Say What?: Commercials That Made Us Scratch Our Heads

[ZaldamoWilder]

Lol!! you guys?  We might be thinking way too hard about this.  Pretty soon we'll have these people on their own show.

[peacheslatour]

20 hours ago, fishcakes said:

I wonder if it's possible to eat a seafood salad from Taco Bell without bursting into tears of despair.

User name and avatar check out.

[RealityCowgirl]

Heh. I came over for a definitive answer on the twirling-ring Volvo commercial. Twirling ring left me thinking it was a funeral. :)

[Sandman87]

20 hours ago, bilgistic said:

"Whitefish" is mostly tilefish (which reside near coral reefs, so fishing for them is problematic), but can also refer to leftover fish from processing, so...garbage fish. It's pretty high in mercury and is used in cat food.

"Whitefish", as the term is used by the food industry, covers over 200 types and includes cod, haddock, halibut, plaice, sole, telapia, cod, bass, grouper, catfish, swordfish and snapper. Fish & chips is always whitefish.

[theatremouse]

On 5/28/2016 at 8:09 AM, Ubiquitous said:

I was watching an ad for some new Dairy Queeb blizzard drink with a blob of hot fudge (or another flavour) in the center which featured scientists trying to figure out how it was made.

I have to say, I am retroactively irked at this ad because it is false advertising. Normally, I would hold such an ad to a lower standard, but given the entire premise is "how'd they get the fudge in the center" I am absolutely holding this against them.

Y'all, I went and got one of those damn blizzards today because their damn cross-section imagery of the fudge down the middle got me. It reminded me of those Ben & Jerry's flavors that have the "core". While there was indeed fudge in my blizzard, it was not remotely in the center. It looked NOTHING like what the ads implied. They make it the same way they do other blizzards: blending stuff into the softserve in a cup. I guess I assumed they had some mechanism, such as a tube or something, by which they inject the fudge down the center, or placeholder the empty space or whatever? Nope. There was what I'd call a thread of fudge swirled into my blizzard. And it was good. And I'd even say it had close to the amount of fudge I expected based on the ads' visuals. But that secret fudgey center they're peddlin'? Is a lie.

Hard hot fudge truths.

[DeLurker]

Say it ain't so!

I was intrigued by concept and had similar expectations. 

Edited June 15, 2016 by DeLurker
Because "s" and"d" are not interchangeable

[theatremouse]

I mean, it was good. I did not regret eating it. But it was not as advertised.

[Ubiquitous]

On ‎6‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 3:08 PM, ZaldamoWilder said:

bb I missed the quotes and thought it was an actual conversation between you and your sister and it made me giggle like crazy.

I'm probably thinking too hard about it but anybody have a read on the Volvo commercial with 4 people in the car.  Driver is a lady (the wife), guy in the seat behind her is her husband and as he's twirling his wedding ring, she puts a song on that makes him smile, she reaches back to touch his hand and he smiles winsomely.   Ya'll I'm not deep enough to understand.  Help?

I saw that ad but was confused b/c I thought her husband was in the front passenger seat, not behind her. I thought he was her father seated behind her in the car.

[ZaldamoWilder]

3 hours ago, Ubiquitous said:

I saw that ad but was confused b/c I thought her husband was in the front passenger seat, not behind her. I thought he was her father seated behind her in the car.

:D  We've been studying it for a page and a half now.   Those Volvo people might be geniuses.

[proserpina65]

33 minutes ago, ZaldamoWilder said:

:D  We've been studying it for a page and a half now.   Those Volvo people might be geniuses.

But how many of us ran out to buy Volvos?

[ZaldamoWilder]

LOL!!!!  good point!

[DeLurker]

I won't but that is because I own a 99 v70 that I will drive until the engine actually falls out. 

[LoneHaranguer]

On 6/13/2016 at 8:47 PM, Sharpie66 said:

Who told TCF Bank that using "99 Red Balloons" in a cheery ad was a good idea? It's a song about nuclear war, FFS!!

It wouldn't be the first time an adman didn't pay attention to the lyrics of a song, but most people have only heard the German version of that one, so the person making the decision may not have known, or didn't think viewers would.

[bilgistic]

I'm thinking we could have a thread just for inappropriate song choices in commercials by now. Last night when I was watching TV, a commercial for PetSmart came on, and it involved some tie-in to a new animated movie. The animated dog walked through PetSmart to the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil". Sigh.

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/AGrz/petsmart-the-secret-life-of-pets

[erikdepressant]

I saw the Colace Stool Softener "Princess" commercial for the first time today.

The first part of the commercial (when Mom's face shows just how constipated she is as she struggles to help her daughter get into costume) should have been in black and white.  Then, showtime.  I can't be the only person who thought "That's going to kick in during Princess's performance!"  But at the end, when Mom stands up and walks away with Princess, Mom kinda moves like the Colace hasn't started working yet.  Or perhaps it worked too well...

