# Commercials you just don't get... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 4, 2004, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194 "2004-04-04T17:03:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194/21 "2004-04-05T13:52:25Z")
> [@Fern Forest](#): > > I remember someone saying that commercial was a clue for a contest the company was running. Although they kept rerunning it after the contest had already been won. They must have kept pretty low key about the contest because I never heard about it. I don’t know if it helps - I haven’t seen the ad, but Buffalo jeans has line of jeans that have a “tear” down the leg. (Holes weren’t cool enough, now you have to look as if you somehow caught a nail on the top of your thigh as you were presumably doing something like skateboarding under a picnic table. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194/22 "2004-04-05T15:15:28Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > It doesn’t matter whether you “get” the commercial or not. It matters that you _remember_ it. Thus, Nike’s ad works perfectly. > > The purpose of many ads is not to make you run out and buy the product. They want to make sure you remember their name. I disagree, although I hear this said very often. The purpose of an ad should be to make me want to buy the product. If it doesn’t do that, it has failed. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194/23 "2004-04-05T16:03:00Z")
I nearly always kill the sound during ad’s so some make no sense at all. There’s one running on Sky which seems to be associating Guinness with moths 😕 There’s a moth related tampon ad too - am I missing something here? ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194/24 "2004-04-05T16:27:01Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > It doesn’t matter whether you “get” the commercial or not. It matters that you _remember_ it. Thus, Nike’s ad works perfectly. > > The purpose of many ads is not to make you run out and buy the product. They want to make sure you remember their name. Granted, however, I wonder exactly how many times ads like this have backfired. For example, I have never bought a pair of Nikes in my life, and don’t intend to start now. I DID have a pair of Air Jordan’s when I was in junior high school, but they were traded to me for a skateboard. ---
**Author:** ![Glassy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@Glassy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glassy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194/25 "2004-04-05T16:44:44Z")
Another print ad, this time for New Balance shoes. The ad is a black-and-white photograph of a bare foot, walking or running in the rain. On the side of the bare foot is an embroidered “N” - the New Balance logo. The tag line says, “N is for rain, not shine.” It is? ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194/26 "2004-04-05T18:31:20Z")
> [@TellMeI'mNotCrazy](#): > > There are definitely people - and not just teens - that think the fact that it is “just a little pot” makes its effects (immediate, short term and long term) negligible. After “just a little”, surely it won’t affect their ability to drive. If it’s “just a little” it can’t possibly have an effect on their thinking/reasoning skills. If it’s “just a little”, surely it won’t ever haunt them 20 years down the road when they’re trying to get political office. It’s not that the excuse is given to others - but to themselves. I suspect that “just a little” pot won’t have any effect on a potential run for political office in 20 years. Might even be legal by then. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194/27 "2004-04-05T18:42:22Z")
A commercial I saw the other night had me completely puzzled as to just what “image” they were intending to sell people on. Two substantially flabby guys are in a locker room discussing what they had for dinner. Guy 1 is talking about big chunks of meat drenched with cheese. Guy 2 says he had a lowfat dinner. As Guy 1 lifts his hair dryer, the airstream knocks Guy 2 off his feet and flings him across the locker room, where he slams into the far wall. The ad was for Swanson “Hungry Man” dinners. So what exactly was the message here? - Our food is unhealthy and we’re proud of it! - REAL men don’t need to watch their diets. I don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194/28 "2004-04-05T18:57:35Z")
I’m with you, Kizarvexius. I could see if the guy who had the lighter meal was thin but both guys are fat and out of shape, so the message gets a little lost on me. But, then again, I’m not their target audience. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194/29 "2004-04-05T19:12:40Z")
> [@Small Clanger](#): > > There’s a moth related tampon ad too - am I missing something here? Are you sure it wasn’t a Maxi Pad ad, instead of a tampon ad? They have pads with “wings” these days, ya see. ---
**Author:** ![LadySybil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c89c15/32.png) [@LadySybil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LadySybil)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194/30 "2004-04-05T19:57:23Z")
Just because I think it’s funny doesn’t mean I have to entirely understand it. “WE LOVE QUIZNO’S! CAUSE IT TASTES GOOD TO US!” ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194/31 "2004-04-05T20:13:39Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > We all have 'em. Commercials where we just don’t understand exactly what the hell the company is trying to convey. Not always a BAD commercial. Just one where you kinda go “what?” afterwards. > > My current one is by Nike (one of the undisputed KINGS of “huh?” commercials). It’s the one where they show current athletes doing other sports. For instance, Lance Armstrong as a pro boxer, Randy Johnson as a pro bowler, and so forth. > > I just don’t GET what Nike’s trying to say. I agree with this one. The lesson I take away from it is “some people are just naturally good at sports, so it doesn’t matter what kind of shoes they wear!” I actually like the “Church of Basketball” one, but now that you mention it, I could see myself being offended by it if I were black. There’s one for Subway where I think they’re grasping at straws after seeing Quizno’s ad campaigns and going “oh I get it. People like things that are weird.” The jist of the commercial is something like badgers don’t get to pick what they eat, but you do, so don’t be a badger and eat at Subway. Um, what? Jared is sorta weird already, maybe you’d better just stick with him. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194/32 "2004-04-05T22:22:44Z")
