Say What?: Commercials That Made Us Scratch Our Heads

[xaxat]

I don't understand that commercial at all.  They capture a small bird and hold it hostage while they flee across state lines?  Are they stopping to see if they can get any ransom payments from those people along the way?  And at the end, are all of the other birds fighting back to free their friend? As if they were organized?

 

That would make for a more entertaining ending.

 

Edited December 15, 2014 by xaxat

[heebiejeebie]

I just saw a new version of the EXXON egg commercial where they cut out the part with the ship. Now they show a grocery store lighting up.

 

I just saw the original with the ship and the scene with the grocery store is present as well.

[praeceptrix]

What student has a collection of European chocolates in her bag at the ready to give to any helpful professor?

Sadly, none of mine!

[Aquarius]

At the end of this Merci commercial, I keep thinking the guy is singing "You didn't have to hose us like you did, but you did."

 

 

I just keeping cracking up thinking "You didn't have to hose us" - I love that alternate lyric.  It makes the commercial so much better.

 

Not to be an Al-Gore-Inconvenient-Downer, but that Exxon Egg commercial just depresses the hell out of me.  It represents to me all that is wrong with the world.  A single person boiling a single egg should not activate the entire petro-industrial machine.  And even if it does, we shouldn't be celebrating it.  Sigh.

[Sandman87]

A single person boiling a single egg should not activate the entire petro-industrial machine.

I haven't seen the Exxon Egg commercial, but your description immediately made me think of Dethklok's new recording technology from Metalocalypse:

[Ubiquitous]

This commercial never made sense to me... thank you Jublia :P.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ERlyKDvW1U

 

I always think that they're saying 'Fda approved Julia' every time I hear this. O_o XD

I found the movement of the boxing big toe disturbing.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

At the end of this Merci commercial, I keep thinking the guy is singing "You didn't have to hose us like you did, but you did."

 

 

I'm pretty sure they said 'host', not 'hose. Mostly I'm just annoyed that the ad is ripping off ZZ Top lyrics. Stop it, Advertising People. Just. Stop. It.

[Linderhill]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxokHywIlEs

 

I get annoyed with this add because they're using the repro Jem doll from a couple of years ago, not the original issue doll.  She's not even made by the same company and costs 5 times as much as Jem did when she was first released.

[Ubiquitous]

There's a penny auction ad with a woman who says she bought "dog boots". What's that?

[Cobalt Stargazer]

There's a penny auction ad with a woman who says she bought "dog boots". What's that?

 

I Googled 'dog boots' because I'd never heard of them either, and it seems like the equivalent of sweaters for cats. Which is also a thing that should not be. You can buy them at REI and L.L. Bean. I can only imagine the face of the person at the patent office who got this application.

[90PercentGravity]

FWIW. I live in Phoenix and we need dog boots to walk our dogs in the summer so that the 150 degree pavement doesn't burn their pads off.

[CarpeDiem54]

FWIW. I live in Phoenix and we need dog boots to walk our dogs in the summer so that the 150 degree pavement doesn't burn their pads off.

Rescue dogs regularly wear them, too. I donated to an organization that provided them to the dogs working on the Twin Towers site after 9/11.

[Ubiquitous]

I Googled 'dog boots' because I'd never heard of them either, and it seems like the equivalent of sweaters for cats. Which is also a thing that should not be. You can buy them at REI and L.L. Bean. I can only imagine the face of the person at the patent office who got this application.

I got the impression she got them for herself, not her dog.

 

I noticed that stupid crappy Belgium beer ad in which the brewery broke the town's Christmas tree star-topper and made new beer bottles has a followup in which people were given props from that ad, followed by a request to see YouTube videos of what happened. Umm, no thanks. I couldn't care less about how people reacted to getting props from a TV commercial that I hate. Why would anyone care?

[xaxat]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr4Fuo3YHqw

 

The ad is about how efficient and smart is is to use Apple Pay, but for people of a certain age that song is all about  incompetence and bumbling. 

[bilgistic]

With as often as the iCloud gets hacked and celebrity photos stored on it get leaked, there's no way I would use that. (I don't use Apple products anyway, but that's another story for another thread.)

Edited December 22, 2014 by bilgistic

[AntiBeeSpray]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr4Fuo3YHqw

 

The ad is about how efficient and smart is is to use Apple Pay, but for people of a certain age that song is all about  incompetence and bumbling. 

 

I recognize that song! Isn't it from Get Smart?

[Moose135]

Yes it is, hence the "incompetence and bumbling" reference.  Missed it by that much...

[Ubiquitous]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr4Fuo3YHqw

 

The ad is about how efficient and smart is is to use Apple Pay, but for people of a certain age that song is all about  incompetence and bumbling. 

Which makes it perfect for BoA.

