who does covers for the online college commercials?

I don't have any comment about the cover version per se, but the lyrics were right as there was a radio edit version of that song with those alternate lyrics. I guess for the radio stations that didn't want to seemingly promote gun violence.

[Prevailing Wind]

9 hours ago, chessiegal said:

My husband has been living with ulcerative colitis for over 25 years. Most of the time it's controlled with a sulfa based drug with little to no side effects. It's such a frustrating disease as it's an autoimmune disease. It will never go away, and doctors have told him it will only get worse. And right now it's worse, to the point some days he carries a change of underwear and pants if he leaves the house. He finally contacted his doctor last week who prescribed doubling his dosage to 4 times a day rather than 2. I thought the doctor might try something like Humera, but it seems he doesn't think that's necessary yet. So frustrating for him and those who love him.

My SIL has had Crohn's all her adult life and the doc is finally giving her Stelara injections. She says she's very happy they have great insurance, because the injections (every 3 months) are $80,000 EACH.  WTF makes a drug that freakin' expensive? (Unless she's exaggerating, which IS in the realm of possibility.)

[funky-rat]

1 hour ago, Prevailing Wind said:

My SIL has had Crohn's all her adult life and the doc is finally giving her Stelara injections. She says she's very happy they have great insurance, because the injections (every 3 months) are $80,000 EACH.  WTF makes a drug that freakin' expensive? (Unless she's exaggerating, which IS in the realm of possibility.)

Probably not an exaggeration.  Trulicity is almost $2000 per month (that's 4 injectors).  Insulin is about $500, or more, depending.  And Eli Lily, who makes the majority of those meds won't do patient assistance if you have insurance....even if your coverage has no prescription plan (like mine).  That super high amount is probably what they charge her insurance - if she self-paid, it would probably be less, but still in the thousands, or even tens of thousands.

**ETA: Good RX is pricing Stelara - with discount - at around $25,000.  Ludicrous.

Edited October 8, 2019 by funky-rat

[Colleenna]

1 minute ago, funky-rat said:

Probably not an exaggeration.  Trulicity is almost $2000 per month (that's 4 injectors).  Insulin is about $500, or more, depending.  And Eli Lily, who makes the majority of those meds won't do patient assistance if you have insurance....even if your coverage has no prescription plan (like mine).  That super high amount is probably what they charge her insurance - if she self-paid, it would probably be less, but still in the thousands, or even tens of thousands.

**ETA: Good RX is pricing Stelara - with discount - at around $25,000.  Ludicrous.

Holy f!! And I was thinking the $8K for a Prolia injection was outrageous.....

[slf]

10 hours ago, kariyaki said:

I don't have any comment about the cover version per se, but the lyrics were right as there was a radio edit version of that song with those alternate lyrics. I guess for the radio stations that didn't want to seemingly promote gun violence.

Well that explains the change in lyrics; I didn't know there was another version.

The guy's voice is just so flat and s l o w and the melody is off. I immediately cringed. I saw it again an hour ago and hate to mute the tv. What a weird song choice.

[mmecorday]

Quote

My husband has been living with ulcerative colitis for over 25 years. Most of the time it's controlled with a sulfa based drug with little to no side effects. It's such a frustrating disease as it's an autoimmune disease. It will never go away, and doctors have told him it will only get worse. And right now it's worse, to the point some days he carries a change of underwear and pants if he leaves the house. He finally contacted his doctor last week who prescribed doubling his dosage to 4 times a day rather than 2. I thought the doctor might try something like Humera, but it seems he doesn't think that's necessary yet. So frustrating for him and those who love him.

I sympathize with you. Most of the commercials for the drugs that treat UC and Crohn's focus on how the diseases inconvenience everyone except the person who has the disease. These diseases are treatable, but they can be very debilitating as well. So sorry to hear that your husband has been dealing with this for so long. My heart goes out to him and to you.

