Say What?: Commercials That Made Us Scratch Our Heads

[jennifer6973]

The Lumber company I worked for from 90-98 sold a lot of grainger stuff.  I'm guessing a customer could now get rid of the middle man and get it from grainger themselves. 

 

[proserpina65]

On 9/6/2023 at 11:00 PM, Ancaster said:

Judging by these and previous comments I don't think anyone understands anything about the Galaxy ad, not least why we should buy one.

It's cool looking and I imagine it would be harder to butt dial someone on it, but since nothing in the commercial mentions either of these points, yeah, I don't think it's selling the phone particularly well.

[Gharlane]

On 8/14/2023 at 10:58 PM, iMonrey said:

Has anyone seen the Old Navy commercials with Natasha Lyonne? WTF happened to her? The first time I saw it I thought "wow she sounds exactly like Natasha Lyonne and even has a superficial resemblance to her but it's not her." But . . . it is. Is it just different makeup or did she do something really weird to her face?

I don't know who she is, but I find her off-putting.

[peacheslatour]

5 hours ago, Gharlane said:

I don't know who she is, but I find her off-putting.

She's on Poker Face and I think she's awesome.

[proserpina65]

On 9/9/2023 at 8:34 AM, Gharlane said:

I don't know who she is, but I find her off-putting.

I know who she is and I still find her off-putting.  I thought she was really good in Slums of Beverly Hills but that was a long time ago and now her voice annoys the shit out of me.

[KWalkerInc]

This may be a weird question, but in the American Express commercial about the veterinarian, it ends with two rabbits cuddling as a banner that says, "Mandy, will you marry me?" flies by.  Are we supposed to think that one of the bunnies arranged for the banner and is proposing?  It's silly but made me laugh.  I feel stupid though because I didn't know that vet in the ad is fictional, according to the disclaimer that I saw as I just watched it online.  (Though I wondered how he ended up with a llama patient when all the others were small animals.)

[Ghost of TWOP Past]

"Fashion is what you buy. Style is what you own." 

... zuh... ? 

If I bought some worn out rags from a thrift store would they be transformed into style because I own them at that point? 

[PrincessPurrsALot]

On 9/13/2023 at 2:20 AM, KWalkerInc said:

This may be a weird question, but in the American Express commercial about the veterinarian, it ends with two rabbits cuddling as a banner that says, "Mandy, will you marry me?" flies by.  Are we supposed to think that one of the bunnies arranged for the banner and is proposing?  It's silly but made me laugh.  I feel stupid though because I didn't know that vet in the ad is fictional, according to the disclaimer that I saw as I just watched it online.  (Though I wondered how he ended up with a llama patient when all the others were small animals.)

And that's why there are bunnies everywhere.  They keep getting married, then . . . .  😁

[Zahdii]

On 9/13/2023 at 2:20 AM, KWalkerInc said:

This may be a weird question, but in the American Express commercial about the veterinarian, it ends with two rabbits cuddling as a banner that says, "Mandy, will you marry me?" flies by.  Are we supposed to think that one of the bunnies arranged for the banner and is proposing?  It's silly but made me laugh.  I feel stupid though because I didn't know that vet in the ad is fictional, according to the disclaimer that I saw as I just watched it online.  (Though I wondered how he ended up with a llama patient when all the others were small animals.)

I'm guessing that the owner of the rabbits used his/her credit card to take at least one of the bunnies to the vet and get the fix.  Now they can cuddle, commune, and consumate their relationship together without having more and more babies.

[Gharlane]

On 9/24/2023 at 12:18 PM, peacheslatour said:

The one they're playing constantly around here is a Jif ad with Ludacris "rapping" with a mouth full of peanut butter. 

I don't understand that commercial...  Has he been performing all these years with a mouth full of peanut butter?  🤷‍♂️

 

On 9/21/2023 at 5:21 PM, Ghost of TWOP Past said:

"Fashion is what you buy. Style is what you own." 

... zuh... ? 

If I bought some worn out rags from a thrift store would they be transformed into style because I own them at that point? 

Wasn't there a human interest story about a young woman who took thrift store dresses and altered them to be quite fancy and stylish? 🤔

[Tom Holmberg]

On 9/21/2023 at 4:21 PM, Ghost of TWOP Past said:

"Fashion is what you buy. Style is what you own." 

"Clothes is what you wear.  Style is what the other person wears."

[Gharlane]

23 hours ago, Tom Holmberg said:

"Clothes is what you wear.  Style is what the other person wears."

On a related note, it's nice to see The RealReal no longer features clown suits in their commercials, although that chubby young woman looks dangerously close to wearing a gorilla costume in this commercial!

