One: Microsoft commercial features a guy driving across the barren landscape in a turbo-charged desk, complete with computer, phone, and mail trays. He is clearly shown driving along, as he “works” and talks on the phone. Below, it tells us “Do not Attempt”
Two: Pizza hut (and this is the most ridiculous one I have ever seen) showing us their latest, greatest pizza. Available for a limited time, but watch out folks:
“Pizza might not be exactly as shown”
Now I ask you: How ridiculous does an idea have to be before they have no fear of someone trying it at home? Is pizza hut really inundated with complaints that their pizzas do not accurately match the ones shown on tv? Imagine the pizza artisan, working with a photograph of a pizza from television, skillfully recreating it for every order.
I know that there is always the fear of lawsuits in the States, but are the courts really so inept that they can’t be trusted to throw out nuisance lawsuits from idiots who broke their neck after adding an engine to their desk, or complain that their pizza doesn’t look exactly as it does on tv?
How much longer can we go, before all television shows carry a disclaimer warning us that:
“The following program contains real and/or animated scenes that if performed in reality could possibly inflict bodily harm. Do not perform any of these stunts at any time on your own.”
My favorite is the Toyota Tacoma commercial where the guys in the truck attack and run off the Grizzly Bears that have taken over their camp. Just before they charge the bears, a disclaimer comes on, saying “Do not attempt”.
This disclaimer is needed. What if the pizza you order turns out to be 6" diameter with two pieces of meat. Typically the pizza shown in ads has more on it than the pizza you get. It can be hard get things to show up in photographs.
The disclaimers are needed, sadly enough. People are such sheep these days, using less and less of their alotted brains, that someone has to be the adult and tell them what not to do. I’m sure people have turned to each other during one of the mentioned or similar commercials, and said, “hey, I’d like to try that”, then upon seeing the disclaimer “oh, dude, it says you can’t do that at home. Bummer”.
You see, all sorts of these warnings should be removed. If you’re dumb enough to drink bleach, then drink it, do the world a favor! That’s how natural selection works in this day and age. We have no predators to eat us, so we need to weed out the stupid some how, right?
Congress should pass laws prohibiting people from sueing television companies and the like if the attempt an act seen and TV and fail. It’s their fault for doing it, not the TV’s for showing it. If I committed murder because I saw someone else do it on TV is that defense going to hold up in court? NO! (And the day it does is the day I move out of this country.)
It’s all about relative cost: Is it cheaper to run a small disclaimer or to fight the obscene amount of court cases that disclaimer would have averted? Obviously, the disclaimer is cheaper, so that’s what people do.
As for weeding out the stupid, well, that’s why motorbikes and beer exist on the same planet at the same time.
The two examples you mention are obviously jokes. They are making fun of the less outrageous real disclaimers. I agree, though, that some real disclaimers are kind of silly, as well as some product instructions.
I have actually seen, on a box of KNIVES a disclaimer reading “caution sharp edges” it was in small print, it did not appear to be a joke. I understand the need to disclaimers to avoid law suits in some instances but really!! I can just see someone…“duhhh I was gonna rub scratch my neck with de edges of dis here knife but the box says it’s sharp… better not try it” I mean get real!
I always like the car commercials showing them skidding about the Salt Flats or driving 100 MPH on some high-banked curves. The warning is shown: “Professional Drivers: Do Not Attempt.”
Then I realize: I get paid (professional) to deliver pizzas in my car (as a driver). So as a professional driver, I can do all those crazy stunts. :D:D:D:D:D
Simpson’s quote time: (TV commercial about football tickets)
TV - “… warning; tickets should not be taken internally”
Homer - “see, because of me they have a warning now.”
When I was a movie theater manager, I had several incidents where patrons would come up wanting to see a movie we weren’t playing. I’d tell them that the film wasn’t showing here (we only had 8 screens) and they’d get all pissed. Why?
Because the TV ad said “Now playing everywhere”. :rolleyes:
Considering the pit threads about commercials that imply approval of unsafe behavior, obviously some people think thats disclaimers are a good idea. And if someone decides to hook up a laptop to a cellular modem and do office work while speeding down a highway, he’s not the only person endangered by that behavior.
My two favorite idiot disclaimers are the ones on Barbie (and other toys, too) commercials, something to the effect of “toys do not walk and talk on their own” Well, duh…5-year olds must be a lot dumber than they were back in my day. And then there’s the Chevy Tracker spot, in which a good samartian in this small 4- or 6- cylander SUV prepares to tow a broken-down big rig. At least it’s jovial about it, “Can a Tracker tow an 18-wheeler? Nah.”
My family bought a new trampoline cover ( or I as I say a kiddy prison), but on the box it show a group a children playing with the disclaimer that reads ’ children are not inculded ’ Clearly a joke, but still it shows what this country has come to.
<<My two favorite idiot disclaimers are the ones on Barbie (and other toys, too) commercials, something to the effect of “toys do not walk and talk on their own” Well, duh…5-year olds must be a lot dumber than they were back in my day. >>
Or smarter, if they can all read the disclaimers.
Anyone remember what doll it was that would actually talk to you…I’m thinking mid-80’s, saw the commercial a million times while I was watching the Smurfs. In the commercial, the doll was walking along a path and over a bridge while talking, and there was a tiny disclaimer saying “doll does not walk.” I remember thinking that it wasn’t fair, because the hype of the commercial was that the doll DID talk to you…so a kid who couldn’t read (the age range who would desire the doll) would assume it could walk, too.