Colace tells us, "Don't miss your moments," but which carries the greater moment-missing risk?  The problem or the solution?

[Jamoche]

15 hours ago, bilgistic said:

I'm thinking we could have a thread just for inappropriate song choices in commercials by now.

IIRC it's for Lipton Iced Tea - it's a picnic, anyway, and we get the a capella "mm-mm"s from S.O.B. by Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats - which is about drinking so much you get the DTs. Certainly the line "My heart was breaking, hands are shaking, bugs are crawling all over me" isn't something you want to associate with a picnic.

[Ubiquitous]

13 hours ago, erikdepressant said:

I saw the Colace Stool Softener "Princess" commercial for the first time today.

The first part of the commercial (when Mom's face shows just how constipated she is as she struggles to help her daughter get into costume) should have been in black and white.  Then, showtime.  I can't be the only person who thought "That's going to kick in during Princess's performance!"  But at the end, when Mom stands up and walks away with Princess, Mom kinda moves like the Colace hasn't started working yet.  Or perhaps it worked too well...

Colace tells us, "Don't miss your moments," but which carries the greater moment-missing risk?  The problem or the solution?

I laughed at the way the mother walked away with her daughter. Good thing she's wearing brown pants!

[xaxat]

Is Dior running this Johnny Depp ad in spite or because of his current notoriety?

[peacheslatour]

20 hours ago, bilgistic said:

I'm thinking we could have a thread just for inappropriate song choices in commercials by now. Last night when I was watching TV, a commercial for PetSmart came on, and it involved some tie-in to a new animated movie. The animated dog walked through PetSmart to the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil". Sigh.

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/AGrz/petsmart-the-secret-life-of-pets

How about the one where they're trying to tell people that it's a good idea to teach kids to cook and they use Frampton's Show Me The Way- one of the date rapiest songs ever.

[Prevailing Wind]

7 hours ago, Jamoche said:

 Certainly the line "My heart was breaking, hands are shaking, bugs are crawling all over me" isn't something you want to associate with a picnic.

...unless the bugs are ants.  Ants always come to picnics.

[xaxat]

I would think that an insurance company knows that sparklers burn at almost two thousand degrees before making an ad showing kids playing with them.

 

[theatremouse]

2 hours ago, xaxat said:

I would think that an insurance company knows that sparklers burn at almost two thousand degrees before making an ad showing kids playing with them.

Devil's Advocate: in my admittedly small sample size, I have never been in a real life situation involving sparklers where the whole point was not that children play with them. Nobody drew whales or flailed them around or anything, but my entire frame of reference for sparklers is "a thing handed to a kid in summer and told to be very very careful with" and then the kid basically stands there agape, watching it do its thing til it stops as if it were something much more magical than just a burning stick.

Edited June 17, 2016 by theatremouse

[Bastet]

Yeah, in my experience, sparklers and black snakes were always the fireworks for kids.

[AimingforYoko]

On 6/16/2016 at 4:35 PM, xaxat said:

Is Dior running this Johnny Depp ad in spite or because of his current notoriety?

 

Fragrance ads always baffle me.

So Stella Artois' tagline is apparently "Be Legacy." Is this a translation problem or a pretension problem?

[DeLurker]

They aren't mutually exclusive.

[SmithW6079]

What's with the State Farm ad about no bad things happening anymore?  So cops and doctors and firefighters will be out of jobs and that's a good thing? And no more rain means farms get parched and famine sets in? 

[Rick Kitchen]

Uh, no, Popeye's Chicken, I'm not even FROM Louisiana, and I can tell you that in Louisiana, you can tell it's summer because it's 95 degrees and 95 per cent humidity, not because the magnolias are in bloom.

[Brattinella]

But they do have pretty good chicken!

[cynicat]

10 hours ago, Rick Kitchen said:

Uh, no, Popeye's Chicken, I'm not even FROM Louisiana, and I can tell you that in Louisiana, you can tell it's summer because it's 95 degrees and 95 per cent humidity, not because the magnolias are in bloom.

Rick Kitchen, I was on exactly the same path.  Whenever she says, "how can you tell it's summer in Louisiana?" I immediately talk back to the TV and say "because it's 10,000 degrees outside."

[CarpeDiem54]

8 minutes ago, cynicat said:

Rick Kitchen, I was on exactly the same path.  Whenever she says, "how can you tell it's summer in Louisiana?" I immediately talk back to the TV and say "because it's 10,000 degrees outside."

Also, when you step outside your glasses instantly fog up and sweat starts pouring off you.  At 6:30 am.

[MizArk]

I'm more concerned about what part of a chicken is shaped like that magnolia blossom. I find it disturbing (though probably tasty).

[crazycatlady58]

5 hours ago, CarpeDiem54 said:

Also, when you step outside your glasses instantly fog up and sweat starts pouring off you.  At 6:30 am.

Houston tx is the same way. We have heat warnings and a projected heat index on 105 +

[Ubiquitous]

In the newest steak Taco Bell ad, is there something particularly special about the museum exhibits is staring at while he chows down on a steak burrito? Is one even allowed to have food in a museum?

