I am occasionally surprised by brand names or advertisements that seem to go out of their way to be low-level offensive or condescending. Since ads like to call attention to themselves, sometimes it can be part of a deliberate strategy. But not always a wise one.
Can think of several examples. Sure you can add to them.
A current Volkswagen ad showing a vaguely Middle-Eastern guy dreamily watching a stereotypical looking German guy wash his VW while his cheap car splashes him with washer fluid, his chair collapsed, and other slapstick shenanigans. Not the most PC message.
On vacation in Mexico, all the resort lounge chairs were made by “Grosfillex”.
A Canadian airline served complimentary white wine in economy class - little bottles of “Vin Blanc Eau du Chien”.
Same airline had duty free perfume for sale called “Eau de Toilette Boule” (in oval bottles).
Both of those “Russian” commercials were part of this VHS Board Game from the 80s called “Commercial Crazies.” My brother and I were obsessed with the tape - not so much the game - and watched those silly commercials over and over again. Someone put the whole video online. Woot!
My contribution to the thread is a Cleveland-local cigar shop called Cigar Cigars. They had super sexist radio ads with a dude saying awful stuff about his wife - like how she enjoys shopping and spending time with her husband and eating bon-bons and she annoyed the shit out of him and blah blah blah. They bought a ton of time on the Cleveland Indians baseball broadcasts so I had to hear that shit over and over again every day. Thankfully they didn’t run any ads last year so I have already forgotten the content…but trust me they were bad. I just looked online and I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Good riddance to them.
A UK Miller Lite advert from the 1980’s representing drinkers of real beer as grey men swilling from buckets:
The thing that particularly makes this advert stick in my mind is this: at the time this advert was playing, one my coworkers was an athletic young man who eventually went on to play squash professionally. At a coffee break one day he said to me, conversationally, "*I don't drink, but if I did I would drink Miller Lite*". There was no irony in this (he was an athlete, for God's sake), just a simple statement of fact. Dear Jesus. And you wonder why they advertise. I was too dismayed even to argue. So much for faith in human nature.
My standards for offensive ads include any that rejoice at the idea that their (usually shitty) product is putting employees involved with the competition out of work.
A prime example of this was the frozen pizza maker (DiGiorno, I think) which had an ad showing a restaurant owner bewailing that his place was devoid of customers, all supposedly munching their wonderful frozen pizzas instead of eating out (DiGiorno currently wins the condescension award for promoting the idea that people prefer DiGiorno’s thawed cardboard over delivery/carryout pizza).
My knowledge of French is nonexistent, so somebody will have to explain the upthread stuff to me.
If you want to talk about offensive, I mean absolutely revolting commercials, there is one for some prescription drug for people suffering from a skin disease. The actors are engulfed in the mosr revolting representations of the suffering: insects crawling on them, clothing sprouting bristles, irritating vines creeping up their legs. I have to cover my eyes or leave the room.
~VOW
The thread title is poor. It was meant to convey the idea of ambiguously offensive — things that approach the line and may or may not cross it.
This, the VW commercial may or may not portray people as outsiders or in a slightly negative way. It may or may not be meant a political or economic statement.
Eau de Chien may or may not mean “water of the dog” but it tasted like it.
Eau de toilette boule may be referring to the round bottle and not a “toilette boule”.
Gros often means big, fat, weighty. But occasionally is used in expressions like big shot or to express familiarity. Fille means girl, woman, maid… Who knows if anyone intended anything?
There was a VW ad in the UK a few years ago which caused some debate. It was set at a “car keys party”: each of the girls picked a set of keys out of a bowl and left with their owner. Eventually, an overweight girl approached the bowl. The guys started looking nervous… but when they saw she’d picked the * Volkswagen * keys, they all put their hands up.
