Say What?: Commercials That Made Us Scratch Our Heads

[praeceptrix]

I just saw this commercial.  I logged on here to viciously mock the commercial and the very concept behind the product:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkX8X3ZaG2c

But then I started thinking...  Do you think adults actually would enjoy this?  And not just the elderly, either.  I personally can't imagine spending money on something like this for myself.  Could coloring be relaxing, creativity-boosting, or therapeutic though?  Are they on to something?

 

First, I think they did their product a disservice by calling it a "coloring book," even though that's what it is.  Second, please feel free to never give me a page you completed from it as a gift.  Finally, if ever there was a best time to use black & white footage to highlight the problems an infomercial product resolves, it would be at the beginning of this commercial.

I have a friend who is battling cancer, and he has found comfort and pleasure using coloring books. This is the first commercial I have seen, but I have read a number of articles about how helpful it is, as well as a number of coloring books specifically meant for grown-ups. I'd sort of like to try it, but I was never good at it as a kid.

[ABay]

Your motor skills are better now, go for it. Use pencils, not crayons.

 

It's like art therapy, I think. Amazon has a large selection of coloring books for adults, some specifically labeled stress relief for adults, some incorporate games, there are all sorts of themes and patterns. Reviews will point you to the preferred colored pencils although you might want to start with the basic Crayola set you can find everywhere.

[Prevailing Wind]

But coloring would take away from Social Media Time, wouldn't it?  ...hmmmm...not a bad idea.

[Ubiquitous]

But coloring would take away from Social Media Time, wouldn't it?  ...hmmmm...not a bad idea.

Ahh, but what if you POST your completed pages to Facebook?

I saw a new ad for the Humane society (or some variant) starring "Maggot-neck" AKA "Penny" who mispronounced something that made me do a double-take. Of course, I no longer recall what it was, but it was amusing.

[sofaslug]

I just saw this commercial. I logged on here to viciously mock the commercial and the very concept behind the product:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkX8X3ZaG2c

But then I started thinking... Do you think adults actually would enjoy this? And not just the elderly, either. I personally can't imagine spending money on something like this for myself. Could coloring be relaxing, creativity-boosting, or therapeutic though? Are they on to something?

First, I think they did their product a disservice by calling it a "coloring book," even though that's what it is. Second, please feel free to never give me a page you completed from it as a gift. Finally, if ever there was a best time to use black & white footage to highlight the problems an infomercial product resolves, it would be at the beginning of this commercial.

I work for a mental health agency. We have coloring pages (there are tons of online sites where you can print out these pages) in our waiting room. Originally we put them there because some clients had to bring their children in and it gave them something to do while they were waiting. What we discovered, however, was that more adults were coloring them. I keep a stash in my office along with a big box of both crayons and colored pencils. Many clients have found them to be helpful when dealing with strong emotions.

[mojoween]

Plus, by the end of this year a Game of Thrones themed version will be published and I am all about that. Better stock up on red pencils!

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I saw a new ad for the Humane society (or some variant) starring "Maggot-neck" AKA "Penny" who mispronounced something that made me do a double-take.

 

You mean Billie? ;-)

[Aquarius]

The coloring book does look like fun.  I think the woman in the commercial who says she looks forward to jumping into bed with it at night might want to get out more, though.

 

I was at Barnes and Noble and they had a fairly large selection of these adult coloring books.

[Bastet]

Could coloring be relaxing, creativity-boosting, or therapeutic though?  Are they on to something?

 

I've been occasionally coloring to relax for about 20 years now.  I just recently learned, through another thread here, that adult coloring books are now a trend.  Apparently, I was ahead of my time.  But I just buy regular coloring books; I'm not trying to create something I tear out and frame.  It's just the soothing action of coloring I'm after, so a cheap children's coloring book will do.

Edited August 20, 2015 by Bastet

[bilgistic]

Second, please feel free to never give me a page you completed from it as a gift.

This made me laugh at work; thank you!

