Say What?: Commercials That Made Us Scratch Our Heads

[riley702]

Damn, that's moderately to severely poor parenting.

[OSM Mom]

Damn, that's moderately to severely poor parenting.

That's a severe win of a post.

[AuntieL]

Awww he's not a bad dad. Mostly just clueless, forgetful and a really bad driver. He should've sold Liberty Mutual.

[DeLurker]

Yeah, like I'm going to base a several hundred thousand dollar purchase on the fact that my emo pimply faced teenaged brat can spy on the neighbor girl.

I spent the entire year of 6th grade trying to figure out how to get my parents to move 1/2 mile so I would live on the same block as my crush.  Thankfully, I never found a reason worth mentioning (in the mind of a 6th grader) otherwise I would never live that down.  Ever.

 

Could've been a Pinto :)

AKA Chariots of Fire

[LoneHaranguer]

 

AKA Chariots of Fire

Bringing up movies in this thread reminds me of Back to the Future 2, when Doc tells Marty that Biff's 1950's car could slice through a Delorean like tissue paper. The husband could have been driving a really old heap that he might have had dreams of fixing up some day, but in the mean time didn't think merited being careful driving.

[Rick Kitchen]

I wonder if the people at the Milk Advisory Board knew what this video was all about when they approved the song for their "Got Milk?" ads:

 

Warning: NSFW

 

[Bort]

Could've been a Pinto :)

AKA Chariots of Fire

You know, that line from Speed where Sandra Bullock says driving the bus (with a bomb on it) is like driving a really big Pinto makes a lot more sense now.

[riley702]

I wonder if the people at the Milk Advisory Board knew what this video was all about when they approved the song for their "Got Milk?" ads:

 

Warning: NSFW

 

I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard. Thank you!

[butterbody]

Anyone else squicked out by the 16 year old girl on the vagisil commercial? At some parts she looks like she's wearing a retainer. Are they trying to market this to teenagers, or am I reading too much into it?

I just think it would have been better if it were an adult talking about her vagina.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I wonder if the people at the Milk Advisory Board knew what this video was all about when they approved the song for their "Got Milk?" ads:

 

Warning: NSFW

 

 

Electric Six! It would be awesome if they got more fans from this, especially since the song's at least a decade old. That said, I cannot imagine that the milk people have actually listened to this all the way through.

Edited January 8, 2016 by Cobalt Stargazer

[ennui]

Corvairs were known for flipping over at high speeds or when cornering at moderate to high speeds; i.e., take a freeway exit ramp too fast and enjoy your flight.

 

That was disproven. Ralph Nader started his career with "Unsafe at Any Speed," yet it wasn't true. An example of how a rumor can destroy a product.

"The Corvair's legacy was affected by controversy surrounding its handling, scrutinized in Ralph Nader's Unsafe at Any Speed, as well as a 1972 Texas A&M University safety commission report for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which found that the 1960–1963 Corvair possessed no greater potential for loss of control in extreme situations than its contemporaries."

 

Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

[Prevailing Wind]

I remember Nader on (I think it probably was) the Mike Douglas show, talking about "Unsafe At Any Speed" about how the cars with the fins are dangerous even when parked...you could fall on 'em & get impaled.  I was only 16 and thought that was complete nonsense.  I remember telling my mother, who was watching with me, that even a picnic table could hurt somebody if they fell on it.  Just about *anything* can hurt you if you fall on it. What nonsense!  (I clearly remember using a "picnic table" as an example.  I have no idea why.)

[Brattinella]

I remember Nader on (I think it probably was) the Mike Douglas show, talking about "Unsafe At Any Speed" about how the cars with the fins are dangerous even when parked...you could fall on 'em & get impaled.  I was only 16 and thought that was complete nonsense.  I remember telling my mother, who was watching with me, that even a picnic table could hurt somebody if they fell on it.  Just about *anything* can hurt you if you fall on it. What nonsense!  (I clearly remember using a "picnic table" as an example.  I have no idea why.)

 

I remember Ralph Nader too, but the "even when parked"?  WOW!  I wonder why he had such a hard-on for Chevy?  Corvairs were pretty cool little cars.

[peacheslatour]

 

I remember Ralph Nader too, but the "even when parked"?  WOW!  I wonder why he had such a hard-on for Chevy?  Corvairs were pretty cool little cars.

My dad had three of them.  He is a "car guy" and he thought Nader was full of shit.

[Maverick]

 Poopsie Daisy?  POOPSIE Daisy?   I don't know whether to be amused at how cheap and tacky this commercial was produced or to cringe at the product this apparently 5th grade production crew was trying to sell.  

