Say What?: Commercials That Made Us Scratch Our Heads

[scarletine]

On 4/19/2020 at 4:56 PM, ByTor said:

Do you mean Constant Contact?  I love this, and it made me wonder myself...who DOES close the bus door after the bus driver gets off?

 

A lot of buses will have a mechanism on the outside to close the door, that the driver can activate with a key. Or there will be a little locked panel, that when they open it, there's a button they can push to close the door. 

[Hyacinth B]

For everyone who simply dislikes or actually loathes the Liberty Mutual commercials and who also cares about what's happening to our planet (It IS Earth Day, after all, so excuse any references to politics and the environment) here's another reason to dislike them even more. From Rolling Stone (Yep, they're still around!)

 

A coalition of climate justice organizations is targeting Liberty Mutual for underwriting fossil fuels

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/stop-the-money-pipeline-liberty-mutual-keystone-xl-986120/

"... Liberty Mutual is providing essential insurance to fossil fuel infrastructure giant TC Energy to enable construction of the dangerous Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline, which would carry extracted tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada to the U.S. Already, Liberty Mutual has provided a $15.6 million bond to cover the risks related to the construction of KXL through South Dakota..."

"... Following a groundswell of grassroots pressure, Liberty Mutual adopted a policy restricting insurance for some coal companies in 2019, but the company continues to insure oil and gas with no restrictions and to invest billions in fossil fuels. At the same time, it is abandoning homeowners and farmers on the margins of climate change. The insurance industry is actively redlining large areas where people are experiencing the most severe impacts of climate change, including in wildfire-affected counties in California. In recent years, a Liberty Mutual spokesperson referred to dropping policies and raising rates as a “necessary step to responsibly manage our overall exposure to wildfires.” 

 

I'll let myself out ...

 

 

 

[Ashforth]

On 4/22/2020 at 5:13 PM, Hyacinth B said:

For everyone who simply dislikes or actually loathes the Liberty Mutual commercials and who also cares about what's happening to our planet (It IS Earth Day, after all, so excuse any references to politics and the environment) here's another reason to dislike them even more. From Rolling Stone (Yep, they're still around!)

 

A coalition of climate justice organizations is targeting Liberty Mutual for underwriting fossil fuels

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/stop-the-money-pipeline-liberty-mutual-keystone-xl-986120/

"... Liberty Mutual is providing essential insurance to fossil fuel infrastructure giant TC Energy to enable construction of the dangerous Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline, which would carry extracted tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada to the U.S. Already, Liberty Mutual has provided a $15.6 million bond to cover the risks related to the construction of KXL through South Dakota..."

"... Following a groundswell of grassroots pressure, Liberty Mutual adopted a policy restricting insurance for some coal companies in 2019, but the company continues to insure oil and gas with no restrictions and to invest billions in fossil fuels. At the same time, it is abandoning homeowners and farmers on the margins of climate change. The insurance industry is actively redlining large areas where people are experiencing the most severe impacts of climate change, including in wildfire-affected counties in California. In recent years, a Liberty Mutual spokesperson referred to dropping policies and raising rates as a “necessary step to responsibly manage our overall exposure to wildfires.” 

 

I'll let myself out ...

 

 

 

I saw a news report this morning that the air quality in big cities around the world has improved dramatically since there are so many "stay at home" directives and so many fewer drivers on the road. Los Angeles allegedly had the best air quality in the world.* Just a glimpse of what could happen if countries around the world actually work together to combat climate change.

*Clarification: of big cities, not the entire world.

Edited April 26, 2020 by Ashforth

[Ghost of TWOP Past]

There's a Little Caesar's commercial about how they deliver your food immaculately or something. I don't know exactly what because I'm not paying attention. But intercut are several snippets of people at home needing food and ordering pizza and whatnot, and just for an instant, there's a shot of this woman with a dazed look on her face and her head mashed up against a wall? Floor? It doesn't linger long enough for me to parse what I'm looking at. Has she just been murdered? Has she fallen and can't get up? Has she collapsed from corona virus/hunger? 