[Rick Kitchen]

I've been reading news articles about how adult coloring is used to help with stress.

[erikdepressant]

Yeah, thanks to everyone here who contributed to the discussion, I spent a ridiculous amount of time today reading articles about it.  I had zero idea that this was even a phenomenon until that commercial came on last night.

[Brattinella]

In the 70's I used to buy black and white printed posters that came in a tube, with a box of colored markers.  Very psychedelic, flowers and Peter Max type of stuff.

[Ubiquitous]

You mean Billie? ;-)

Yeah, her.

 

Oh yeah, I just saw the ad again and she said "comedian seal hunting" should be abolished.

[Prevailing Wind]

I hear it as Comedian Seal Hunting, too...unless I actually *watch* her pronounce it, and then she's saying, "Canadian."  But she wants us to give $19 month.  So do the Shriners and some other medical problem that wants donations.  All of a sudden, they're all asking for $19 month - less than 63¢ a day.  How did they come with that figure? $228 a year.  WTH?  Is that some sort of figure that if you go over it, it triggers an IRS audit? I'm baffled.

[Brattinella]

I hear it as Comedian Seal Hunting, too...unless I actually *watch* her pronounce it, and then she's saying, "Canadian."  But she wants us to give $19 month.  So do the Shriners and some other medical problem that wants donations.  All of a sudden, they're all asking for $19 month - less than 63¢ a day.  How did they come with that figure? $228 a year.  WTH?  Is that some sort of figure that if you go over it, it triggers an IRS audit? I'm baffled.

 

So does the Humane Society and SPCA, $19 a month.  I wonder too.

[Jamoche]

I hear it as Comedian Seal Hunting, too...unless I actually *watch* her pronounce it, and then she's saying, "Canadian."  But she wants us to give $19 month.  So do the Shriners and some other medical problem that wants donations.  All of a sudden, they're all asking for $19 month - less than 63¢ a day.  How did they come with that figure? $228 a year.  WTH?  Is that some sort of figure that if you go over it, it triggers an IRS audit? I'm baffled.

"For less than the cost of a cup of coffee!"

[bilgistic]

I just looked it up, dear readers. It seems to be as simple as the psychology as the "9 price point". For example, if am item is $99.99, it's less than $100, so psychologically, it's seen as a bargain. $19 is less than the $20 you get from the ATM.

I like to think that kind of thing doesn't work on me, because I remember my mother always rounding up when things were priced that way when I was a kid.

"Can I have that cereal?"

"No, it's $4!"

"No, it's not; it's only $3..."

(Mom goes on to explain the pricing game.)

Edited August 20, 2015 by bilgistic

[GaT]

WTF? How many Colonel Sanders are they going to have?

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

[Ubiquitous]

I hear it as Comedian Seal Hunting, too...unless I actually *watch* her pronounce it, and then she's saying, "Canadian."  But she wants us to give $19 month.  So do the Shriners and some other medical problem that wants donations.  All of a sudden, they're all asking for $19 month - less than 63¢ a day.  How did they come with that figure? $228 a year.  WTH?  Is that some sort of figure that if you go over it, it triggers an IRS audit? I'm baffled.

I suspect that derive the number using focus groups.

[Sandman87]

Why is the character representing BK's new version of chicken fries wearing a lucha libra mask?

They're advertising spicy fries, so I guess that = Mexican.

Maybe when they say "offensively spicy" they mean that they're racist.

Oh yeah, I just saw the ad again and she said "comedian seal hunting" should be abolished.

Sounds like a deleted scene from Watchmen; the Comedian takes the fight to those un-American marine mammals.

[janie jones]

I've been occasionally coloring to relax for about 20 years now.  I just recently learned, through another thread here, that adult coloring books are now a trend.  Apparently, I was ahead of my time.  But I just buy regular coloring books; I'm not trying to create something I tear out and frame.  It's just the soothing action of coloring I'm after, so a cheap children's coloring book will do.

Yeah, I've never stopped coloring since I was a kid.  I've got cheap kids' coloring books, and more complicated, detailed ones.