[Blergh]

OK, the new GEICO one with the two guys working out while using derivatives of 'bro' is a head scratcher for me for several reasons. Maybe I'm not in the loop re current slang but is somehow using derivatives of 'bro' supposed to be a frenemy deal? Secondly, the older one appears to not only use have increasingly larger curling weights with each shot of him but he appears to transform to Herculean proportions so does this mean the commercial was shot over the course of quite a few months while the older performer increased his strength and muscle mass OR was it entirely done via CGI and I'm too dumb to spot it? Now if only the older one can drop his heaviest curling weight on Peter Pan to permanently ground him.

[Rick Kitchen]

it's either CGI or makeup, he didn't really bulk up like that.

[InDueTime]

Every time I see this Bacardi ad, I wonder how there's electricity in that house on the truck.  Is there a generator?  Also, I hope no one drinks too much and uses any of that house's toilets that would be obviously connected to nothing.

 

Edited January 11, 2016 by InDueTime

[CoderLady]

Every time I see this Bacardi ad, I wonder how there's electricity in that house on the truck.  Is there a generator?  Also, I hope no one drinks too much and uses any of that house's toilets that would be obviously connected to nothing.

 

I have so many questions about that rolling disaster looking for a place to happen that I don't even know where to begin.

Edited January 11, 2016 by CoderLady

[Jamoche]

Every time I see this Bacardi ad, I wonder how there's electricity in that house on the truck.  Is there a generator?  Also, I hope no one drinks too much and uses any of that house's toilets that would be obviously connected to nothing.

I'm reminded of the flying house party in one of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

Every time I see this Bacardi ad, I wonder how there's electricity in that house on the truck.  Is there a generator?

I don't see anything that couldn't be battery-powered. Where are the escort cars with flashing lights that are supposed to accompany a load like that?

[riley702]

That's Fridge Logic. Or would that fall under Hand Waving, where they don't show every detail of what needs to be happening? I refuse to go browsing tropes. I'd be on that site for hours!

Edited January 11, 2016 by riley702

[Ilovemylabs]

Isn't the girl in the Allstate commercial who tells her boyfriend/husband, "Silence", the same woman in the antacid commercial with the fireman?  She looks the same and is even sitting in the same position as she is in the Allstate commercial.

[riley702]

Yes!

 

http://www.ispot.tv/topic/actor-actress/G9/amanda-troop

 

You're welcome. :)

 

ETA: This one's funny.  http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7721/chevrolet-serenade-featuring-brad-paisley

Edited January 12, 2016 by riley702

[ennui]

I saw an ad for a feminine contraceptive ... one of the models was wearing a silver horseshoe necklace which was vaguely reminiscent of the necklace worn in the film, "50 Shades of Grey."  I was impressed with the costume folks and their subliminal skills.

[riley702]

I wonder if the people at the Milk Advisory Board knew what this video was all about when they approved the song for their "Got Milk?" ads:

 

Warning: NSFW

 

 

Watching this made me go looking for more E6 videos and just generally googling them. Wound up on Dick Valentine's Facebook page, liked a few things and he just shot me a friend request. Woot!

 

Interesting factoids - the woman in this video was a 70 year-old actress hired for the vid. Perfect casting, IMO, and she's oddly hot. But the vocal that she lip-syncs to? Jack White.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Watching this made me go looking for more E6 videos and just generally googling them. Wound up on Dick Valentine's Facebook page, liked a few things and he just shot me a friend request. Woot!

 

Interesting factoids - the woman in this video was a 70 year-old actress hired for the vid. Perfect casting, IMO, and she's oddly hot. But the vocal that she lip-syncs to? Jack White.

 

That? Is awesome.

 

The first half-second when I saw the woman, I thought it was Susan Tyrell, who passed away in 2012, because she was also in Anthrax's Black Lodge video, and they look a tiny bit similar. And I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Jack White would provide her lyrics, since he's recorded Dolly Parton's Jolene without gender-flipping the song.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

So.....do people generally talk to websites, or is it just Marissa here?

 

 

[Watcher0363]

Well if you were in the room while I was reading some of the post in the show forums on this site. You would see and hear another person who talks to websites, in very unflattering language at times.

[Rick Kitchen]

riley702, did you ask Dick Valentine how they got involved in the milk ads?

[riley702]

No, but I need to! I'll do that and get back to you.

[BusyOctober]

I recently started working from home and I put the TV on for background noise (sometimes I do watch an occasional show..or 5).  Now that I am inundated with ads I've never seen during my night viewing, I have sooo many questions!

 

I'll start with the insurance ad for "The General".  Why would anyone need their free quote to be "anonymous"?  And how anonymous could it be? Don't you have to give some info to get the quote?  Wouldn't I need to supply my city/state for rates?  And does The General not care about my past driving record with regard to what kind of risk I'd be?  Wouldn't they want to know my driver's license # and/or my car registration to look up my history? Or is "anonymous" code for "we won't turn you in for your years of reckless behavior as long as the check clears"?