I'm sure the intent is that she's really bored or something, but the way this just flashes inexplicably by is unnerving. Why are there dead people in pizza commercials now? 

[Maverick]

The dialogue is that Little Caesar's has been with you for years and is accompanied by snippets of past commercials.  That woman is from the commercial for thin pizza where it's so thin you have to press you face to the table to be able to see it. 

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Maverick said:

The dialogue is that Little Caesar's has been with you for years and is accompanied by snippets of past commercials.  That woman is from the commercial for thin pizza where it's so thin you have to press you face to the table to be able to see it. 

Yeah, that commercial aired approximately one bazillion times during the three-day Battlestar Galactica marathon on SyFy, and - not remembering that initial commercial - I was initially rather confused as to what this woman who looked like she was being squished to death had to do with pizza delivery.  Once I paid attention to the VO, and realized they were pulling footage from past commercials, the context of that shot came back to me. 

I forget - even as many times as I heard it, since I had the marathon on in the background pretty much 24/7 - what the line is as she's shown, but I think it only truly works if you remember that previous ad campaign.  Which I didn't find particularly memorable.  I think they'd have done better with a shot that more clearly evokes yummy (not that Little Caesar's will ever evoke yummy from me, having tasted it once many years ago) or funny than this one.

[Haleth]

7 hours ago, Bastet said:

the three-day Battlestar Galactica marathon on SyFy,

What??  How did I miss this?

[peacheslatour]

5 hours ago, Haleth said:

What??  How did I miss this?

I think it was the original show and not the newer one.

[Ghost of TWOP Past]

3 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

I think it was the original show and not the newer one.

No, was the remake, all the eps, back to back. But back on-topic, yes, that's where I saw the commercial with the seemingly dead woman.

[elle]

18 hours ago, Maverick said:

The dialogue is that Little Caesar's has been with you for years and is accompanied by snippets of past commercials.  That woman is from the commercial for thin pizza where it's so thin you have to press you face to the table to be able to see it. 

It amuses me to think that it escapes the ad people that by showing those older clips it makes it apparent how really bad the newer campaigns are.

[Maverick]

 I just saw a commercial for a weighted heating pad.   To demonstrated how much heft it has, they show a woman laying in bed in her PJs and googles.   A guy comes in with a leafblower and blows away her dinky regular heating pad but can't budge her fancy weighted heated pad.  I get the point they're making, but it just so weird seeing a guy in a lab coat using a leafblower on a woman in her silk jammies.  

[Scout Finch]

Apparently, I wasn't the only one confused by the chipper music used in the PSA from the CDC and the Ad Council, which is basically a PowerPoint presentation of Covid-19 "hey, you could kill someone if you don't do this" facts. The commercial also abruptly ends and the upbeat music fades out, and it just seems like there was supposed to be more but the editing person ran out of time due to the arrival of his Grubhub order. There must have been lots of criticism to the mismatched music because I just saw a new version that has a much more appropriate soundtrack.  

Edited April 26, 2020 by Scout Finch

[friendperidot]

On 4/20/2020 at 4:54 PM, peacheslatour said:

Has anyone ever tried the Teeter? The old guy in the commercial says it cure a multitude of ills. To me it looks like a set up for a myriad of disasters.

I'm rather intrigued. As a migraine sufferer for nearly 60 years, and not all medications work and are not worth bothering with for the small ones, I sometimes have lain on the bed with my head dangling off, trying to get blood there or something, anything to stop the pain. And I have been to chiropractors for adjustments and they do sometimes help. However I am leery now, since the last guy I saw, the only one I've gone to in Tulsa, wanted me to sign up for some long term intensive, expensive treatment. I had to work, I couldn't do all those visits, and I couldn't afford them, and he had horrible bad breath and to top it all off, he told me that someone I worked with saw him, that seemed like a HIPPA breach to me, but I don't know if chiropractors have to follow the same rules. And further, since I broke my foot a couple of years ago, my gait and stance are off, I think hanging upside down for a few minutes every day sounds great.