[BizBuzz]

Help!

 

Who is the dentist in this commercial?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFrsR9NByc4

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Help!

 

Who is the dentist in this commercial?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFrsR9NByc4

 

According to the Geico website, the dentist is played by Paul Schackman, who IMDB tells me was in Hitchcock as Bernard Hermann.

 

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

[Eliot]

I Googled 'dog boots' because I'd never heard of them either, and it seems like the equivalent of sweaters for cats.

 

That was totally not my first thought when I heard "dog boots."

[LoneHaranguer]

 

The ad is about how efficient and smart is is to use Apple Pay, but for people of a certain age that song is all about  incompetence and bumbling.

The ad is designed to make you think of Agent 99, the competent one of the main characters. Max was the bumbler.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

That was totally not my first thought when I heard "dog boots."

 

Do I want to know what you did think? Probably not.

[MichelleAK]

There's a penny auction ad with a woman who says she bought "dog boots". What's that?

 

I was confused about that myself at first, but then I realized she probably meant Dawgs boots, which are a knock off of Uggs, similar to Bearpaw. 

Edited December 23, 2014 by MichelleAK

[bilgistic]

That was totally not my first thought when I heard "dog boots."

"Dog boots" makes me think of kitten mittens. http://youtu.be/9AVG8odajpA Edited December 23, 2014 by bilgistic

[AntiBeeSpray]

Yes it is, hence the "incompetence and bumbling" reference.  Missed it by that much...

 

Cool. I remember watching Inspector Gadget as I was growing up. Really liked Don Adams in the role and heard about Get Smart from a friend. Haven't seen the series but I heard it was pretty good.

[riley702]

"Dog boots" makes me think of kitten mittens. http://youtu.be/9AVG8odajpA

That is one pissed-off cat.

[Brattinella]

AntiBeeSpray, here ya go!  This was one of my favorites growing up, hope you like it too.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILU4zG2uNtA

[InDueTime]

Taco Bell is touting how "convenient" their "one-handed" breakfast fare is compared to McDonald's with this ad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCZg7WsCRiA

 

Yet, they come out with this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI_U8ArkvnY

 

You're talking out of both sides of your mouth, Taco Bell.

 

I also question why none of these people seemed to have held on to the sacks the food came in before they reached their destination.

Edited December 24, 2014 by InDueTime

[roseha]

The ad is designed to make you think of Agent 99, the competent one of the main characters. Max was the bumbler.

 

 

But to me it totally fails.  My reaction to the ad was, "If she had a 60s hairdo and cool clothes like Barbara Feldon did, it would be fun".  But it's a bank so....

 

ETA to Brattinella, just saw you posted the Get Smart clip, thanks for that!  But you can see the woman in the commercial doesn't have the 60s cool of Barbara Feldon/Agent 99 at all - If there was any woman on TV I would have wanted to be as a girl, I think it would have been Agent 99 - but this commercial doesn't have that sense of fun the show did either.

Edited December 24, 2014 by roseha

[Watcher0363]

 

 

ETA to Brattinella, just saw you posted the Get Smart clip, thanks for that!  But you can see the woman in the commercial doesn't have the 60s cool of Barbara Feldon/Agent 99 at all - If there was any woman on TV I would have wanted to be as a girl, I think it would have been Agent 99 - but this commercial doesn't have that sense of fun the show did either.

One must not forget Diana Rigg / Emma Peel. She never had to put up with a dimwit of a partner.

[Brattinella]

SUCH a crush on Emma Peel!

[xaxat]

The ad is designed to make you think of Agent 99, the competent one of the main characters. Max was the bumbler.

 

I can see how that might have been the intent. But the concept of walking through a succession of doors and the theme song are distinctly Max.

[Ubiquitous]

"Dog boots" makes me think of kitten mittens. http://youtu.be/9AVG8odajpA

I'm smitten!

[Rick Kitchen]

Pepsi is running ads where you can win "two tickets to watch Katy Perry at the Super Bowl halftime show".  Uh, you don't get to watch the game?

Edited December 25, 2014 by Rick Kitchen

[Sandman87]

One thing puzzles me about the Chuck E. Cheese's commercials: Why on earth would I want to take my (theoretical) children to a restaurant that uses disease carrying vermin as a mascot?

[Shriekingeel]

Not exactly sure why the Mucinex Green Snot Guy has lost his Brooklyn accent. Gentrification?

[Watcher0363]

One thing puzzles me about the Chuck E. Cheese's commercials: Why on earth would I want to take my (theoretical) children to a restaurant that uses disease carrying vermin as a mascot?

Probably for the same reason we enjoy eating at BBQ joints with cannibalistic pig mascots. 

