# Memorable commercials that you don't remember what was being advertised **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** commercials-ads\ **Created:** [November 29, 2019, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152 "2019-11-29T01:27:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![HowSoonIsThen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@HowSoonIsThen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HowSoonIsThen)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2019, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152/21 "2019-11-30T02:50:02Z")
There was an ad with a gorilla playing drums to “in the air tonight” about ten years ago. I never cared for it, so maybe that’s why I can’t remember what it was advertising. A lot of people seemed to enjoy it, but I don’t recall them ever mentioning what it was for either. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2019, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152/22 "2019-11-30T03:54:00Z")
I have a (very) vague memory of a commercial I saw some decades ago. I think it was during the 1976 Olympics. The scene opened in an old fashioned post office, the clerk was leaning against the window, there was a spider web between him and the window frame. He was muttering, “Only two thousand five hundred and seventy three days to retirement.” The ad was for some sort of express delivery service, but I absolutely cannot remember which one. The commercial has stuck in my mind for decades, but I have no idea what was actually being advertised. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2019, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152/23 "2019-11-30T04:18:55Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Back when I was in college, circa 2000, there was a Superbowl ad about “cat herders”, showing a bunch of stereotypical cowboys herding cats across the southwest as if they were cattle. It was a funny and memorable ad, but I’ll be damned if I could tell you what company it was advertising. I think it was some sort of IT related company, and given the time period when it aired it’s quite possibly a company that went belly up after the dot com bubble burst. EDS ([Wiki Link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Data_Systems)) was one of those companies that your average consumer isn’t going to do any business with. It’s kind of like seeing an ad for Workday or Salesforce. These are businesses that don’t cater to consumers they cater to other businesses. Unless you were in IT or owned a business that could make use of their services EDS never would have been on your radar. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2019, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152/24 "2019-11-30T12:15:48Z")
I just learned something… The “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” commercials were originally for LifeCall. Now there is a slight variation and used for Life Alert. I never knew the company for the original ones, but I do know Life Alert. And I don’t know what they were advertising in those commercials when they showed someone in an office setting and then a football player tackles them and starts yelling at them. Something like Larry the office linebacker. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2019, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152/25 "2019-11-30T17:18:21Z")
I remember a cool commercial with a pretty girl dancing seductively around a BMW e10 to some groovy music, but no idea what they were selling. It wasn’t BMW’s, I know that. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152/26 "2019-12-01T00:29:27Z")
The 1964 LBJ campaign’s “Daisy” ad was a bit ambiguous. ---
**Author:** ![Wallet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e99b99/32.png) [@Wallet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallet)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152/27 "2019-12-01T02:22:13Z")
> [@HowSoonIsThen](#): > > There was an ad with a gorilla playing drums to “in the air tonight” about ten years ago. I never cared for it, so maybe that’s why I can’t remember what it was advertising. A lot of people seemed to enjoy it, but I don’t recall them ever mentioning what it was for either. The Cadbury Gorilla, from 2007 [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TnzFRV1LwIo/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-AoACoAKKAgwIABABGF0gXShdMA8=&rs=AOn4CLCvSA4vfPGqbgY4XKIk9tyd0OwNng "Cadbury's Gorilla Advert Aug 31st 2007") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnzFRV1LwIo) ---
**Author:** ![Wallet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e99b99/32.png) [@Wallet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallet)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152/28 "2019-12-01T02:52:20Z")
> [@Tatterdemalion](#): > > I have a (very) vague memory of a commercial I saw some decades ago. I think it was during the 1976 Olympics. The scene opened in an old fashioned post office, the clerk was leaning against the window, there was a spider web between him and the window frame. He was muttering, “Only two thousand five hundred and seventy three days to retirement.” The ad was for some sort of express delivery service, but I absolutely cannot remember which one. The commercial has stuck in my mind for decades, but I have no idea what was actually being advertised. Perhaps “1982 Federal Express Overnight Commercial”? slightly longer version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzjBEYiZrLM ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152/29 "2019-12-01T19:02:05Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Those annoying Hump Day commercials from a few years ago. Everyone in my office would walk around saying ‘Hump DAY!!’ on Wednesday. Without googling, I think it may have been Progessive or Geico insurance, but it could have just as easily been Bud Light. Oh Jeebus. There’s a guy in my office that still uses this stupid garbage phrase every goddam Wednesday and pauses in joyous anticipation for anyone to join in and celebrate this delightfully witty occasion. I really want to smack him but he’s my boss… ---