[Ubiquitous]

I've been seeing commercials lately for a car pricing app that leaves me scratching my head which features two people discussing whether they paid too much for something and are interrupted by someone who used the product to get a good price on his czr. That's nice, but they're not discussing car prices! 

On 10/7/2019 at 8:14 PM, theatremouse said:

That was a limited time offer for tweeting photos of any pizza. 

How many times? I could pretty easily submit a dozen each day.

[lh25]

On 9/14/2019 at 8:14 AM, seasons said:

Yes! The Buick commercials! Thanks for the backup.

I just don't get how the valet doesn't remember the car he just drove up in

[Stella Rose]

The Car Gurus commercial is making me nuts.  They smoosh the words all together and it sounds like Cargaroos.  Like Underoos or Kangaroos .  

Then there is a snippet of a commercial I think I saw...  though I had a fever, but I swear it had a lady with um...   singing  lady bits who was doing yoga.  I am frankly terrified to google that.   

[Brattinella]

3 minutes ago, Stella Rose said:

The Car Gurus commercial is making me nuts.  They smoosh the words all together and it sounds like Cargaroos.  Like Underoos or Kangaroos .  

Then there is a snippet of a commercial I think I saw...  though I had a fever, but I swear it had a lady with um...   singing  lady bits who was doing yoga.  I am frankly terrified to google that.   

I totally agree on the 'underoos' commercial.  Pronounce the G, like GURU.

We've discussed the singing vagina here before but I'll be damned if I can remember the product name.  Pretty awful.

[crazycatlady58]

On 10/9/2019 at 5:13 PM, Stella Rose said:

The Car Gurus commercial is making me nuts.  They smoosh the words all together and it sounds like Cargaroos.  Like Underoos or Kangaroos .  

Then there is a snippet of a commercial I think I saw...  though I had a fever, but I swear it had a lady with um...   singing  lady bits who was doing yoga.  I am frankly terrified to google that.   

Sadly, you cannot blame it on the fever.

[Cailan]

On 10/7/2019 at 10:36 PM, slf said:

Just saw a Volvo commercial that features a indie/acoustic cover of Lean On by Major Lazer, only they changed the lyrics from "blow a kiss, fire a gun" to "blow a kiss, into the sun" and all of it just....doesn't sound right. Like, could they not afford the lady who does covers for the online college commercials?

Out of all the songs they chose that one. Because no one knows the actual lyrics?

in this crazy gun environment where children in schools are murdered. That song featuring children to sell a car?

[mmecorday]

I don't understand the iPhone commercial with the little girl walking around a big city by herself. At one point she falls and almost gets hit by a bus. She stops when she sees an advertisement for the new iPhone and suddenly she's all grown up. So ... the new iPhone will grant your wish to be big?

[Ubiquitous]

9 hours ago, mmecorday said:

I don't understand the iPhone commercial with the little girl walking around a big city by herself. At one point she falls and almost gets hit by a bus. She stops when she sees an advertisement for the new iPhone and suddenly she's all grown up. So ... the new iPhone will grant your wish to be big?

I thought it took her several years to get her iPhone.

[Ubiquitous]

As if the "Don't touch my auto discount!" lunatic wasn't bad enough, there's a new commercial with a guy calmly telling a lunatic in the adjacent car at a stop light he doesn't want to drag race with him. Why is he engaging that lunatic when his actions have no impact on his auto discount?

[proserpina65]

On ‎10‎/‎07‎/‎2019 at 11:22 PM, chessiegal said:

My husband has been living with ulcerative colitis for over 25 years. Most of the time it's controlled with a sulfa based drug with little to no side effects. It's such a frustrating disease as it's an autoimmune disease. It will never go away, and doctors have told him it will only get worse. And right now it's worse, to the point some days he carries a change of underwear and pants if he leaves the house. He finally contacted his doctor last week who prescribed doubling his dosage to 4 times a day rather than 2. I thought the doctor might try something like Humera, but it seems he doesn't think that's necessary yet. So frustrating for him and those who love him.

Given how expensive biologics like Humira are, it's probably a good thing if he can control it by doubling the dose of his current medicine.  I hope it works for him.