 

[Ancaster]

On 9/9/2023 at 5:34 AM, Gharlane said:

I don't know who she is, but I find her off-putting.

I don't mind her but why is she working for Old Navy and wearing that really cheap looking suit.  I can only imagine how crappy it must look in real life without the benefit of professional styling and lighting.  Surely she's known enough to get a gig with a more upscale brand?  That doesn't use overseas sweatshops.

[chessiegal]

Where do I know the guy in the glasses from? 

[ebk57]

15 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Where do I know the guy in the glasses from? 

That's Sean Hayes who I just saw play a fabulous Rhapsody in Blue in his Tony-winning role as Oscar Levant.  He's incredible.  

[chessiegal]

5 minutes ago, ebk57 said:

That's Sean Hayes who I just saw play a fabulous Rhapsody in Blue in his Tony-winning role as Oscar Levant.  He's incredible.  

Wasn't he on a sit com?

[ebk57]

1 minute ago, chessiegal said:

Wasn't he on a sit com?

Will & Grace

 

I prefer him playing the piano, though :-)

[chessiegal]

9 minutes ago, ebk57 said:

Will & Grace

That's it! Thank you.

[KWalkerInc]

Sean Hayes is also in a commercial for a lottery app called Jackpocket.  The part that puzzles me is that they show a woman getting a message that she won a million dollars, and she seems fairly excited, but definitely not the level she should be for that amount.  I think the message about the million appears on a phone screen, but maybe the actress wasn't shown that and they just told her, "Act like you won some money."

[peacheslatour]

14 hours ago, chessiegal said:

That's it! Thank you.

Just Jack!

[Gharlane]

On 9/30/2023 at 10:34 PM, ebk57 said:

Will & Grace

Ugh, I can't stand him! Great casting choice!👍

[chessiegal]

TruEarth laundry soap sheets - spokesperson says it's to make America's second most hated chore easier. Really? Where did they get "second" from, some kind of a survey? Since my husband does the laundry, I have no reference. I wonder what America's most hated chore is.

I can see them saying, one of America's most hated chores, but "second" seems so specific. 

[peacheslatour]

9 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

TruEarth laundry soap sheets - spokesperson says it's to make America's second most hated chore easier. Really? Where did they get "second" from, some kind of a survey? Since my husband does the laundry, I have no reference. I wonder what America's most hated chore is.

I can see them saying, one of America's most hated chores, but "second" seems so specific. 

My husband does it too. What is THE most hated then? 

[Bastet]

I perused quite a few surveys of most-hated chores, and washing dishes came in first in the majority of them.  (It's definitely my number one, since I cook every day and don't have a dishwasher.)

Laundry indeed came in second on many of them, so they're not pulling it out of their ass for the commercial, but I agree it would be better phrased as "one of" the most hated; specifying second is distracting -- at least to people like us, who will immediately wonder what came in first, and forget all about what was being advertised.

[CrystalBlue]

Cleaning toilets?

[mmecorday]

Quote

Just Jack!

Man, I miss that show. The reboot sucked. 

[chessiegal]

Now that I know it's Sean Hayes in the Verizon commercial, I noticed the other man addresses him as "Sean".

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, mmecorday said:

Man, I miss that show. The reboot sucked. 

I had no idea there was one.

[SoMuchTV]

39 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Now that I know it's Sean Hayes in the Verizon commercial, I noticed the other man addresses him as "Sean".

Isn’t the other man Jason Bateman? I’m not sure if Sean addressed him as “Jason” or if it was in the cc’s. 

[chessiegal]

21 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Isn’t the other man Jason Bateman? I’m not sure if Sean addressed him as “Jason” or if it was in the cc’s. 

That's what iSpot says. I don't know who Jason Bateman is.

[SoMuchTV]

42 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Isn’t the other man Jason Bateman? I’m not sure if Sean addressed him as “Jason” or if it was in the cc’s. 

 

19 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

That's what iSpot says. I don't know who Jason Bateman is.

Just saw this one again, and I can confirm it was Jason Bateman. It’s one of the few ads that not only has cc’s, but has the speaker’s name included.  

He’s been in Ozark, Arrested Development, was a child actor in the 1980s… so, not exactly obscure, but still possible you don’t know him if you didn’t happen to watch stuff he was in. 

[janie jones]

I'm pretty sure Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes have a podcast or something together, and that's why they're in the commercial together.

Edited October 6, 2023 by janie jones

[CrystalBlue]

I know who Jason Bateman is and I love him!  He was fantastic in Ozark and I remember his child actor days.  Don't know who the other guy Sean is though.  I've seen the commercial and am always happy to have Jason Bateman on my screen.

[Yogisbooboo64]

Not sure where in the commercial forums to post this, but.....

