# Commercials backfiring **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 3, 2016, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057 "2016-02-03T15:34:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/41 "2016-02-05T16:24:21Z")
Way back in the 1950s or so, there was a TV advert for Strand cigarettes, which featured a moody-looking but handsome man waiting in the street in a rainy “ciné noir” atmosphere, until he lights up and the slogan “You’re Never Alone With a Strand” came up. All very arty and up to the minute, but by repute it killed the brand. www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjBHUQEiTPw Since then, there’s been a whole industry of reverse psychological attempts at “So bad it’s good” marketing, with the advertisers playing on the annoyingness of the ad and trying to make it a virtue in the hope of it being all the more memorable. One example was the “Do the Shake’n’Vac” advert (a really annoying earworm, but it seemed to work). At the moment here, it’s a pseudo-Caruso tenor advertising an insurance comparison website, and a tedious couple of characters advertising oak furniture (“No veneer in 'ere!”). But there you are, I’ve remembered them, so they can’t be that bad, can they? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/42 "2016-02-05T16:59:19Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Since then, there’s been a whole industry of reverse psychological attempts at “So bad it’s good” marketing, with the advertisers playing on the annoyingness of the ad and trying to make it a virtue in the hope of it being all the more memorable. One example was the “Do the Shake’n’Vac” advert (a really annoying earworm, but it seemed to work). At the moment here, it’s a pseudo-Caruso tenor advertising an insurance comparison website, and a tedious couple of characters advertising oak furniture (“No veneer in 'ere!”). But there you are, I’ve remembered them, so they can’t be that bad, can they? HeadOn; Apply Directly to the Forehead. HeadOn; Apply Directly to the Forehead. HeadOn; Apply Directly to the Forehead. HeadOn; Apply Directly to the Forehead. HeadOn; Apply Directly to the Forehead… ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/43 "2016-02-05T18:18:52Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > The two I hated most were the ones set in: a) a gym and b) a library. Gym guy was getting catsup all over his shoes and the middle of the gym floor. Library girl was chomping loud enough that veryone was craning their necks to see WTF. Both were just wrong. I stopped going to Carl’s Jr, not as a protest so much as because the association made me ill and angry. I don’t eat there because of their commercials myself. If they’re not blattering about how disgustingly messy their food is (and soggy burger bun would trip my gag reflex HARD), they have Paris Hilton sleazing across the screen, and I loathe her. ---
**Author:** ![pieceoftheuniverse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7993a0/32.png) [@pieceoftheuniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pieceoftheuniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/44 "2016-02-05T18:59:53Z")
Movie trailers count as commercials, right? There’s an upper limit for me with trailers for a movie. Two minutes is about right: it can get me hyped for the movie, gives the basic plot without spoilers, and lets me know who is in the cast. Three minutes is pushing it. Four minutes or more, and they’ve basically summarized the whole movie to the point where I don’t even need to go see it anymore. Comedies and romantic movies are especially bad at this, as they give away all the best jokes/moments. I can’t even think of a comedy or romantic movie I’ve seen in theaters in the past ten years, purely because they’re marketed badly. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/45 "2016-02-05T19:03:40Z")
> [@pieceoftheuniverse](#): > > Movie trailers count as commercials, right? > > There’s an upper limit for me with trailers for a movie. Two minutes is about right: it can get me hyped for the movie, gives the basic plot without spoilers, and lets me know who is in the cast. > > Three minutes is pushing it. Four minutes or more, and they’ve basically summarized the whole movie to the point where I don’t even need to go see it anymore. Comedies and romantic movies are especially bad at this, as they give away all the best jokes/moments. I can’t even think of a comedy or romantic movie I’ve seen in theaters in the past ten years, purely because they’re marketed badly. There’s a trailer currently running for Zootopia that has[Sloths running the DMV](http://variety.com/2015/film/news/zootopia-trailer-dmv-sloths-1201646717/). It could be a funny bit, but just like the sloths, it goes on waaaaaaaaay to long. Since they don’t show anything else about the movie, it makes me suspicious that that bit is the only funny part in the film (and it’s just not that funny). ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/46 "2016-02-05T19:36:18Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > What do you think in your head is going to happen next when the exact opposite of everything he said would NEVER happen, HAPPENED? > > (Hint: He’s going to LET GO. Cut to a scene of him with some young bimbo in Cozumel while the family goes through divorce.) Along the same lines is the Mazda(?) commercial where a teen starts out with a used sports car, and follows him through life and vehicle changes to a eventually a wife, kids and mini-van. Then he’s back in a new sports car, reminding him of “when you, were you”. I immediately think that him getting married and having kids completely ruined his life. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/47 "2016-02-05T19:44:29Z")
I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed what was going on with the “I’m never letting go!” commercial. I can’t believe that thing is still o. My choices: 1. A few years back, Quiznos ran an ad about a sandwich maker who was so obsessed with his job that he let all the other parts of his life go. Which was fine, until they panned past the guy’s birdcage, showing his parakeet belly-up in the bottom. Uh…yeah. I want to associate your food with some guy who lets his pets die because he forgets to care for them. 2. Likewise, Doritos had an ad with a lost cat ad, where a dog bribed a guy with a bag of Doritos when the guy spotted him burying the cat. Okay, cruelty to cats, too. Gimme a lot of them Doritos! 3. The one where the cereal eats other cereal is creepy too. I think it’s for “Krave.” I don’t remember the details, except that I was creeped out by cereal plotting to kill and eat its own kind. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/48 "2016-02-05T19:47:36Z")
“I am not a witch.” ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/49 "2016-02-05T19:53:51Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > 1. The one where the cereal eats other cereal is creepy too. I think it’s for “Krave.” I don’t remember the details, except that I was creeped out by cereal plotting to kill and eat its own kind. My wife agrees 1000%! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/50 "2016-02-05T19:55:40Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > 1. The one where the cereal eats other cereal is creepy too. I think it’s for “Krave.” I don’t remember the details, except that I was creeped out by cereal plotting to kill and eat its own kind. Don’t forget Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head about to get it on when the kids find them. Apparently, eating potato chips makes them horny. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/51 "2016-02-05T19:58:35Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Cut to the idyllic image of the now four of them snuggling on the couch and he says, “I am NEVER letting go.” > > What do you think in your head is going to happen next when the exact opposite of everything he said would NEVER happen, HAPPENED? > > (Hint: He’s going to LET GO. Cut to a scene of him with some young bimbo in Cozumel while the family goes through divorce.) Or he’s lying on the edge of a cliff, head and shoulders hanging out in space, staring at his hand in horror. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/52 "2016-02-05T20:03:50Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Cut to him washing the new minivan in the very same driveway sans cool old classic car, saying, “We are never having another kid.” To which his harried wife responds “I’m pregnant”. > Cut to the idyllic image of the now four of them snuggling on the couch and he says, “I am NEVER letting go.” > > What do you think in your head is going to happen next when the exact opposite of everything he said would NEVER happen, HAPPENED? “I said I was pregnant. I never said they were yours.” ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/53 "2016-02-05T20:15:59Z")
This might be a doublepost. A couple years back McDonald’s had the “Not till I had my coffee” guy. He was so annoying, people wanted to find out the actor’s name so they could beat the McShit out of him. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/54 "2016-02-05T20:16:17Z")
[Commercial](https://youtu.be/oRValgHDvxE) with kids talking about the World Cup 2014, saying who they want to win. One kid says “I want Germany to win. My Dad bet all my savings on them.” Cue sad piano music and text “Often, the people who suffer from problem gambling aren’t the gamblers. Kick the Habit.” Germany _did_ win. Good job, Dad! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/55 "2016-02-05T21:54:28Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > Along the same lines is the Mazda(?) commercial where a teen starts out with a used sports car, and follows him through life and vehicle changes to a eventually a wife, kids and mini-van. > > Then he’s back in a new sports car, reminding him of “when you, were you”. I immediately think that him getting married and having kids completely ruined his life. Congrats. You have correctly IDed the group they’re aiming for; the men who feel family life has not been a good deal & want to buy themselves some solace. “Finally … somebody recognizes \*my \*feelings!” he thinks as he watches the ad. Perhaps the new car is followed by the bimbo in Cozumel the other poster mentioned. Perhaps not. ---