On ‎10‎/‎08‎/‎2019 at 9:09 AM, Prevailing Wind said:

My SIL has had Crohn's all her adult life and the doc is finally giving her Stelara injections. She says she's very happy they have great insurance, because the injections (every 3 months) are $80,000 EACH.  WTF makes a drug that freakin' expensive? (Unless she's exaggerating, which IS in the realm of possibility.)

They claim the price for drugs like that are due to development costs, but who knows?  And I guess some of that money supports work on treatments for rare and "orphan" diseases, but still, that's a lot of profit.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

They claim the price for drugs like that are due to development costs, but who knows?  And I guess some of that money supports work on treatments for rare and "orphan" diseases, but still, that's a lot of profit.

Probably how they pay for all that expensive advertising.

[Ubiquitous]

On ‎10‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 9:02 PM, Ubiquitous said:

As if the "Don't touch my auto discount!" lunatic wasn't bad enough, there's a new commercial with a guy calmly telling a lunatic in the adjacent car at a stop light he doesn't want to drag race with him. Why is he engaging that lunatic when his actions have no impact on his auto discount?

It suddenly occurred to me that the doofus with the "auto discount" normally or used to engage in stop light drag racing, but they cast a loser that looks like he'd never do that. Is that why it's confusing?

Edited October 22, 2019 by Ubiquitous

[funky-rat]

On 10/18/2019 at 6:03 PM, peacheslatour said:

Probably how they pay for all that expensive advertising.

BINGO.  Ever look around at a doctor's office?  It's like a NASCAR Race, with drug company logos all over absolutely everything, from the canisters that hold cotton balls, boxes of tissues, and even the little "socks" that cover the stirrups on exam tables.  And if you're ever in the office when a rep shows up, they bring in 25 pizzas, or 10 dozen donuts....it's nuts.

Edited October 21, 2019 by funky-rat

[spiderpig]

30 minutes ago, funky-rat said:

BINGO.  Ever look around at a doctor's office?  It's like a NASCAR Race, with drug company logos all over absolutely everything, from the canisters that hold cotton balls, boxes of tissues, and even the little "socks" that cover the stirrups on exam tables.  And if you're ever in the office when a rep shows up, they bring in 25 pizzas, or 10 dozen donuts....it's nuts.

Oh yeah.Decades ago when my mother worked for doctors our house was full of notepads, free samples, refrigerator magnets.  You name it.

[spiderpig]

What is with that creepy commercial of someone who looks like The Wicked Witch of the West and a little kid with her face painted like a cat?  I can't recall the product they're pushing, which is a big fail in advertising.

[dleighg]

1 minute ago, spiderpig said:

What is with that creepy commercial of someone who looks like The Wicked Witch of the West and a little kid with her face painted like a cat?  I can't recall the product they're pushing, which is a big fail in advertising.

It's not a kid, it's a young adult. The two young women were looking for a new roommate-- one wanted one that likes cats, the other wanted someone who cooks. The witch turned the first one into a cat.

I also do not know what they are selling. 🙂

[chessiegal]

32 minutes ago, dleighg said:

It's not a kid, it's a young adult. The two young women were looking for a new roommate-- one wanted one that likes cats, the other wanted someone who cooks. The witch turned the first one into a cat.

I also do not know what they are selling. 🙂

Geico.

[spiderpig]

42 minutes ago, dleighg said:

It's not a kid, it's a young adult. The two young women were looking for a new roommate-- one wanted one that likes cats, the other wanted someone who cooks. The witch turned the first one into a cat.

I also do not know what they are selling. 🙂

Thanks for the clarification!  When the spot airs (which is all the time) I have to avert mine eyes oh Lord and stick my fingers is my ears and go "La La La"

[Brattinella]

The way the transmogrified woman moves skeeves me right the hell out.

[AuntiePam]

1 hour ago, spiderpig said:

What is with that creepy commercial of someone who looks like The Wicked Witch of the West and a little kid with her face painted like a cat?  I can't recall the product they're pushing, which is a big fail in advertising.