[Brattinella]

I found a place that sells the posters!  And here is a link to see some of the finished posters..

 

http://antoniajo.blogspot.com/2012/01/doodle-art-posters.html

[bilgistic]

Knowing myself, I would mess up and have to throw it away.

[kb3]

We had a colouring wall at work. Our jobs were loosely described as creative with a good size helping of project management with occasionally challenging people (who meant well, but eh).

 

We started with a paper Christmas tree that had ornaments. Then we moved on to Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Spring garden and onwards. We found some articles about adult colouring releasing creativity and posted them on the wall beside the large scale images. 

 

We'd find people at the wall after a stressful meeting. Or if we had a creative block. Or having a side-by-side meeting to work something out.

 

There is something soothing about colouring whether it be with wax, pencil or oils.

Edited August 21, 2015 by kb3

[riley702]

My SIL works at a preschool and finds themed coloring books with intricate patterns (hearts, easter eggs, butterflies, jack o'lanterns, Christmas ornaments) and colors one for each of her kids (less than a dozen) They really like having one made just for them and she finds it very soothing to color in the evening.

[ABay]

Knowing myself, I would mess up and have to throw it away.

I feel you, bilgistic, since I make a mess of arty things all of the time (do I have NO sense of color?) and feel stupid, but then remember no one's going to see it unless I show it to them. And I'm not. It's the activity, not the outcome, that I enjoy anyway.

Edited August 21, 2015 by ABay

[cynicat]

Yeah, thanks to everyone here who contributed to the discussion, I spent a ridiculous amount of time today reading articles about it.  I had zero idea that this was even a phenomenon until that commercial came on last night.

 

When I was in grad school, they had anatomy coloring books.  Those were awesome in helping remember all the arteries, veins and nerves.  And they were semi-stress relieving.  I'm not sure we were coordinated enough to be at the colored pencil level though.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

They're advertising spicy fries, so I guess that = Mexican.

Maybe when they say "offensively spicy" they mean that they're racist.

They can't be racist because the distinction they're making is not a racial one. I think you mean "ethnicist", but being general and going with "bigoted" works too.

[BW Manilowe]

It's funny, but the day, or the day after, the Colorama commercial was brought up here I got an Email from a crafts store I've bought craft kits from advertising coloring books for adults (which is not to mean adult-rated coloring books).

When I was a kid, I traveled around the (mainland) US on behalf of a children's health charity (not MDA/"Jerry's Kids"). I used to get similar (abstract designs-type) coloring books at a local bookstore & bring them along with me to alleviate boredom in the different cities between events/to have something to do on the longer plane flights between cities. I used to color mine with marker pens, the biggest fine point set I could find. I also did those big posters in the cardboard tubes (I wish I could remember what the product was actually called).

Now that I'm stuck in bed due to health issues, I'm actually thinking about picking up the "habit" of coloring books like that again.

[Brattinella]

It's funny, but the day, or the day after, the Colorama commercial was brought up here I got an Email from a crafts store I've bought craft kits from advertising coloring books for adults (which is not to mean adult-rated coloring books).

When I was a kid, I traveled around the (mainland) US on behalf of a children's health charity (not MDA/"Jerry's Kids"). I used to get similar (abstract designs-type) coloring books at a local bookstore & bring them along with me to alleviate boredom in the different cities between events/to have something to do on the longer plane flights between cities. I used to color mine with marker pens, the biggest fine point set I could find. I also did those big posters in the cardboard tubes (I wish I could remember what the product was actually called).

Now that I'm stuck in bed due to health issues, I'm actually thinking about picking up the "habit" of coloring books like that again.

They were called Doodle Art, and they still sell them! 

http://antoniajo.blogspot.com/2012/01/doodle-art-posters.html

Edited August 22, 2015 by Brattinella

[mansonlamps]

I'm shocked that I don't remember Doodle Art because that would have been right up my alley in that time period. I've been doing paint by numbers, but now I want some coloring books. Seems easier.

