Gaffer is the lead electrician on movie sets. Gaffer tape is frequently used to tape cables together to reduce clutter.
Safire is wrong, as Michael Quinion points out. But they’re both guessing, really. We need Cecil to weigh in on this topic. But whether it’s “duck” or “duct” both are given by users and we don’t know what the Army or the manufacturer originally called it.
And another thread veers wildly off at a tangent. 
Okay, I’ll get is (sort of) back on track.
In the Jarred’s commercial, what does the woman drop in her husband’s drink? Is it her appetizer or is it her earrings? I’ve seen it, but this bit escapes me.
I thought it was whatever she was eating, but some here have said it’s her own inferior jewelry. If that’s the case, then I hate Jarred’s even more. What a freaking bitch.
and on the same track…
I saw the OP’s mini van commercial recently on a visit to the States. It got on my last nerve too. The title of this thread has the gist of the advert spot on. tee hee indeed. It’s offensive to both genders.
thanks homebrew. I always wondered what a “gaffer” was in film credits. Now what’s a “Best boy”?
The Best Boy is the second in command of any group, such as the the second in command to the Gaffer.
Never having seen the “minivan ad” I shouldn’t comment, but I’m gonna…
Currently working in advertising, I can say that we frequently rely on sterotypes to convey a message quickly - something that’s defintley an advantage when time is limited, we all know they aren’t true, but they do get the message across.
Also, another possible interpretation - perhaps they are trying to tell us that the “hidden” compartments are so effective that even the husband doesn’t notice what has been bought?
Also, my wife doesn’t have to hide any purchases from me, whether made with “her” money or “mine” (we don’t recognise the difference) but she will often joke with me during / after shopping about what she bought etc - does this make me stupid and her a liar?
Use of these stereotypes, particularly the ‘idiot male’ and ‘superficial bitch’ and ‘know it all kids’ is more likely to cause me to avoid a product than anything else.
One example is Quiznos and their ‘stupid men doing stupid things in nature’ commercials which have resulted in me never spending a dime at Quiznos.
Once again you are correct, but do you think you are representative of the commercial audience they are aiming for? I think they are aiming for less cynical and less intelligent people.
Jim
If only we had some type of sticky fabric-type-thing to keep it on track.
You should go into a more respectable business. Like perhaps telemarketing.
Non Sequitur. By this reasoning, the Edsel must have been just what the auto buying public wanted, or Ford wouldn’t have spent so much money to design and produce it.
Actually, the Edsel was what the auto buying public wanted–unfortunately the public changed its mind before the car was released. Or, to quite Consumer Guide: “The Edel was right on target, but the target moved.”
You see, this is why I’d starve as an advertising executive. I’d pitch an ad where the woman stashes her purchases in the minivan’s cubbies, and parks next to another shopper’s minivan which has no such compartments. A car burglar then comes along and passes up her apparently empty vehicle, and does a smash & grab on the competition’s.
(However, all advertising aimed at the middle class has to take place in HappyLand. But then again, didn’t the idea for these hidden compartments come from the last scene of Dog Day Afternoon?)