# Is there a dumber commercial than the guy putting antiperspirant on his feet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 16, 2002, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397 "2002-05-16T15:40:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2002, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397/21 "2002-05-17T01:39:21Z")
In my area, there’s a c&w station that has commercials with little kids (5 and under, though I think there may have been one or two older than that) lip-synching their way through songs. Now, even when I mute the tv, I _still_ hear the songs in my head because I can see exactly what they’re saying. If that wasn’t bad enough, somebody decided to have some of the kids acting out the line from whatever song it is they’re syncing over. So with the line “this kiss, this kiss” the little girl leans over and plants one on the boy, who makes a face. It’s horribly saccharine. The “act” that bothers me the most (after proclaiming “All-American music, words you can understand!”) has some little crew-cut tyke mouthing along to the lyric “There’s a barbeque stain on my white t-shirt.” Whoever choreographed this scene is up for an Oscar, because guess what the kid’s doing? That’s right, he’s wearing a white t-shirt with a red stain the size of his head on it, and pulling it out so we can all see that he knows he has a stain. And to make sure we the audience realize that he’s got a stain on his shirt, they show the kid three times at once - so there’s three equally annoying children showing you the same shirt with the same stain on it. We get it, Mr Director! The kid’s got a stain! The song’s saying he has a stain! How clever of you to make the connection between sound and sight! …Ahem. I seem to have tapped a resevoir of venom in my psyche here. Best to stop now before it gets messy. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2002, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397/22 "2002-05-17T10:56:08Z")
I hope the kid realizes that proudly showing a clothing stain permanently disqualifies him from a White House internship. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2002, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397/23 "2002-05-17T12:46:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by World Eater \* > \*\*I will offer up those cringe inducing KFC commercials with Jason Alexander. He went from a show about nothing to a career about nothing. \*\* Full stop, backspace and hijack here. Jason Alexander had a really good Broadway career before getting sucked into Seinfeld. He won a Tony for Starting Here, Starting Now and appeared in several other musicals, including do a great King and I parody in Forbidden Broadway. He is a fine song-and-dance man and I wish he’d go back to it. He also sang for McDonald’s commercials years ago, before getting sucked into the great vortex that is Jerry Seinfeld. ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2002, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397/24 "2002-05-17T16:50:59Z")
My vote for the Dumbest Commercial is one for an SUV that shows Dad listening to a tropical storm warning on the radio. He rushes into the bedroom, wakes up his son, and they jump into the SUV and speed off into the storm. Headed for a shelter? No, they’re going surfing! In a TROPICAL STORM!!! :rolleyes: Well, I guess at least it’s not a hurricane. Unbelievable. I really hate any car ad that shows drivers acting like total idiots, but this is so much worse. ME ---
**Author:** ![rubes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@rubes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rubes)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2002, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397/25 "2002-05-17T18:25:58Z")
And let’s not forget about the commercial that appears to have been shot on a $72 budget: Pathetic Guy: My feet are so sweaty my wife calls me swampfoot… ## I think its for dr. sholes or order eaters. It is soooooo bad. I submit that SUBWAY has the worst series of commercials. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2002, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397/26 "2002-05-22T09:45:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by World Eater \* > \*\*I will offer up those cringe inducing KFC commercials with Jason Alexander. He went from a show about nothing to a career about nothing. \*\* KFC, pretzels, whatever that other product was he was hawking…All his commercials are the same. He flies into frame at an angle, nudging between two people in a way that would get him a clop in the chops in real life, whips out the chicken leg, pretzel or whatever with a karate FX sound, presses one side of his fat face against the camera, and zooms off again to annoy another bunch of people. Why doesn’t Wayne Knight do commercials? Now **he’s** funny. I’d laugh if he read the phone book. ---
**Author:** ![Skerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Skerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skerri)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2002, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397/27 "2002-05-22T13:32:13Z")
“Can you hear me now? Good.” I want to throttle whoever wrote that commercial. I honestly don’t think your Verizon phone is going to work in the middle of the jungle/cornfield/desert/tundra. There are NO FREAKIN’ TOWERS THERE! Sorry. We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread. Skerri, another 2600 fan who will never like Verizon ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2002, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397/28 "2002-05-22T13:59:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bryan Ekers \* > \*\*Trouble is, I can’t remember what brand it was. \*\* FUNNY! Thanks for the, literal, laugh out loud. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2002, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397/29 "2002-05-22T14:10:28Z")
I, too, find it annoying to see the “Can you hear me now?” guy . . . on my TV . . . in my living room . . . WHERE I CANNOT GET MORE THAN A SINGLE BAR OF SIGNAL ON MY STUPID VERIZON CELL PHONE. I want to drag him to my house. “Can you hear me now? . . . Uh, wait, I think I’m losing you . . . Uh, hello? Hello? Crap, I dropped the call!” Surprisingly, I don’t live at the ends of the earth! It’s so freakin’ stupid to show him enjoying the use of his cell phone in the middle a swamp when I have to drive over the next hill of a well-populated rural area to get service. This is not a big problem, because my mobile was expressely purchased for use _away_ from home, and I symapathise with the difficulty of making cellular service available in all the valleys around here, but I still find the commerical annoying. But I must agree with Jodi. The roll-on on the feet is definitely the dumbest thing on the airwaves at this moment. 'Cause, see, the _antiperspirant doesn’t actually make you cooler._ It doesn’t even _claim_ to make you cooler! As far as I know, there isn’t _any_ antiperspirant that claims this. Degree’s schtick is that _it gets better at stopping odor and wetness when your body heat increases._ So they can’t even seem to get their own stupid advertising claims straight. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2002, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397/30 "2002-05-22T14:25:02Z")