[Haleth]

This discussion sent me to Amazon to check out coloring books for adults.  I just bought my first Christmas present. :)

[BW Manilowe]

This discussion sent me to Amazon to check out coloring books for adults. I just bought my first Christmas present. :)

Barnes & Noble's site carries actual ADULT (as in subject matter) coloring books, if that's your (or someone you know's) speed. I found them the other night while browsing their adult coloring books selection, but I don't remember how. I think I'll stick with the mandalas, geometric shapes & abstract designs, with the occasional animals & buildings thrown in for good measure, like I used to color when I was a kid.

Brattinella: Thanks for the reminder about Doodle Art!

Edited August 23, 2015 by BW Manilowe

[Muffyn]

Okay, I know I am really tired this morning, but I swear the Hyundai commercial announcer just said "All Moes are priced to move!"  And I think it was John Corbett screeching this at me.  So John Corbett wants me to have a Moe?  I'm confused but not willing to back it up to try to figure out what he said.  I would rather imagine a lot full of men named Moe, perhaps each with the Moe from the Three Stooges haircut, standing around a car lot waiting for someone to take them home.  

[bilgistic]

I can't find it online, but a Hallmark commercial came on during every break while I watched Project Runway on the Lifetime app yesterday. It was for their new Signature cards line, which I would know nothing about were they not shoehorned into a challenge last week on PR.

In the commercial, three white women sit around a table and gingerly make the cards using various craft supplies like string, glitter and sequins. The thing that makes me go, "Say what?" is that I'm pretty sure that's not the setting nor pace at which these cards are being made. It's just weird that we're supposed to believe that the weekly wives' coffee klatsche is making thousands of identical cards at a snail's pace.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Okay, I know I am really tired this morning, but I swear the Hyundai commercial announcer just said "All Moes are priced to move!"  And I think it was John Corbett screeching this at me.  So John Corbett wants me to have a Moe?  I'm confused but not willing to back it up to try to figure out what he said.  I would rather imagine a lot full of men named Moe, perhaps each with the Moe from the Three Stooges haircut, standing around a car lot waiting for someone to take them home.  

 

Even Moe Szyslak?

 

Also, I finally saw the "comedian seal hunt" ad with Kaley Cuoco. I deliberately listened to it four or five times, and swear to God, she says "comedian" each time. It makes me feel like someone pranked her. Better that than to think she can't read a cue card.

[erikdepressant]

I can't find it online, but a Hallmark commercial came on during every break while I watched Project Runway on the Lifetime app yesterday. It was for their new Signature cards line, which I would know nothing about were they not shoehorned into a challenge last week on PR.

In the commercial, three white women sit around a table and gingerly make the cards using various craft supplies like string, glitter and sequins. The thing that makes me go, "Say what?" is that I'm pretty sure that's not the setting nor pace at which these cards are being made. It's just weird that we're supposed to believe that the weekly wives' coffee klatsche is making thousands of identical cards at a snail's pace.

Is this the commercial you're talking about?

I'm sure the sweatshops where the cards' components are assembled with love are just as chic as the trendy urban space where the cards are designed.

 

Dear Hallmark: Instead of finding ways to upcycle trash, could you invest some of your R&D budget into developing Father's Day cards for people whose dads did not exclusively use tools and play golf?  Thanks.

 

I had a horrifying thought when I saw that commercial: What if Hallmark used an artificial intelligence that scanned the entirety of Pinterest and then consciously designed the Signature Collection?  I named the A.I. "DeepGreet" and imagined it accessing nuclear launch codes, in order to improve its algorithms for selling sympathy cards.

Edited August 23, 2015 by erikdepressant

[Rick Kitchen]

Put all that crap on the card so they can charge us $7.99 for a birthday card.

 

Speaking of which, why doesn't anybody make Grand-nephew cards?

[Prevailing Wind]

Oh, they're not cards; they're pieces of art.  So make 'em in black & white & sell 'em as coloring cards.  THEN we can FRAME them to give to our friends. Sheesh.