**Author:** ![bizerta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@bizerta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizerta)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152/30 "2019-12-02T18:02:50Z")
at least 40 years ago. Male college student hitchhiking while standing in snow. He’s holding a sign that says, “Miami” or “Miami Beach”. A hot babe stops and says, “I’m going as far as Ft. Lauderdale.” at which point the fellow begrudgingly rejects the offer and sticks out his thumb for the next car. I posted this about five years ago. Someone claimed it was an ad for Alka Seltzer, but I fail to see the connection and am unable to find it in any online Alka Seltzer advertisement (there are scores and scores of online ads for A.S. ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152/31 "2019-12-02T18:05:05Z")
Candidates for a brain transit time of milliseconds: - just about any cellphone/ Internet provider ad; totally forgettable - most beers ads; beer sloshing into a glass? Take your pick from dozens - car ads are increasingly similar, if you don’t recognize the make anyway - most proprietary medicines ---
**Author:** ![tricoteuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tricoteuse/32/4334_2.png) [@tricoteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tricoteuse)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152/32 "2019-12-02T21:19:31Z")
That Godawful Puppy-Monkey-Baby thing from the Super Bowl a few years ago. I was too busy running for the remote and yelling about who the hell would buy anything from a mascot that creepy to pay any attention to the product it was selling. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152/33 "2019-12-02T21:28:26Z")
> [@Author\_Balk](#): > > And I don’t know what they were advertising in those commercials when they showed someone in an office setting and then a football player tackles them and starts yelling at them. Something like Larry the office linebacker. That’s Terry Tate: Office Linebacker, and man, I just thought they were funny ESPN commercials. I just looked it up and they were Reebok commercials. Wiki goes on to quote: “Though successful in attracting viewers and attention, the ads’ ability to increase recognition of the Reebok brand has been questioned, with only 55% of respondents on an on-line poll indicating they realized the ad was affiliated with the company” I love those commercials. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152/34 "2019-12-02T21:52:39Z")
There was an advertisement in the mid to late 1980s with a voiceover that kept repeating in a whispering voice, “hot news! Hot news! Hot hot! Hot news! Hot news! Hot hot!” I think it was for an electric kettle or maybe a popcorn popper, but my Google search comes up empty (other than [this thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=629807) that I started in 2011). ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152/35 "2019-12-03T13:22:47Z")
> [@singular1](#): > > Oh Jeebus. There’s a guy in my office that still uses this stupid garbage phrase every goddam Wednesday and pauses in joyous anticipation for anyone to join in and celebrate this delightfully witty occasion. I really want to smack him but he’s my boss… Are you conflating this with the one with Mike the Camel? The term hump day has been around for years but I don’t remember anyone ever just shouting “Hump Day!!” 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152/36 "2019-12-03T13:36:33Z")
“That’s the beauty of it. It doesn’t _do_ anything…” ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152/37 "2019-12-03T13:46:17Z")
[quote=“Wallet, post:28, topic:844152”] Perhaps “1982 Federal Express Overnight Commercial”? slightly longer version [/QUOTE] I guess that must be it. It doesn’t exactly match my memory, but that’s memory for you. ---
**Author:** ![txjim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f07891/32.png) [@txjim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txjim)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152/38 "2019-12-03T14:44:59Z")
> [@bizerta](#): > > at least 40 years ago. > > Male college student hitchhiking while standing in snow. He’s holding a sign that says, “Miami” or “Miami Beach”. A hot babe stops and says, “I’m going as far as Ft. Lauderdale.” at which point the fellow begrudgingly rejects the offer and sticks out his thumb for the next car. > > I posted this about five years ago. Someone claimed it was an ad for Alka Seltzer, but I fail to see the connection and am unable to find it in any online Alka Seltzer advertisement (there are scores and scores of online ads for A.S. Alka-Seltzer featured the “Mama Mia, Thats a Spicy Meatball” ad in 1969 and was a popular meme at the time. [It actually reduced sales of the product.](https://www.acemetrix.com/insights/blog/alka-seltzer-tbt/) (the sad part of all of this is that, when searching google for references, several sites have to explain where the phrase came from to these young whipper-snappers) ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152/39 "2019-12-03T18:11:02Z")
The ad where the guy is teaching his dog to drive. It was for [Carfax](https://youtu.be/CHoSuTLHfE8) ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152/40 "2019-12-03T19:52:44Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > The ad where the guy is teaching his dog to drive. It was for [Carfax](https://youtu.be/CHoSuTLHfE8) I love that one. I still say “mother of pearl!” from time to time. Also, loved the Terry Tate ads. “If you kill the joe, you make some mo!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-commercials-that-you-dont-remember-what-was-being-advertised/844152.md?page=3)