Geico.  The two roommates can't agree on a third roommate.  One wants a roommate who can cook, the other wants one who likes cats.  They settle on the witch, who loves cats, cooks up a brew and feeds it to the roommate who turns into a cat.

I love how the other roommate flicks the cat toy at her. 

Edited October 21, 2019 by AuntiePam
Oops -- didn't see the earlier post.

[friendperidot]

9 hours ago, funky-rat said:

BINGO.  Ever look around at a doctor's office?  It's like a NASCAR Race, with drug company logos all over absolutely everything, from the canisters that hold cotton balls, boxes of tissues, and even the little "socks" that cover the stirrups on exam tables.  And if you're ever in the office when a rep shows up, they bring in 25 pizzas, or 10 dozen donuts....it's nuts.

Not so much anymore. A few years ago, there was a change in rules about what drug reps could bring in. I worked at a not-for-profit psych hospital/out patient clinic and it was always helpful for us to get all the pens, notepads, clip boards, I still have a few in my home. We also allowed us to give some of our patients some little extras to take home, things that our clientele couldn't afford that many people with higher incomes take for granted. Also, those pizzas and lunches, they had a price, we had to sit through a lecture about the medication, some of them were horrible and boring, but I did learn a lot about various psychiatric conditions from some of the psychiatrists they brought in. Having a lot of family members with bi-polar disorder and I have to live with their mood changes and am often bewildered by them, but one of the lectures I will never forget, the psychiatrist told us that when the bi-polar is in a depressive state, they go to the doctor wanting medication because they don't like feeling like that. But, when they are in a manic phase, their families go into the office begging for relief. And it is so true. During depressive states, my sister sleeps for days, I don't have to be bothered with what new hell she is creating. But when she's manic, I want to kill her at times, she has no clue about what time of day it is, what day it is, she will do 12 hour dishwashing marathons, yes they are needed because when she's depressed, she won't wash dishes for months, she has to get every dish in the house dirty. There's a reason I keep my dishes in my own room and will not use hers nor allow her to use mine. Living with a person with bi-polar disorder can be absolute hell. As my aunt who is a retired therapist reminded me, they like their manic states, they are a natural high. And there is a significant correlation between bi-polar and substance abuse. But for those who live with it, it's hell.

Now, to a different and actual commercial. There's one of those ads for Luvs about first child/second commercial that I finally paid attention to that had me confused. With the second child, the mother is handing him to a new baby sitter and tells her that he likes to "pull on" jewelry and she might want to lose the nose ring. For the longest time, I thought she was saying the baby likes to "pawn" jewelry. I think I like my version better. 

[Ashforth]

12 minutes ago, friendperidot said:

Now, to a different and actual commercial. There's one of those ads for Luvs about first child/second commercial that I finally paid attention to that had me confused. With the second child, the mother is handing him to a new baby sitter and tells her that he likes to "pull on" jewelry and she might want to lose the nose ring. For the longest time, I thought she was saying the baby likes to "pawn" jewelry. I think I like my version better. 

I think that commercial is funny and pretty gently parodies the pressure on new parents. Now, with the image of Baby Two crawling to the pawn shop with the babysitter's jewelry, I'll smile even more.

[chessiegal]

We don't see any Pharma stuff at our doctors' offices, most likely because we belong to a larger HMO (Kaiser Permanente), and decisions on drugs are not made by our doctors, but at a higher level of the organization.

[Prevailing Wind]

Drug reps show up at the vet's office, too, bearing pizza. Once they brought BBQ. Last week, we had breakfast to celebrate Vet Techs' Week. Fortunately, our break room is small enough that we ALL don't have to attend lectures. We wander in, visit the buffet, and take our food back to our desks. (or the countertops along the perimeter of the "treatment area" - they frequently have plates of some sort of food where folks are working through lunch to keep all the pets healthy.) Some of us get stuck sitting at the table, having to listen to a spiel about heartworm preventives.