[Rick Kitchen]

I think the point is that in previous eras, it was much more difficult to get food?

[Moose135]

2 hours ago, Rick Kitchen said:

I think the point is that in previous eras, it was much more difficult to get food?

Yes, they are saying back in the day, you had to kill something - and maybe face death yourself - if you wanted some sort of meat for your meal.

[frenchtoast]

There is also a bit of a joke that it could actually cost you an arm and a leg but the Taco Bell thingie won't. Which leads me to think that Taco Bell doesn't have the best stuff in their so-called food. Because, as my dad used to say, "You get what you pay for".

[Rick Kitchen]

So if that scented crayons ad implies that their banana scented crayons smell like banana farts, does that mean that bananas eat bananas?

[erikdepressant]

Cannibananalism is no laughing matter.

[fishcakes]

11 hours ago, frenchtoast said:

There is also a bit of a joke that it could actually cost you an arm and a leg but the Taco Bell thingie won't. Which leads me to think that Taco Bell doesn't have the best stuff in their so-called food. Because, as my dad used to say, "You get what you pay for".

Ages ago at the old boards, a poster said that she saw a truck delivering meat to Taco Bell and the boxes were labeled "Grade D Beef." I'm not sure if I believe that since I don't think beef gets letter grades, but rather Prime, Choice, and Good (where "Good" means, "not so great"); regardless, the meat at Taco Bell does kind of have the texture of dog food.

[DeLurker]

Taco Bell uses soylent green.

@erikdepressant - I'm thisclose to asking you to marry me!

[xaxat]

I'm surprised Geico is running their Kraken ad this week given what happened at Disney World.

Edited June 19, 2016 by xaxat

[Watcher0363]

8 hours ago, xaxat said:

I'm surprised Geico is running their Kraken ad this week given what happened at Disney World.

Well, it's not like they are referencing dingoes eating babies.

[erikdepressant]

13 hours ago, fishcakes said:

Ages ago at the old boards, a poster said that she saw a truck delivering meat to Taco Bell and the boxes were labeled "Grade D Beef." I'm not sure if I believe that since I don't think beef gets letter grades, but rather Prime, Choice, and Good (where "Good" means, "not so great"); regardless, the meat at Taco Bell does kind of have the texture of dog food.

 

12 hours ago, DeLurker said:

Taco Bell uses soylent green.

Taco Bell would use Grade D Soylent Green, too (made of lawyers, junkies, and Kardashians).

[ebk57]

3 hours ago, Watcher0363 said:

Well, it's not like they are referencing dingoes eating babies.

OMG, while the whole thing is horrifying, that is all I could think about all week...dingoes.

[Rick Kitchen]

I may or may not have an alternate User ID on certain other websites called "Dingoes Ate My Baby".

[Watcher0363]

7 hours ago, erikdepressant said:

 

Taco Bell would use Grade D Soylent Green, too (made of lawyers, junkies, and Kardashians).

Butt cheek meat is the sweetest!

7 hours ago, ebk57 said:

OMG, while the whole thing is horrifying, that is all I could think about all week...dingoes.

You were not the only one.

[Ubiquitous]

21 hours ago, fishcakes said:

Ages ago at the old boards, a poster said that she saw a truck delivering meat to Taco Bell and the boxes were labeled "Grade D Beef." I'm not sure if I believe that since I don't think beef gets letter grades, but rather Prime, Choice, and Good (where "Good" means, "not so great"); regardless, the meat at Taco Bell does kind of have the texture of dog food.

I remember seeing Alton Brown say that on Good Eats.

[Prevailing Wind]

http://www.snopes.com/food/prepare/badmeat.asp

Nope says Snopes.  No such thing as Grade D.

[LoneHaranguer]

On 6/19/2016 at 10:26 AM, fishcakes said:

I'm not sure if I believe that since I don't think beef gets letter grades, but rather Prime, Choice, and Good (where "Good" means, "not so great"); regardless, the meat at Taco Bell does kind of have the texture of dog food.

That's the current scale; it's changed. The top used to be an "A", but I don't think the ratings went as far as "D"; people would just use that letter in jest.

[ZaldamoWilder]

On 6/18/2016 at 11:09 PM, frenchtoast said:

There is also a bit of a joke that it could actually cost you an arm and a leg but the Taco Bell thingie won't. Which leads me to think that Taco Bell doesn't have the best stuff in their so-called food. Because, as my dad used to say, "You get what you pay for".

Lol!!  My daughter still hasn't accepted the improbability of a thing containing *real* meat costing 89 cents.  We just don't talk about it anymore.

Finally saw what is the first in the series of that Volvo commercial.  Now I'm so pissy that they're out of order I don't care that the dad is all in his feelings.   Speechwriting, sentimental looks into the foggy beyond, lighthouses.    Um, what am I supposed to be paying attention to again?