# More stupid commercials! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 19, 2004, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-commercials/275655 "2004-11-19T14:42:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-commercials/275655/41 "2004-11-24T03:32:33Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > …the old lady (I’m guessing that’s Carrie Donovan) … Yup, that’s her! [More than you ever wanted to know about Carrie Donovan, from her obituary…](http://www.obitpage.com/obits/d/donovan_carrie.html) ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-commercials/275655/42 "2004-11-24T04:14:34Z")
Argh…those Solyea commercials piss me off too. It’s not proof of anything other than those people have good taste buds! ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-commercials/275655/43 "2004-11-24T05:24:52Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > You know, for the longest time, after these Old Navy commercials first aired, I would have sworn on my motherr’s life that the old lady (I’m guessing that’s Carrie Donovan) was Cybill Shepard in HEAVY makeu > > People that apparently do NOT hang around me. Wow…my typing sucks tonight. To quote Dennis Miller, “there hasn’t been anyone that ineffective at the keyboard since Susan Dey was on ‘The Partridge Family’.” ---
**Author:** ![Freejooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba8739/32.png) [@Freejooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freejooky)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-commercials/275655/44 "2004-11-24T05:37:43Z")
I hate when kids’ brattiness is marketed as “cute” or even as “acceptable.” The one that really pushed me over the edge (and practically on the way to get a vasectomy) was the recent minivan commercial in which a minivan must pass “the kid test” before it can be approved for production. The uptight van designer is driving, while a little _bitch_ - who can’t be more than eight or nine - barks orders at him with all of the venom that she can muster. He speaks of the van’s “pickup,” to which she disgustedly barks “then go pick up my friends!” while affixing him with a glare. This continues as more girls are added, demanding fast food, picking up a dog, etc., meeting the scrambling product tester’s ministrations with rolled eyes and glares. The moral - make sure that pleasing your kids’ most superficial desires is the motivating factor in your life as a parent! And no matter how ungrateful and abusive they are, it just means you’re not doing enough to make them happy! Also, I can’t stand the recent AOL commercial where the woman comes into the board meeting to demand new product features for her children for the simple fact that the woman inexplicably acts **brain-damaged** - speaking in a sort of manic, stuttering way, her eyes wildly rolling and seeming to not focus on anything, absentmindedly handing off her infant to a bystander, then bringing the insanity to a head by climbing onto the table with a bewhildered look on her face as though she doesn’t even know who or where she is. What message is this supposed to send? ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-commercials/275655/45 "2004-11-24T05:42:05Z")
> [@iamthewalrus(:3=](#): > > For a while I was seeing a cell phone commercial advertising one of those “Family Plans” constantly. The scene was a family at breakfast after the teenage son was out too late the night before. > > “It’ll never happen again!” he says, sure that punishment will be swift. > “That’s for sure,” says Dad, who hands him a new cell phone. > > Remember, when your kid breaks the rules, you should buy him more stuff :rolleyes:. Well, technically, we know by the “low signal” bars above his head that he was telling the truth. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-commercials/275655/46 "2004-11-24T05:42:29Z")
> [@Freejooky](#): > > Also, I can’t stand the recent AOL commercial where the woman comes into the board meeting to demand new product features for her children for the simple fact that the woman inexplicably acts **brain-damaged** - speaking in a sort of manic, stuttering way, her eyes wildly rolling and seeming to not focus on anything, absentmindedly handing off her infant to a bystander, then bringing the insanity to a head by climbing onto the table with a bewhildered look on her face as though she doesn’t even know who or where she is. What message is this supposed to send? Oh, I don’t know…sounds like a typical AOLer to me. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-commercials/275655/47 "2004-11-24T14:12:48Z")
So … anorexic looking and bony equals perfect hips? Heh. Anyway, I find it amusing that some commercials are listed both in this thread and the funny commercials thread. I saw one last night that qualifies and stupid. I think it was for Staples. The family is decorating the x-mas tree and granny says “I want a picture of everyone decorating the tree”. The family poses in front of the tree looking at granny strangely. Then we see granny has a stapler and is using it like a camera. Then she hands it to the man and says “get one of me with the dog.” The voice over says to “take the hint” and goes on to talk about the digital camera that’s on sale. However, the behavior of granny and the reactions of the family seem more indicative of granny suffering from Altheimers and not hinting that she needs a camera. I think it’s just disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-commercials/275655/48 "2004-11-24T17:17:24Z")
I absolutely hate those Miller Light commericals with the referees. It was mildly amusing the first time I saw them and just annoying after that. I do enjoy the commericals I just saw a couple days ago from Budweiser, where they took Miller’s ad campaign and turned it around in their favor. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll soon get sick of those as well. But it was nice to see a company actually attacking an ad-campaign through a clever ad-campaign of their own. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-commercials/275655/49 "2004-11-24T20:03:47Z")