[janie jones]

Pepsi is running ads where you can win "two tickets to watch Katy Perry at the Super Bowl halftime show".  Uh, you don't get to watch the game?

It's probably for tickets to be in the mosh pit thingy they always have right next to the stage, on the field.

[xls]

Taco Bell is touting how "convenient" their "one-handed" breakfast fare is compared to McDonald's with this ad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCZg7WsCRiA

 

 

 

I also question why none of these people seemed to have held on to the sacks the food came in before they reached their destination.

Also, he was shown entering the building without swiping his card, totally a security violation in most companies. They edited that part out now.

Edited December 25, 2014 by xls

[FormerMod-a1]

I thought his card was in his pocket and that's why he was doing the funny hip movements.  So, he has one, and she clearly recognizes him.  I work at a bank and and if we know each other and know we are all currently employed, only one person needs to swipe and we both walk in.  Basically, I work in a restricted area, but if my boss swipes the card I don't need to swipe mine and vise versa.  We are not allowed to let people we don't know in, though, even if they really do work there.

[Rick Kitchen]

I've been seeing an ad for Ped Egg Power, and I keep hearing "headache powder", even when I know what they're talking about.

[bilgistic]

Not for nothin', there IS "headache powder" (OTC pain meds) that is quite popular in the South (U.S.). It's some mixture of acetaminophen (Tylenol's active ingredient), aspirin and caffeine, or just aspirin and caffeine. One brand is B.C. powder and another is Goody's powder. My mother used to take them.

They are literally the powder form of the meds, not pressed into pill form. I never understood how there wasn't an epidemic of kids snorting the stuff. One of the brands has a radio commercial for which they rounded up the countriest of country people in the Charlotte, NC, region to talk about how much they love X Brand Powder. I mock them to myself in the car. Why radio and TV news spot producers think it's just fantastic to get the absolute most hillbilly people they can find to represent the second-most populated city in the Southeast (and quite cosmopolitan, thankyouverymuch) confounds me!

Edited December 27, 2014 by bilgistic

[janie jones]

I sometimes have trouble swallowing pills and have to mash them up like a child, so I hope this "headache powder" is flavored, because otherwise if it tastes like a mashed-up pill, I think I'd almost rather have the headache.

[bilgistic]

The one that advertises on the radio says they now have "new cherry flavor", so no, they have always been "bitter pill flavor", which is why I never understood why my mother took it instead of a pill, not having any issues taking pills.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is on the commercial and says, "With a nayme lihke Earnhardt, bein' fas' iz kee!" I guess the notion-slash-marketing is that powder is going to work faster than a pill, but my ex-boyfriend is a pharmacist and said that kind of stuff ("liquid gelcaps rush relief!") is hokum. The digestion process and stomach acid does a quick enough job on whatever encapsulating method is holding the pill together.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Not for nothin', there IS "headache powder" (OTC pain meds) that is quite popular in the South (U.S.). It's acetaminophen (Tylenol's active ingredient), aspirin and caffeine, I THINK, but I can't swear to it, because I don't take it. One brand is B.C. powder and another is Goody powder. My mother used to take them.

 

My dad used to take B.C.all the time when I was a kid. When I got older, I always wondered how he didn't get it stuck in the back of his throat, even with water.

[riley702]

Not for nothin', there IS "headache powder" (OTC pain meds) that is quite popular in the South (U.S.). It's some mixture of acetaminophen (Tylenol's active ingredient), aspirin and caffeine, or just aspirin and caffeine. One brand is B.C. powder and another is Goody's powder. My mother used to take them. They are literally the powder form of the meds, not pressed into pill form. 

I discovered Goody's the hard way years ago when I was driving to Biloxi and had a headache. Stopped at a gas station/Kwik-E-Mart looking for Excedrin, but only found various headache powders. I couldn't find the equivalent of Excedrin, so got a powder that contained acetaminophen and aspirin and washed it down with some really horrible coffee for the caffeine. Tasted God-awful. I couldn't believe people preferred that to a quick, easy pill.

[90PercentGravity]

I keep seeing an ad on the cooking channel for a show called Extra Virgin where a woman says "we're cooking for the community today," but every single time I have to stop and look because it sounds like she's saying hooking.

[xaxat]

I don't get this Taco Bell ad. Even if you are sitting in the car, the meter reader can still give you a ticket. Especially if you're some punk kid trying to look like you got away with something.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GY1i5zDu9rw

Edited December 27, 2014 by xaxat

[merylinkid]

 

I keep seeing an ad on the cooking channel for a show called Extra Virgin where a woman says "we're cooking for the community today," but every single time I have to stop and look because it sounds like she's saying hooking.

 

Pretty sure if you are hooking for the community there won't be a lot of extra virgins running around.

 

 

Oh sorry, must run, the train to Hell is leaving now.