[Colleenna]

32 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Drug reps show up at the vet's office, too, bearing pizza. Once they brought BBQ. Last week, we had breakfast to celebrate Vet Techs' Week. Fortunately, our break room is small enough that we ALL don't have to attend lectures. We wander in, visit the buffet, and take our food back to our desks. (or the countertops along the perimeter of the "treatment area" - they frequently have plates of some sort of food where folks are working through lunch to keep all the pets healthy.) Some of us get stuck sitting at the table, having to listen to a spiel about heartworm preventives.

Bless you. My cousin is a vet tech. I know how hard you work. 

[funky-rat]

13 hours ago, friendperidot said:

Not so much anymore. A few years ago, there was a change in rules about what drug reps could bring in. I worked at a not-for-profit psych hospital/out patient clinic and it was always helpful for us to get all the pens, notepads, clip boards, I still have a few in my home. We also allowed us to give some of our patients some little extras to take home, things that our clientele couldn't afford that many people with higher incomes take for granted. Also, those pizzas and lunches, they had a price, we had to sit through a lecture about the medication, some of them were horrible and boring, but I did learn a lot about various psychiatric conditions from some of the psychiatrists they brought in.

My doctor's office still looks like a billboard for every type of med ever.  They serve a lot of low income clientele, so perhaps they grab what they can get.  Can't blame them, but it would be nice if something could be done to bring the cost of meds down.

[Ubiquitous]

On ‎10‎/‎21‎/‎2019 at 11:28 AM, spiderpig said:

What is with that creepy commercial of someone who looks like The Wicked Witch of the West and a little kid with her face painted like a cat?  I can't recall the product they're pushing, which is a big fail in advertising.

Like someone said, it's a Geicko commercial for two women who settled for a witch as a room mate, but why does the one seem to know what was going to happen to her friend? As soon as she started turning into a cat, she was ready with the cat toy! Does she know the other cats were people?

[Bastet]

42 minutes ago, Ubiquitous said:

why does the one seem to know what was going to happen to her friend? As soon as she started turning into a cat, she was ready with the cat toy! Does she know the other cats were people?

That's the shorter version of the commercial.  In the longer cut, there's more in between the woman turning into a cat and her roommate getting out the cat toy.  She stares at her, asks her if she's feeling alright, etc. and then pulls out the cat toy to see how she'll respond.

[Prevailing Wind]

5 hours ago, Colleenna said:

Bless you. My cousin is a vet tech. I know how hard you work. 

Good for your cousin! I'm not a tech; I'm in administration - data base maintenance & data entry of surgical notes.  I still get the free food, though!!

[peacheslatour]

6 hours ago, Colleenna said:

Bless you. My cousin is a vet tech. I know how hard you work. 

I was a vet tech. We worked seven days a week, holidays and nights. Sick animals don't keep office hours. I couldn't take it and wimped out.

[chessiegal]

GoodRX commercial with the woman in some kind of uniform (blue dress that looks like it could be for a diner waitress, maid??) with 2 young kids in tow. She says "My son really needs this drug" as they walk into a pharmacy. Why is the little boy grabbing his crotch? Is this some symptom of why he needs the drug or something that should have warranted a retake without the crotch grab? Not sure why it bothers me, but it does.

[proserpina65]

On ‎10‎/‎21‎/‎2019 at 10:49 AM, funky-rat said:

BINGO.  Ever look around at a doctor's office?  It's like a NASCAR Race, with drug company logos all over absolutely everything, from the canisters that hold cotton balls, boxes of tissues, and even the little "socks" that cover the stirrups on exam tables.  And if you're ever in the office when a rep shows up, they bring in 25 pizzas, or 10 dozen donuts....it's nuts.

My doctor should sue, all she ever gets are pamphlets and samples.  No pizza, no donuts, only a couple of logos.  She's being neglected.  (I do love it when she gives me Toviaz samples - that stuff is $50 a refill with my insurance!)