[elle]

23 minutes ago, friendperidot said:

However I am leery now, since the last guy I saw, the only one I've gone to in Tulsa, wanted me to sign up for some long term intensive, expensive treatment. I had to work, I couldn't do all those visits, and I couldn't afford them, and he had horrible bad breath and to top it all off, he told me that someone I worked with saw him, that seemed like a HIPPA breach to me, but I don't know if chiropractors have to follow the same rules.

Run!  Do not look back!  If they can call themselves doctors they should follow the same the same laws.  That bit about you signing up for some expensive treatment is all sorts of shady.

[Brattinella]

They had one of those inverted contraptions at the county fair.  I tried it out, and it was miraculous! I felt every vertebra separate and no pain.

 

[Picture It. Sicily]

On 4/20/2020 at 5:54 PM, peacheslatour said:

Has anyone ever tried the Teeter? The old guy in the commercial says it cure a multitude of ills. To me it looks like a set up for a myriad of disasters.

My sister in law got one for my brother. He had two disks compressing each other. He was in terrible pain. Couldn't sleep, couldn't sit or stand for long stretches. The inversion table was like a miracle cure and it worked so quickly.

[funky-rat]

There is one for Lego Friends that I can't understand what they are saying.  The voiceover person has a British accent.  They are making a video using the Lego stuff, and the v/o person says "It's our **cakey** camper van adventure!".  It sounds like "cakey", but that makes no sense.

[Ubiquitous]

There's a new commercial for manic-depressive medication in which the sufferer finds himself on something like the Disney Safari ride slowly drifting past exhibits of himself. This symbolism makes little sense compared to the previous one with a roller coaster imagery!

[Silver Raven]

"A2 milk is made by real cows that only produce the A2 protein."  Uh, okay.  So why don't you tell us what the A2 protein is, and why we should buy milk that has it?

 

[Bastet]

13 minutes ago, Silver Raven said:

"A2 milk is made by real cows that only produce the A2 protein."  Uh, okay.  So why don't you tell us what the A2 protein is, and why we should buy milk that has it?

Is that really all they say?  I can't believe they'd only market to those who know about A1 vs. A2 (and believe in the benefits of A2) rather than trying to expand their customer base by giving the spiel.

[Ubiquitous]

This one confuses me. It starts with a strangely dressed man with fake at an eye glass stored mincing about not being able to take it anymore and announcing he's Mocula and I have no idea what's going on or why we should care.

[Silver Raven]

14 minutes ago, Ubiquitous said:

This one confuses me. It starts with a strangely dressed man with fake at an eye glass stored mincing about not being able to take it anymore and announcing he's Mocula and I have no idea what's going on or why we should care.

Macula.  As in, macular degeneration.  It's a series of really, really, annoying glasses ads.  He supposedly represents a competing glasses manufacturing company whose glasses don't compare to the ones for sale at Staunton Optical.

Staunton Optical has a long history of really annoying ads.

 

[dleighg]

I just saw (for the first time) an ad for Maryville University, which apparently is meant for people who never finished their degree. The content was pretty vague (I saw drones??) but what really struck me was that it was presented in low res--

I mean nearly everyone has an HDTV these days-- they are cheap! -- so what on earth would give you the idea that presenting a non-HD ad was a good idea?

[janie jones]

11 hours ago, Bastet said:

Is that really all they say?  I can't believe they'd only market to those who know about A1 vs. A2 (and believe in the benefits of A2) rather than trying to expand their customer base by giving the spiel.

I wondered if they wanted you to visit their site, so I googled "a2 protein milk" and the first "result" (ad) was their website.  So I'm thinking that's it.  (Although they could have told people to visit their website.)

[shapeshifter]

I watch over-the-air TV with low-rent commercials (in my literally low-rent apartment). Lately on Bounce (airs L&O weekday mornings) they have these commercials for CB1 Weight Gainer. There's an actress claiming she gained 53 lbs. It's all so weird. Who are they marketing to? I've never been overweight, but does anyone need that crap? I mean, if you are underweight, shouldn't you see a doctor? The last time I was losing weight it turned out I had stage 4 cancer.

