When I first saw this commercial I was tempted to check my turkey for LSD.
There’s a scary road and a cute, big-eyed, purple furred woodland creature is attempting to cross it. But on the road is littered with roadkill. They raise their adorable big-eyed heads as far as their former cute, now squashed carcasses allow them to and try to warn purple fuzzy woodland creature.
Oh no! They cry, pointing out the tire tracks where their viscera should be, don’t do it! You’d think that a bunch of tire-tracked road kill would be a good enough warning but no-- cute woodland creature tries to cross the road. Of course a big gigantic car comes bearing down on him.
But Michelin man is there to save the day! He tosses tires at the car and the car puts on the tires just in time to come to a screeching halt mere inches from the cowering cute woodland creature.
And then-- the worst part-- the roadkilled, also cute except for their tire-tracked and deflated middles, peel themselves off the roadway and start dancing a cute little woodland creature/zombie roadkill dance.
Can there be a commercial creepier than that?
Oh Tom the Toad
Oh Tom the Toad
Why are you lying on the road?
Oh Tom the Toad
Oh Tom the Toad
Why are you lying on the road?
You did not see the car ahead
And now you’re wearing tire tread
Oh Tom the Toad
Oh Tom the Toad
Why are you lying on the road?
Creepy commercials seem to be in vogue lately. I guess the idea is that you won’t remember if they just amuse or inform you for 20 seconds, but horror will stick in your mind.
The various Cheeto’s commercials where the hallucinatory sunglasses wearing mansized Cheeta convinces people in a seductive voice to torment their peers is up there.
And of course, the founder of the genre, nothing is as horrifying as waking up to a life sized, plastic faced “Burger King” in your house, sitting at the foot of your bed, thrusting a cold breakfast sandwich at you.
I wonder if the strategy here is to create an intentionally awful commercial that you can air a couple times, then have it live on via Youtube and outraged comments, thus insuring millions of people will intentionally seekit out to view?
My vote goes to the Xbox Lips commercial, with disembodies lips crawling around a party on tiny little legs, crawling up on people’s shoulders…just loads of surrealistic ickyness!
I read an interview somewhere with someone involved in the Creepy King Burger King commercials. He said that the point was that even though the commercials were horrifying, they stuck in peoples minds a lot better then anything else. Given that the point of that line of commercials was to advertise BK’s breakfest sandwich, a product that everyone associates with their competitor McDonalds, they decided that making something people remembered was more important then not freaking out their customers.
Given that the trend seems to be spreading, I would imagine the commercials were a success.
I think the Virgin Mobile “Never Stop Talking” ad with the woman whose MOUTH COMES OFF! at least ties with the Michelin one. What the mouth is saying is almost as creepy and nasty as both of them…
An honorable mention goes to the Kay Jeweler’s commercial which lands on the wrong side of the romantic/creepy line.
She’s going to be found dead in the woods in a few days with a diamond necklace covering the garrote marks.
“No, Mom…the doctor said it was fine. I just have to “air it out” occasionally. The smell? He says that smell means it’s healing. That stuff should wash right off when it’s ready…” And at that point, the other woman scoots down the bench.
A few years ago there seemed to be a mini-fad of commercials in which people’s faces would go from being normal to being computer-distorted… basically, like paranoid-schizophrenic hallucinations. Can’t remember what any of them were for.
Then there’s the one where people are driving down the street, having a light conversation… and suddenly get smashed into by a car. As someone who has been in an actual severe car accident, I can tell you that seeing that really cranks up the ol’ PTSD.