I stopped listening to commercials years ago. I got a remote with a mute button. ---
**Author:** ![domesticatedjunglefowl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b38774/32.png) [@domesticatedjunglefowl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/domesticatedjunglefowl)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2002, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397/31 "2002-05-22T15:16:27Z")
/hijack/ antiperspirant on feet works GREAT for activities that are sure to cause blisters (ice skating, hiking, etc.) just rub it on the ankles and other spots that are prone to blister and viola! ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2002, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397/32 "2002-05-22T16:10:02Z")
They turn into violas instead of blisters? ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2002, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397/33 "2002-05-22T19:25:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Finagle \* > \*\*I just want to say that \* Stankow \* is my new hero. \*\* And mine I loathe that commercial. I wonder what idiot thought that showing a commercial with that twit would help sell cars? Am I supposed to relate to him somehow? Am I supposed to think well of him? It comes off as “I’m rich, rich, rich, super rich, and I’ll always be rich. I’m so rich that my very rich grandfathers used to be able to pay off various presidents. _That_ rich. So buy my cars.” ---
**Author:** ![Spider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Spider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spider)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397/34 "2002-05-23T00:39:22Z")
My fave was always that old ad for some anti-deodorant shampoo where the guy puts brand x one one side of his head, and the promoted brand on the other. He then proceeds to explain that the good brand “tingles.” That’s it. No explaination of why it’s tingling, or what possible good that is, just that it “tingles.” I always wanted to dip his head into some low grade battery acid and ask him if he feels the tingling. ---
**Author:** ![Mysphyt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@Mysphyt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mysphyt)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397/35 "2002-05-23T00:51:01Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Annie-Xmas_\*\* > He also sang for McDonald’s commercials years ago, before getting sucked into the great vortex that is Jerry Seinfeld. > \*\* Ashes to ashes and dust to dust, eh? Anyway, I have to say the dumbest commercial of all time is one I heard on the radio about a year ago and still remember. That says something, I think. It runs something like this. “Aww, look at 'er. Isn’t she precious? With those red tennis shoes and blue jeans. She’s your little girl. And you want only the best for her. That’s why you feed her chicken.” WTF? Way to shamelessly abuse sentimentality to hawk a product completely unrelated to family life, guys. Brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397/36 "2002-05-23T02:50:42Z")
There was one commercial in the early '80s that aggravated my mom and myself, for different reasons. It was for some kind of breakfast pastries. Dad, Sis and Junior all have to run out of the house in the morning: Dad has a meeting, Junior has to feed the classroom turtle, and Sis has cheerleader or band or something practice. Mom uses her box of Sweet-O-Crax to lure them all into staying, teasingly saying, “The turtle can wait!” “Keep 'em home for breakfast with [product]!” the voice over proclaimed. Mom: “Yeah, keep 'em home for fat and cholesterol! And they’ll be shaking by 10am from the sugar rush!” Me: “The turtle might not mind if Junior’s late, but the teacher sure will! Imagine telling a kid his responsibility is to get a junk-food fix, not to do what he agreed to do!” ---
**Author:** ![DarkWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee59a6/32.png) [@DarkWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarkWriter)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397/37 "2002-05-23T04:33:48Z")
DC-area TV stations run a commercial for WTOP talk radio that I loathe. “Your favorite radio station doesn’t play _songs_!” The word “songs” said in a voice that implies you’re stupid if you like listening to music on the radio. WTOP is not _my_ favorite radio station, so shut up. Sheri ---
**Author:** ![Opus1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/858c86/32.png) [@Opus1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opus1)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397/38 "2002-05-23T06:16:25Z")
Is any there any ad more pretentious than the MCI “Neighborhood” one? Desperately trying to tie in free speech, the American way, and everything that is good and noble in life with some minute variation of long-distance service gouging just smacks of post 9-11 profiteering. I’m surprised the ad doesn’t end with the narrator solemnly intoning, “If you don’t switch to _The Neighboorhood_, the terrorists have already won.” ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397/39 "2002-05-23T14:41:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MagicEyes \* > \*\*My vote for the Dumbest Commercial is one for an SUV that shows Dad listening to a tropical storm warning on the radio. He rushes into the bedroom, wakes up his son, and they jump into the SUV and speed off into the storm. Headed for a shelter? No, they’re going surfing! In a TROPICAL STORM!!! :rolleyes: > > Well, I guess at least it’s not a hurricane. Unbelievable. I really hate any car ad that shows drivers acting like total idiots, but this is so much worse. > > ME \*\* /sheepishly raises hand to make a stupid admission/ ummm… I’ve gone surfing during a hurricane. /sheepishly lowers hand/ ---
**Author:** ![Zanyl\_Quth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cc9497/32.png) [@Zanyl\_Quth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zanyl_Quth)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397/40 "2002-05-23T15:23:34Z")
what about the one where a luxury car is going to dinner at an upscale restaurant and two ladies are fighting to be tha one to pull up “his” (the car’s) chair. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-dumber-commercial-than-the-guy-putting-antiperspirant-on-his-feet/109397.md?page=3)