[proserpina65]

On 4/24/2020 at 12:09 PM, peacheslatour said:

I think it was the original show and not the newer one.

It was the remake; I'd have watched if it had been the original.

[mojoween]

Why are pizza places constantly telling me they are not touching my pizza after it leaves the oven?  Were they touching my pizza before?

I mean, I thought the timer dinged, they got that big paddle, pulled the pizza out of the oven, slid the pizza into the box, used the slicer, shut the box.  At no point during this would you need to touch the pizza.

[janie jones]

5 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I watch over-the-air TV with low-rent commercials (in my literally low-rent apartment). Lately on Bounce (airs L&O weekday mornings) they have these commercials for CB1 Weight Gainer. There's an actress claiming she gained 53 lbs. It's all so weird. Who are they marketing to? I've never been overweight, but does anyone need that crap? I mean, if you are underweight, shouldn't you see a doctor? The last time I was losing weight it turned out I had stage 4 cancer.

Is it to gain muscle mass?

[Red Bridey]

So now Progressive is using a half-human half-motorcycle called a MO TOR, have I missed something in pop culture? Is a Mo Tor some kind of thing from,a video game now? Totally confused by this. 

[Bort]

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

Why are pizza places constantly telling me they are not touching my pizza after it leaves the oven?  Were they touching my pizza before?

I mean, I thought the timer dinged, they got that big paddle, pulled the pizza out of the oven, slid the pizza into the box, used the slicer, shut the box.  At no point during this would you need to touch the pizza.

The big chain pizza places have a rolling oven. I worked at Pizza Hut 30 years ago and we never touched it. Someone made it (using gloves and/or utensils), placed it on one end, it rolled through, when it came out the other end, you grabbed the pan with pliers, slid it onto a cutting board, sliced it with a big blade that looked like a half-circle machete, slid it into the box and closed it. No touching.

[chessiegal]

3 minutes ago, Red Bridey said:

So now Progressive is using a half-human half-motorcycle called a MO TOR, have I missed something in pop culture? Is a Mo Tor some kind of thing from,a video game now? Totally confused by this. 

It's  Motaur - take off on a Centaur.

[Bastet]

My friend finds those motaur commercials creepy, but I just think they're dumb.  I'm also annoyed that in the one where he's drinking gasoline, his front wheel moves every time he moves his upper body, but in others his wheel stays in place.

[peacheslatour]

18 minutes ago, Red Bridey said:

So now Progressive is using a half-human half-motorcycle called a MO TOR, have I missed something in pop culture? Is a Mo Tor some kind of thing from,a video game now? Totally confused by this. 

Not that I know of and it kind of freaks me out.

[mojoween]

I do like in the one ad where the guy asks if he minds being a Motaur, and he says “do you mind, not being a Motaur?” and the guy in the front seat sadly says “I do.”  That morose “I do” cracks me up every time.

But no matter how I try to picture it I can’t fathom the regular legs with the Motaur on top.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, janie jones said:

7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I watch over-the-air TV with low-rent commercials (in my literally low-rent apartment). Lately on Bounce (airs L&O weekday mornings) they have these commercials for CB1 Weight Gainer. There's an actress claiming she gained 53 lbs. It's all so weird. Who are they marketing to? I've never been overweight, but does anyone need that crap? I mean, if you are underweight, shouldn't you see a doctor? The last time I was losing weight it turned out I had stage 4 cancer.

Is it to gain muscle mass?

Hmmm.… Now that you mention it, maybe gaining muscle mass was their original marketing strategy but they aren’t allowed to make that claim since that’s impossible? 
If I hear it enough times to catch the product name, I might look it up and compare its ingredients with the protein drinks I had when I was on chemo —if I can remember what they were LOL. 

[Red Bridey]

Me again. They don't say MO taur. They say MO TOR. I might have gotten the reference if they pronounced it CORRECTLY. Gah. (Thanks for the explanation)

[Bort]

2 hours ago, Red Bridey said:

Me again. They don't say MO taur. They say MO TOR. I might have gotten the reference if they pronounced it CORRECTLY. Gah. (Thanks for the explanation)

I’ve heard people pronounce it CEN TOR. 