[bilgistic]

Is this the commercial you're talking about?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYjF3fxLyV0

I'm sure the sweatshops where the cards' components are assembled with love are just as chic as the trendy urban space where the cards are designed.

Dear Hallmark: Instead of finding ways to upcycle trash, could you invest some of your R&D budget into developing Father's Day cards for people whose dads did not exclusively use tools and play golf? Thanks.

I had a horrifying thought when I saw that commercial: What if Hallmark used an artificial intelligence that scanned the entirety of Pinterest and then consciously designed the Signature Collection? I named the A.I. "DeepGreet" and imagined it accessing nuclear launch codes, in order to improve its algorithms for selling sympathy cards.

That commercial's even worse! Actual trash from the street! The one I saw is the second half of that one--just the sitting around the loft table component. Well, Hallmark, you just landed on the boycott list, not that I buy cards anymore, anyway. I quit seeing the point in buying something that people keep on their cluttered kitchen table or counter for a few weeks, then toss in the trash, because none of that glitter crap is recyclable. I call people on the occasion in question.

[Bruinsfan]

I was wondering WTF was going on in the Three Olives vodka commercial with the guy who flashes yellow eyes and fangs until I saw the full length version online that makes it clear the theme is "werewolves of London":

Did no one at the company realize that cutting it down to a 15-second blipvert where you can't hear the song also results in it making no sense?

[Rick Kitchen]

So those Samsung washer ads with Dax and Kristen - they have a built in sink in the washing machine?  I thought the purpose of washing machines was so that we didn't have to hand wash our clothes.  What's next, a built in rock to bash the clothes against?

[Prevailing Wind]

 

Did no one at the company realize that cutting it down to a 15-second blipvert where you can't hear the song also results in it making no sense?

As long as the Zevon Estate get royalties, it's OK by me.  ;-)

[CarpeDiem54]

So those Samsung washer ads with Dax and Kristen - they have a built in sink in the washing machine?  I thought the purpose of washing machines was so that we didn't have to hand wash our clothes.  What's next, a built in rock to bash the clothes against?

How about a built in rock with which to bash in their skulls?

[riley702]

I was wondering WTF was going on in the Three Olives vodka commercial with the guy who flashes yellow eyes and fangs until I saw the full length version online that makes it clear the theme is "werewolves of London":

Did no one at the company realize that cutting it down to a 15-second blipvert where you can't hear the song also results in it making no sense?

I hadn't seen either ad until now. Do you have a link to the short version? TIA.

Ack! I'm not sure what just happened there. Sorry!

 

ETA: Thanks for fixing it, mods!

Edited August 24, 2015 by riley702

[Milburn Stone]

Did no one at the company realize that cutting it down to a 15-second blipvert where you can't hear the song also results in it making no sense?

 

They no doubt thought the full video would go "viral" so that the blipverts could serve as reminder advertising.

[NinjaPenguins]

I thought the Three Olives guy was supposed to be a vampire. Don't judge me.

I often work at my desk with my back turned to the TV, so I was confused for a long time about the Taco Bell breakfast ads. I thought they featured breakfast detectives, which sounded mildly interesting, or breakfast defectives, which seemed incredibly mean. I also spent a brief moment thinking the actors were portraying breakfast detectors and wondering if that would be a worthwhile superpower to have.

[ExplainItAgain]

OK, I seriously had to think about this one for a long time. Way longer than is healthy/necessary. That damn Chrissy Teigan commercial about her having to choose which phone to use....at the end she asks if they would censor her dog's nipples. So she says "not censored"...but her hand is on her dog. Then she says "censored"...while she pulls her hand away ("exposing" the dog). I thought I was going crazy that it was backwards. I legit have been thinking about this for days.

 

So I just realized that if her hand was on the dog, it wouldn't be censored and if not, they might blur it out. So not backwards after all. I feel extremely dumb this morning.

[Moose135]

Don't feel so dumb - I have no idea what she's doing in that commercial.