# Latest stupid commercial thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 23, 2012, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102 "2012-07-23T02:40:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102/61 "2013-01-21T20:04:36Z")
The one that’s driving my husband nuts is a car ad where a dad is teaching his son how to throw a ball. Guess dad wants his son to be picked last too. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102/62 "2013-01-21T20:04:59Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > A currently seen commercial for [Ancestry.com](http://Ancestry.com). A woman comes on, appearing to be about my age which means she was likely born in the late 1950s. Information is shown about her grandmother who was born in 1907. The woman has learned, she enthuses, that her grandmother lived in a building a few blocks away, and that she walks by there every day. > > How is it possible to grow up knowing so little about your grandmother, when she lives in the same city? And when said grandmother is still fairly young during your childhood? It’s not like she’s 95 years old and lives in a distant nursing home. > > You’d think at some point during her upbringing, perhaps while eating the morning bowl of cereal, she’d have thought to ask Mom or Dad about Grandma. I know, families split up, and this type of information can be come less available, but still it seems rather extreme. The do kinda address this in the ad. The timeline shows that she was born in 1963 (I think) and the Grandma died in 1964 (or the following year whatever it was) and the purpose of going there is that she was named for a Grandamother that she knew nothing about and got curious, thereby finding a connection on living 4 NY blocks from where her grandmother lived in 1930. I knew my Grandmothers up through my teen years and could not tell you that much about them. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102/63 "2013-01-21T20:15:22Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > … would taking this pill really make you plan your dream trip across the world? Long flights present a specific risk for DVT, so that isn’t very far out, really. ---
**Author:** ![phreesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102/64 "2013-01-21T20:25:52Z")
> [@Waenara](#): > > There’s a commercial I’ve seen too much of lately. It’s for a company called Acorn Stairlifts - they install chair lifts than run along the stairs in your house, so people with mobility issues don’t have to worry about falling. Seeing the commercial even once is annoying (high cheese factor, low production values, lackluster testimonials), but the other day I ended up seeing it about a dozen times when I was watching a movie on tv late at night, and the ad run during every. single. commercial. break. > > Their tagline is not exactly original - “Give your life a lift with an Acorn Stairlift!”. But the funniest part was the quotes from “actual customers” - who knows, they might even be real customers. Expected stuff like “I’m the king of my own castle again!” or “Now I don’t need to worry about falling down the stairs”. But my favorite was from a customer who said “my Acorn Stairlift was _definitely_ more affordable than moving!” All I can say, is that if that’s the highest praise you can offer, it’s not much. Seriously?! Can you imagine if it _wasn’t_ more affordable than moving? Would anyone at all ever buy it? OMIGOD! Are you in Calgary? I PVRed (thankfully) ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ off of CBC a few weeks ago and, yes. Every. Single. Commercial. Break. Had that one. And it’s Loooong. Like almost 2 minutes. My heart goes out to you for suffering through it. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102/65 "2013-01-21T20:30:31Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > What’s up with those links? Every one of them wants me to open the videos in QuickTime instead of playing like a normal YouTube video. 😕 It’s formatted for mobile devices. Delete the m. at the beginning of the link and it will open just fine. See? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/d4ZzSziH8Io/maxresdefault.jpg "Punch Top Can") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4ZzSziH8Io) vs [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/d4ZzSziH8Io/maxresdefault.jpg "Punch Top Can") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4ZzSziH8Io) ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102/66 "2013-01-21T21:20:19Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > How is it possible to grow up knowing so little about your grandmother, when she lives in the same city? And when said grandmother is still fairly young during your childhood? It’s not like she’s 95 years old and lives in a distant nursing home. I missed this when the thread was new. My best friend, as well as his father, have both lived in this town their entire lives. Yet it wasn’t until I happened to move into a house on a particular street, and my friend mentioned it to his dad, that his dad said, “Oh, hey, I was born in a little house on that street!” My friend was 42 at the time; up to that point, I guess his dad had simply never thought it important to drive the family down this street and point out the house he was born in (yeah, the little house is still there - it’s an old neighborhood). ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102/67 "2013-01-21T21:30:40Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > The one that’s driving my husband nuts is a car ad where a dad is teaching his son how to throw a ball. Guess dad wants his son to be picked last too. Dad doesn’t realize he’s terrible; he’s just upholding the tradition. That’s the gist of the ad: the VW is a more reliable influence than the meme that dad is the best person to teach a son how to throw a ball. ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102/68 "2013-01-21T22:42:45Z")
I think the latest crop of Arby’s commercials are bad. (Not annoying, just that they are pretty weak if you think about it for a second. The gist is that they are better than Subway because they slice their meat at the store. (No mention of when and where the bread is baked.) Of all of the steps involved in turning grain, plants and animals into sandwiches, when and where the meat is sliced is pretty far down the list in terms of importance, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102/69 "2013-01-21T23:20:34Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > The one that’s driving my husband nuts is a car ad where a dad is teaching his son how to throw a ball. Guess dad wants his son to be picked last too. > [@Troppus](#): > > Dad doesn’t realize he’s terrible; I think that commercial’s hilarious! When the son makes a terrible throw and the dad is praising him for it, you think the dad is just trying to be encouraging and supportive. Then the dad throws… ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102/70 "2013-01-21T23:27:45Z")
I irrationally hate this ad: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slv3KqY6p6E](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slv3KqY6p6E) It’s probably not really that bad, but it doesn’t make any sense to me. It’s an ad for the Droid DNA phone through Verizon. Some guy is sitting there with the phone strapped to his chest in a sci-fi looking setup, and his DNA gets augmented. He’s got all these wires on him and inside his ears, and his fingertips light up. WTF? The tagline is something about how it’s not an upgrade to your phone, it’s an upgrade to _you_. No it isn’t! Having a new phone with a touch screen and a certain brand of head phones isn’t going to make you bionic! Just annoys me and boring as hell to watch, too. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102/71 "2013-01-22T00:27:43Z")
I am glad they finally are getting around to promoting short, bald, well-dressed guys as party animals, as is the case in that Bud Lite commercial. And why does each and every luxury car commercial feature such serious-looking people with a serious-sounding voice-over? Maybe that is why I do not crave such a vehicle; I am not serious enough. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102/72 "2013-01-22T01:03:41Z")
> [@Skypist](#): > > Just annoys me and boring as hell to watch, too. That sentence reminds me of an ad that they run during golf tournaments a lot. The fact that I have no idea what company it is, or what product they are trying to sell, shows how ineffective it is, since I’ve seen it a hundred times — or at least, I’ve been watching TV when it was on a hundred times, but I tune it out after it starts. There are no people, and no voice-over, and unless I missed it a hundred times, no depiction of the product (it might be insurance or something). It’s just some kind of Greek columns going up and down, vaguely like the opening in Game of Thrones, but way less interesting, and pounding music that sounds vaguely like the big finish of a symphony, except it just keeps going. I think it’s at least a minute long, and that’s all that happens. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102/73 "2013-01-22T01:32:01Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > I am glad they finally are getting around to promoting short, bald, well-dressed guys as party animals, as is the case in that Bud Lite commercial. And who is that guy? He looks a bit like Paul Shaffer (Letterman’s bandleader). ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102/74 "2013-01-22T01:42:07Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > And who is that guy? He looks a bit like Paul Shaffer (Letterman’s bandleader). I would guess you’re talking about a guy named [Pitbull](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitbull_%28entertainer%29). I can’t say why exactly, but he creeps me out. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102/75 "2013-01-22T02:03:25Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > Dad doesn’t realize he’s terrible; he’s just upholding the tradition. That’s the gist of the ad: the VW is a more reliable influence than the meme that dad is the best person to teach a son how to throw a ball. That’s amazing. I didn’t take that meaning from the ad at all. As far as I could tell, the father is intentionally teaching his son to throw like a wimp because if he taught him to throw correctly, the kid might dent his precious, precious car with an errant throw. (I will admit, my scenario doesn’t explain why the father doesn’t just move the car to a safer spot or choose to go into the backyard to toss the ol’ ball around, but commercials are meant to make a point, not be rigorously logical in how that point ends up being made.) ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102/76 "2013-01-22T09:11:45Z")