> [@Kizarvexius](#): > > A commercial I saw the other night had me completely puzzled as to just what “image” they were intending to sell people on. > > Two substantially flabby guys are in a locker room discussing what they had for dinner. Guy 1 is talking about big chunks of meat drenched with cheese. Guy 2 says he had a lowfat dinner. As Guy 1 lifts his hair dryer, the airstream knocks Guy 2 off his feet and flings him across the locker room, where he slams into the far wall. > > The ad was for Swanson “Hungry Man” dinners. > > So what exactly was the message here? > > - Our food is unhealthy and we’re proud of it! > - REAL men don’t need to watch their diets. > > I don’t get it. I _think_ it is a parody of the Lean Cuisine (I think that’s the brand) ads which is a bunch of women talking about what they had for dinner last night. Most of them have apparently eaten things like half a stalk of celery (or something like that) and then one woman blows them all away saying everything that comes in one of those microwave dinners. Actually, that’s a product I’ve never even understood. Microwave dinners. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194/33 "2004-04-05T22:27:22Z")
I’ve never understood the Visa check-card commercials. The most famous is the “Charlie Sheen becomes Martin Sheen” one, then there’s a Kevin Bacon “six-degrees” one, and another in which 2 rabbits become an entire warren all while clerks wait for check authorization. I’ve never had this problem. Most businesses either don’t accept checks, period, or they accept them with valid photo I.D. and phone numbers, no big whoop. Has anybody here ever had to wait 10 minutes while the check was called in? Frankly I’m more irritated at places that accept my credit card without ever asking for ID or even seeing if it’s signed on the back; I actually appreciate merchants who have reasonable security policies. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194/34 "2004-04-05T22:34:27Z")
> [@TellMeI'mNotCrazy](#): > > I don’t know if it helps - I haven’t seen the ad, but Buffalo jeans has line of jeans that have a “tear” down the leg. (Holes weren’t cool enough, now you have to look as if you somehow caught a nail on the top of your thigh as you were presumably doing something like skateboarding under a picnic table. Ahh, I thought he was talking about a Levi jeans ad where this scruffy couple were standing in the middle of the road in the middle of the night and their was no one else around. All of a sudden a stampede of bison come down the road towards them. They do something, maybe hold up their hands, and the bison run around them. I thought that was th buffalo + jeans which drove him to tears. ---
**Author:** ![sciguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@sciguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciguy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194/35 "2004-04-05T22:50:09Z")
I don’t get any of the ads for prescription drugs. Especially the “teaser” versions where you get absolutely no information about what it’s supposed to treat. “Ask your doctor if X is right for you”. Well gee, I’m feeling undermedicated, I’ll run right out and do that, hoping it’s not a new treatment for menopause (I’m in my late 20s, plus I’m male). The Orbitz “white smile” commercials just make me gag. I’m trying to decide whether Pier One’s new ads with the “Queer Eye” impersonator helping people with their interior decorating are more or less annoying than the ones with Kirstie Alley. > [@voguevixen](#): > > There’s one for Subway where I think they’re grasping at straws after seeing Quizno’s ad campaigns and going “oh I get it. People like things that are weird.” The jist of the commercial is something like badgers don’t get to pick what they eat, but you do, so don’t be a badger and eat at Subway. Um, what? Jared is sorta weird already, maybe you’d better just stick with him. When did Subway start offering mushrooms? ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194/36 "2004-04-05T22:55:52Z")
I haven’t seen the Quizno’s ad with the scary dead hamster-things in a few weeks. I have seen an older-style Quizno’s ad with just the sandwich and a basic voice-over, and the tag at the end with the guy saying, “Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm! Toasty!” Much more appetizing. Maybe enough people were sufficently grossed out that they pulled the ads with the scary dead hamster-things. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194/37 "2004-04-05T22:57:42Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I’ll never get the “It’s just a little pot” commercials. > > Are there actually teens out there, right now, puffing the magic dragon, that think if they get caught “It’s just a little pot” will be a good enough answer to their parents? > > Or on the flipside, is this commercial telling parents “Be strong, don’t listen to your kids when they say it’s just a little pot. You’re in charge. You’re special and doggone it, people like you.” Are parents that pussified today? You don’t have any teenagers, do you. 🙂 Yes. and Yes. ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194/38 "2004-04-05T23:01:00Z")
sciguy: > [@](#): > > I’m trying to decide whether Pier One’s new ads with the “Queer Eye” impersonator helping people with their interior decorating are more or less annoying than the ones with Kirstie Alley. That is the actual guy from Queer Eye, Thom. I remember reading the anouncement about his spokespersonship. He seems verrrry stiff in those ads, though. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194/39 "2004-04-05T23:03:24Z")
> [@sciguy](#): > > I’m trying to decide whether Pier One’s new ads with the “Queer Eye” impersonator helping people with their interior decorating are more or less annoying than the ones with Kirstie Alley. It may not affect the annoying quotient, but I believe that’s real Queer Eye Fab Five member Thom, not an impersonator. ---
**Author:** ![International\_Playboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/48db29/32.png) [@International\_Playboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/International_Playboy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194/40 "2004-04-06T00:27:50Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > I suspect that “just a little” pot \ Might even be legal by then. That’s what we thought twenty years ago. Now we have urine/hair/saliva testing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-you-just-dont-get/238194.md?page=3)