[bad things are bad]

My dad had three of them.  He is a "car guy" and he thought Nader was full of shit.

 

Well, he had a few valid points. And he actually went after the VW Beetle as well, but no one remembers that 

 

At least you can credit him with getting the conversation moving about auto safety. We have about half as many people dying in wrecks today as we did in the 60s, but way more cars on the road. 

 

My antipathy towards Nader is based more on 2000. The gift that keeps on giving. 

Why would anyone need their free quote to be "anonymous"?  And how anonymous could it be? Don't you have to give some info to get the quote?

 

I'm assuming it's just faster. If you try to get a quote from a legit insurer, they want actual facts--State Farm wants a drivers license number, among a crapton of other things. The General probably lets you put in whatever you want

[OSM Mom]

The other insurance companies want to know way more about you that is necessary for a simple quote. All they really need is the make, model, year of your car, your zip code, and to answer yes or no to if you're had any tickets or wrecks in the last year. Provided you're telling the truth, you should be able to get a fairly accurate quote. But they want to run your credit, and and your driving record and your employment history and a bunch of other crap they're don't need. So the general one just needs basic info.

[Jamoche]

I'll start with the insurance ad for "The General".  Why would anyone need their free quote to be "anonymous"?  And how anonymous could it be? 

Possibly "we won't take your email address and then spam the hell out of you"?

[scriggle]

I had a co-worker who backed out of his garage after having an argument with his grandfather. He was so angry he forgot to open the garage door - car and home owner's insurance, all at once.

 

My father has done this.  Twice.  Granted the incidents were 10+ years apart but still.  He did it twice.

[riley702]

riley702, did you ask Dick Valentine how they got involved in the milk ads?

I got a cryptic "They made a decision." I  wanted more than that, and find myself disappointed.. 

[Rick Kitchen]

Thanks, riley.

[Cenzzzo]

It's not the watching vs listening thing that puzzles me, but the fact that it needs advertising dollars thrown at it at all.

It's not the watching vs listening thing that puzzles me, but the fact that it needs advertising dollars thrown at it at all.

I agree it makes no sense to extensively advertise for this select group. I'm guessing the pharmaceutical company is looking for sighted persons with other sleeping disorders to push this to their doctors.

[ParadoxLost]

I saw Andy Cohen do a 'the more you know' commercial.  You know the guy that brought Real Housewives and Watch What's Happening Live to your TV.  Guess what he was doing a PSA about.  And not in an ironic way.  Guess.

 

The dangers of revealing too much about yourself on social media.  I nearly bust a gut.

[Bruinsfan]

Electric Six! It would be awesome if they got more fans from this, especially since the song's at least a decade old. That said, I cannot imagine that the milk people have actually listened to this all the way through.

I suspect someone subversive in Marketing rather than merely oblivious.

[riley702]

You might be right. A friend of Dick Valentine's chimed in today on Facebook with: "He has a previous relationship with Milk, Inc." and linked to this - 

 

 

How the hell did I manage to miss this blissful lunacy?

[ennui]

Am I supposed to know this Dick Valentine person?

[Sandman87]

I see that Shaquille O’Neal now wants me to "Man up with Gold Bond (hand cream)." Yeah, because there's nothing more manly than hand cream.

[Rick Kitchen]

Ha. I knew the White Gold ads, didn't realize that was him.

[riley702]

Am I supposed to know this Dick Valentine person?

Founder of Electric 6, the band. Brought up with this post:

I wonder if the people at the Milk Advisory Board knew what this video was all about when they approved the song for their "Got Milk?" ads:

 

Warning: NSFW

 

[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a4gyJsY0mc"[/url]

[Muffyn]

I see that Shaquille O’Neal now wants me to "Man up with Gold Bond (hand cream)." Yeah, because there's nothing more manly than hand cream.

Given the number of men I know who have hand cream and a box of tissues near their beds, I think it's pretty manly.  Oh wait, maybe it's not their hands they are worried about! 

[Watcher0363]

Given the number of men I know who have hand cream and a box of tissues near their beds, I think it's pretty manly.  Oh wait, maybe it's not their hands they are worried about! 

Muffyn, Muffyn. Muffyn! Trying to visualize the perfect woman being a natural woman, has been known to cause some body parts to chafe.

[peacheslatour]

 

At least you can credit him with getting the conversation moving about auto safety. We have about half as many people dying in wrecks today as we did in the 60s, but way more cars on the road.

 

My antipathy towards Nader is based more on 2000. The gift that keeps on giving

Fair point.  And yes, that thing that happened in 2000 and again 2004 were disasters.

[Muffyn]

Muffyn, Muffyn. Muffyn! Trying to visualize the perfect woman being a natural woman, has been known to cause some body parts to chafe.

And now I'm thinking "Gold Bond makes me feel like a natural woman!"