The H&R Block ad in which the lady claims to have read all 900 pages of the Obamacare bill. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102/77 "2013-01-22T12:50:37Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > Dad doesn’t realize he’s terrible; he’s just upholding the tradition. That’s the gist of the ad: the VW is a more reliable influence than the meme that dad is the best person to teach a son how to throw a ball. > [@Snooooopy](#): > > That’s amazing. I didn’t take that meaning from the ad at all. As far as I could tell, the father is intentionally teaching his son to throw like a wimp because if he taught him to throw correctly, the kid might dent his precious, precious car with an errant throw. (I will admit, my scenario doesn’t explain why the father doesn’t just move the car to a safer spot or choose to go into the backyard to toss the ol’ ball around, but commercials are meant to make a point, not be rigorously logical in how that point ends up being made.) No, neither one of those is the point. The voiceover at the end says: > [@](#): > > The durability of the Volkswagen Passat. Pass down something he WILL be grateful for. The point is the Passat will still be around when the kid starts driving, so the dad will able to pass down the car to him. And the kid will be grateful. He won’t, however, be grateful for the fact that the dad passed down his inability to throw a ball. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102/78 "2013-01-22T13:42:58Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > The H&R Block ad in which the lady claims to have read all 900 pages of the Obamacare bill. I think it was the tax code. Anyway they said she read it, not that she understood it. Big difference. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102/79 "2013-01-22T14:01:44Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > I would guess you’re talking about a guy named [Pitbull](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitbull_%28entertainer%29). I can’t say why exactly, but he creeps me out. And he used to appear in Dr Pepper commercials, right? Every time I see him in this latest beer commercial, I can’t help imagining the new hot drink in South Beach clubs is a mix of Dr Pepper and Bud Light, called a “Pitbull.” Ew. > [@Rick](#): > > I think it was the tax code. > Anyway they said she read it, not that she understood it. Big difference. It’s definitely the Affordable Care Act she claims to have read. Her point is that it has big effects on your 2012 taxes, so she’s on top of it for you. Is that really true, by the way? I didn’t think many aspects of the ACA would be a factor in taxes for last year. But then I haven’t read all 900 pages either (“It took me a week!”). ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102/80 "2013-01-22T14:09:23Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > That sentence reminds me of an ad that they run during golf tournaments a lot. The fact that I have no idea what company it is, or what product they are trying to sell, shows how ineffective it is, since I’ve seen it a hundred times — or at least, I’ve been watching TV when it was on a hundred times, but I tune it out after it starts. > > There are no people, and no voice-over, and unless I missed it a hundred times, no depiction of the product (it might be insurance or something). It’s just some kind of Greek columns going up and down, vaguely like the opening in Game of Thrones, but way less interesting, and pounding music that sounds vaguely like the big finish of a symphony, except it just keeps going. I think it’s at least a minute long, and that’s all that happens. Insurance company. I think. Or perhaps an investment company. Yep, really effective ad. Similarly, the ads for the investment firm Edward Jones rub me the wrong way. You hear these voice overs of customers saying how wonderful it is that their financial advisors actually listen to them, and if you feel the same you need to “join us.” That doesn’t sound too bad, but the visuals of these Ed Jones customers make me feel like a worthless member of the working class. They all have these haughty expressions, looking down their noses at the viewer as if the fact we haven’t jumped on board to invest our inheritance and trust funds with their company already is just so distasteful. Rubs me the wrong way, it does. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latest-stupid-commercial-thread/629102.md?page=5)