In the I-Phone commercial with Sean Hayes/Jason Bateman, is the mother one of the Segal twins (Liz/Jean, Katey's younger sisters)?

[Haleth]

I'm just chuckling about what a fail that commercial is if people don't know who Sean Hayes and/or Jason Bateman is.  Try again, Verizon.

[proserpina65]

On 10/3/2023 at 3:24 PM, peacheslatour said:

My husband does it too. What is THE most hated then? 

I'd say cleaning the toilet.

I don't care for the commercial but primarily because it glosses over how much more expensive those sheets are.

[Gharlane]

Am I the only one who sees flames shooting out of the orifices of the young men dancing and spinning in the commercial for Kentucky Fried Chicken hot wings?

[peacheslatour]

Why don't those ladies just buy their own Old Spice toiletries? It's getting old.

[Crashcourse]

I want the guy to raid his wife's makeup counter and start glamourizing himself for fun.

Edited October 10, 2023 by Crashcourse
Corrected spelling, lol.

[Prevailing Wind]

12 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

I want the guy to raid his wife's makeup counter and start glamorizing himself for fun.

My SIL used to keep her small makeup items in a basket - mostly lip gloss pots. The German Shepherd, home alone, did just that. She got the lip gloss, in varying shades, all over her nose and then went into the living room to wipe it off on the couch.  She didn't like being glamorous.

[CrystalBlue]

2 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Why don't those ladies just buy their own Old Spice toiletries? It's getting old.

I saw that commercial, I think, and had the sound on for some of it.  My question is:  do women really want to smell like Old Spice?  Isn't it supposed to be a manly man type of fragrance?  I mean it's not like the unisex fragrance of Irish Spring.  I really want to know the answer.

[peacheslatour]

12 minutes ago, CrystalBlue said:

I saw that commercial, I think, and had the sound on for some of it.  My question is:  do women really want to smell like Old Spice?  Isn't it supposed to be a manly man type of fragrance?  I mean it's not like the unisex fragrance of Irish Spring.  I really want to know the answer.

It's lavender scented.

[Trini]

2 hours ago, CrystalBlue said:

I saw that commercial, I think, and had the sound on for some of it.  My question is:  do women really want to smell like Old Spice?  Isn't it supposed to be a manly man type of fragrance?  I mean it's not like the unisex fragrance of Irish Spring.  I really want to know the answer.

There are new scents now; that's the gimmick.

[chessiegal]

I don't want to smell like anything. I don't wear perfume. When I met my husband, who sweats more than anyone I've ever met, I was amused that he used Secret deodorant. He said it was the only deodorant he ever tried that worked.

[mmecorday]

Quote

I don't want to smell like anything. I don't wear perfume. When I met my husband, who sweats more than anyone I've ever met, I was amused that he used Secret deodorant. He said it was the only deodorant he ever tried that worked.

The tagline used to be, "Strong enough for a man, but made for a woman." 

[Gharlane]

On 10/10/2023 at 3:21 PM, peacheslatour said:

It's lavender scented.

Ha ha, no, it's not lavender. Our tour guide in Jamaica gave us some crushed leaves from a tree to smell and we all immediately recognized it. I forgot the name, but it wasn't lavender.

 

1 hour ago, mmecorday said:

The tagline used to be, "Strong enough for a man, but made for a woman." 

That could be problematic today! 😀

[Vermicious Knid]

I don't get the new iPhone commercial. The first time I saw it I thought it was a new Hollywood disaster movie, or a science fiction series. Then it hits and "Titanium" comes up with a gleaming iPhone 15. I had to look it up to see it was selling the idea of the first iPhone made of titanium But what does one have to do with the other? I'd much rather watch the movie I though it was. 

[janie jones]

On 10/12/2023 at 12:13 PM, Gharlane said:

Ha ha, no, it's not lavender. Our tour guide in Jamaica gave us some crushed leaves from a tree to smell and we all immediately recognized it. I forgot the name, but it wasn't lavender.

They do have lavender scented Old Spice, though. They have a ton of scents now, not just the old man one my dad has been using since I was a baby.

[Prevailing Wind]

From the Proctor & Gamble website:

Old Spice fragrance notes =

Head
orange, lemon, spices, clary sage, anise, aldehydes

Heart
cinnamon, carnation, geranium, jasmine, heliotrope, pimento berry

Base
vanilla, musk, cedarwood, frankincense, benzoin, tonka, ambergris

What the hell is a pimento berry?

When it was owned by Shulton, they had a ladies' version called "Early American Old Spice." I used to wear ail the time.

 

[chessiegal]

36 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

What the hell is a pimento berry?

 

It's allspice.