[chessiegal]

When I heard the commercial tonight, I heard motaur, not motor. Doesn't matter - they were going for a centaur comparison.

[ABay]

How do you say centaur? Cen-tower?

I've always said cen-tor and I don't think I've heard it any other way.

[Browncoat]

I say it more like cen-tar than cen-tor, so the ad confused me a little at first, too.  I also say "Taurus" like "tar-us".

[chessiegal]

From Dictionary. com:

Centaur

Phonetic sen-tawr

[peacheslatour]

There is a commercial for Belvida (I think) breakfast biscuits which they claim are "gently baked". Most baking temperatures are around 325 to 375 degrees F. Tell ya what, let's bake YOU in an oven at those temps and you tell me how "gentle" it is.

[Red Bridey]

I say Cen tar. So I would have said Mo tar and I say this is a dumb commercial!  And with that, I bid you wonderful watchers good night!

[shapeshifter]

7 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

There is a commercial for Belvida (I think) breakfast biscuits which they claim are "gently baked". Most baking temperatures are around 325 to 375 degrees F. Tell ya what, let's bake YOU in an oven at those temps and you tell me how "gentle" it is.

I always do a mental double take when I hear “Belvida” and think: Not Velveeta? 
And then I wonder if that’s what they’re wanting me to think. 

[scarletine]

Silly though the Motaur commercials may be, I will dip my toes into the shallow end of the pool, and say that I think the actor playing the Motaur is hot af. So they can show it on my TV as much as they like. 

[Kiki777]

I agree that Motaur is kinda cute.  Also: dude from Allstate commercials, Jake from State Farm, and the Maytag man.  The quarantine is doing odd things to me huh?

There’s a Pepto commercial where this woman is feeling icky on a plane and the flight attendants sing the infamous Pepto jingle.   But when they get to ‘diarrhea’ this one dude sings it solo and like REALLY croons it with everything he’s got.  And I’m like: poor guy! He thinks ‘diarrhea’ is gonna be his big break.  Some record exec’s gonna be like Hey somebody find me Diarrhea Guy, he’s gonna be the next big thing!

[Ubiquitous]

On 5/1/2020 at 1:00 AM, Silver Raven said:

Macula.  As in, macular degeneration.  It's a series of really, really, annoying glasses ads.  He supposedly represents a competing glasses manufacturing company whose glasses don't compare to the ones for sale at Staunton Optical.

Staunton Optical has a long history of really annoying ads.

 

Was it they who did a short-lived Glasses Illuminati campaign? I briefly thought it could be related to that but it didn't make sense, either.

 

On 5/1/2020 at 5:49 PM, janie jones said:

Is it to gain muscle mass?

Beefcake! BEEFCAAAAAAAAAAAKE!!!!!!

On 5/1/2020 at 6:47 PM, Bastet said:

My friend finds those motaur commercials creepy, but I just think they're dumb.  I'm also annoyed that in the one where he's drinking gasoline, his front wheel moves every time he moves his upper body, but in others his wheel stays in place.

I find myself wondering what a Motaur with a motorcycle top would look like.

[proserpina65]

On ‎05‎/‎01‎/‎2020 at 5:19 PM, mojoween said:

Why are pizza places constantly telling me they are not touching my pizza after it leaves the oven?  Were they touching my pizza before?

I mean, I thought the timer dinged, they got that big paddle, pulled the pizza out of the oven, slid the pizza into the box, used the slicer, shut the box.  At no point during this would you need to touch the pizza.

That is indeed how the places from which I get pizza work.  I think they're just emphasizing it given our current situation.

[mojoween]

45 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

That is indeed how the places from which I get pizza work.  I think they're just emphasizing it given our current situation.

Ha! I totally get that, but it had the unintended effect of making me think that BEFORE, their grubby mitts were all up in my pizza.

[proserpina65]

Just now, mojoween said:

Ha! I totally get that, but it had the unintended effect of making me think that BEFORE, their grubby mitts were all up in my pizza.

Me, too.