# Commercials backfiring

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057>\
**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:** 3\
**Page:** 4

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**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, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/61 "2016-02-26T21:26:09Z")

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> [@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.

There was a carpet commercial that was pulled because they got so many complaints from parents whose children imitated the action of the children in it. They featured toddlers in high chairs, with food bowls that looked like cars or airplanes, and the child threw the dish off the high chair tray onto the carpet, which presumably was easier to clean up than other carpets.

(Yet another reason why kitchens and dining rooms shouldn’t be carpeted!)

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**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, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/62 "2016-02-26T21:32:12Z")

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> [@Jophiel](#):
>
> 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…

Later, they had commercials that, after the first “HeadOn - apply directly to the forehead”, had a sound like a needle being scraped across a record, and a person would pop up in the corner and say some variation of “I hate your commercial, but I love your product!” The first one I saw featured a black guy; others had a blonde woman and another woman who looked like the actress who starred in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”.

😛

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**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\
**Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-backfiring/745057/63 "2016-02-27T02:55:24Z")

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> [@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).

I actually found that funny, but then I like slow humor.

It’s currently 100% on Rotten Tomatoes!

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