**Author:** ![Athabasca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Athabasca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athabasca)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2016, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/56 "2016-02-26T17:46:21Z")
When the OP said backfiring, I immediately thought of the IKEA commercial here in Canada–sorry I can’t find the YouTube link-- mom and kids are in the big spiffy new bathroom, all fitted out with IKEA custom counters, drawers. They’re all getting ready for work and school. Kids range in age from about 7-14. Two daughters and a little boy, and Mom-- suddenly Dad comes in, and he’s got a newspaper tucked under his arm, and he has that look Dad gets when he has to lay down a three-coil steamer, only the family all looks at him, ‘Really Dad?’ and he looks back and then shrugs as if to say, I’m staying and doing it, and you can all go fuck yourselves. Really, it’s not even very funny. He’s just not going to even try the other bathroom, I mean, doesn’t the master bedroom have a toilet? What is so edifying about a dad shitting in front of his kids and wife? Really, IKEA? ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2016, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/57 "2016-02-26T18:21:30Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > There’s a trailer currently running for Zootopia that has[Sloths running the DMV](http://variety.com/2015/film/news/zootopia-trailer-dmv-sloths-1201646717/). It could be a funny bit, but just like the sloths, it goes on waaaaaaaaay to long. Since they don’t show anything else about the movie, it makes me suspicious that that bit is the only funny part in the film (and it’s just not that funny). There was a parody movie poster that they showed during Shadowhunters. “Shadowherders: The Mammal Instruments”. I’d watch the movie just because of that commercial. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2016, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/58 "2016-02-26T18:42:01Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > Maybe mothers who have little children found the commercial charming (I don’t know), but I was utterly disgusted by a paper towel commercial. (I won’t mention its name because I don’t want to give it more publicity). > > Two children are sitting at a counter with large glasses of chocolate milk. One child deliberately starts spilling the milk on the counter and the floor. The children clap and cheer. The mother looks on adoringly with a big smile on her face. Then she comes over and demonstrates how easy it is to wipe up the spill with the paper towel. The voice-over says “Why stop when we’re having so much fun!” > > After the first mess is cleaned up, the second child starts spilling milk and clapping and laughting. The mother smiles and grabs another paper towel… > > I swear I will boycott that brand of paper towels. Yeah, no Mom I have ever know would be happy about this.😕:mad: ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2016, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/59 "2016-02-26T18:49:00Z")
There’s a car commercial series where a\*\* REALLY \*\*creepy guy is hanging around the dealership, harassing the customers and answering question. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2016, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/60 "2016-02-26T21:22:35Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > The commercial that starts out with a guy at a pool party bragging to his mates, “I am never getting married!” > Cut to him choosing an engagement ring and then to a scene on a plane saying to his new wife, “We are NEVER having kids.” > Cut to he, his wife and new child sitting in their city apartment with a view, saying, “We are never moving to the burbs!” > Cut to him outside their suburban house washing his classic camaro, saying, “I am never getting one of those!” > Cut to him washing the new minivan in the very same driveway sans cool old classic car, saying, “We are never having another kid.” To which his harried wife responds “I’m pregnant”. > Cut to the idyllic image of the now four of them snuggling on the couch and he says, “I am NEVER letting go.” > > What do you think in your head is going to happen next when the exact opposite of everything he said would NEVER happen, HAPPENED? > > (Hint: He’s going to LET GO. Cut to a scene of him with some young bimbo in Cozumel while the family goes through divorce.) That’s what think every time I see that commercial. It went away for a while, and has since been revived. :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057.md?page=4)