Let’s see, four commercials that really get me are 1. The for the bank or lending company, who’s name escapes me, where the guy is talking about how he has the nicest house, the nicest car, belongs to the local golf club, etc…and how he’s up to his eyeballs in debt. I don’t feel the least bit sorry for him, because it’s his fault for living beyond his means. If he dropped the golf club membership, got a less expensive new car, or a used car, and moved into a lower middle or middle middle class house and was still in dept., that would be one thing. But he purposely bought things he couldn’t afford and is now whining about it. :wally 2. The Philip Morris add. Not because they talk about the dangers of smoking, but because the commercial is put out by the makers of cigarettes. Yes, cigarettes are unhealthy and addictive, oh, and by the way, we sell them. :dubious: 3. The Skittles add where three teens are sitting on a rainbow and one asks if the rainbow is just in their minds, and then promptly plummets to his death. Yeah, that’s the image I want associated with Skittles :smack: 4. Well, this doesn’t count as one add, but all of the AOL adds where the customers want everything for free. Yeah, and while were at it, because it’s so easy apparently to walk into AOL headquarters and demand stuff, or demand stuff at an AOL meeting, let’s all go and demand that everything be given for free. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-commercials/275655/50 "2004-11-24T21:01:13Z")
> [@Wile E](#): > > However, the behavior of granny and the reactions of the family seem more indicative of granny suffering from Altheimers and not hinting that she needs a camera. I think it’s just disturbing. I had a “what the hell?” moment at that one too. I also blink hard at the TGI Fridays commercial where the slub is boozing it up at the bar, then hears his wife laugh and comes tearing across the restaurant to yell “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! WHERE ARE THE KIDS?!” Is this a restaurant commercial or an episode of Dr. Phil featuring control freak husbands? Creepy! ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2004, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-commercials/275655/51 "2004-11-25T01:24:33Z")
I think it’s a BMW ad…the prissy looking woman in the business suit. When she gets to work and parks the car, she goes about repositioning the security cameras in the parking lot, so they are all aimed at her new car. Then, she apparently spends the day at the water cooler, drinking cup after cup after cup of water, so she can stare at the security camera screens and admire her car all day. PLEASE let the ladies rest room be out of service. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2004, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-commercials/275655/52 "2004-11-25T01:46:49Z")
> [@voguevixen](#): > > I had a “what the hell?” moment at that one too. I also blink hard at the TGI Fridays commercial where the slub is boozing it up at the bar, then hears his wife laugh and comes tearing across the restaurant to yell “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! WHERE ARE THE KIDS?!” Is this a restaurant commercial or an episode of Dr. Phil featuring control freak husbands? Creepy! Oh come on, he wasn’t that bad. Tearing across the restaurant and yelling at her, that’s exagerating just a tad bit. What I love about the commercial, is the family togeatherness. You can tell that they have great communication skills and really want to be togeather. ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2004, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-commercials/275655/53 "2004-11-25T20:03:03Z")
Walgreen’s ads with the town of “Perfect” drive me crazy. All of them are stupid, but the one I hated the most was the one that said that in Perfect, the pharmacies were always open when you needed medicine. Well, I’d like to know why would anyone living in Perfect ever need medicine anyway? Guess it ain’t so darn perfect after all! ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-commercials/275655/54 "2004-11-26T03:29:10Z")
> [@Freejooky](#): > > I hate when kids’ brattiness is marketed as “cute” or even as “acceptable.” The one that really pushed me over the edge (and practically on the way to get a vasectomy) was the recent minivan commercial in which a minivan must pass “the kid test” before it can be approved for production. The uptight van designer is driving, while a little _bitch_ - who can’t be more than eight or nine - barks orders at him with all of the venom that she can muster. He speaks of the van’s “pickup,” to which she disgustedly barks “then go pick up my friends!” while affixing him with a glare. This continues as more girls are added, demanding fast food, picking up a dog, etc., meeting the scrambling product tester’s ministrations with rolled eyes and glares. The moral - make sure that pleasing your kids’ most superficial desires is the motivating factor in your life as a parent! And no matter how ungrateful and abusive they are, it just means you’re not doing enough to make them happy! Don’t forget the OTHER important lesson: Always let your young daughters ride away with a stranger in a minivan. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-commercials/275655/55 "2004-11-26T15:55:15Z")
So Nigel and his pals (who work for jaguar) are so fascinated with the Lexus? That cretin in the backseat stares with openmouthed wonder at “Shark” playing on a DVD deck…and then they all go gaga over the power rear window! Still, I liked the music…anyone know the song? ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-commercials/275655/56 "2004-11-26T17:14:25Z")
> [@Freejooky](#): > > Also, I can’t stand the recent AOL commercial… Oh man, I’ve always hated AOL commercials. Up until recently, every feature they advertised was offered in a million other places with no extra money or effort. And a note to AOL: _You can not make the @#$%ing Internet better_! ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-commercials/275655/57 "2004-11-26T17:55:30Z")
Anti-drug commercial: Is your child smoking pot? Then she is doing drugs! Drugs are bad…blah, blah, blah. Next commercial, immediately after: Are you depressed? Take our pills! You don’t have to feel like that. Drugs are good! I quit smoking pot a long time ago, but those anti drug ads and the legal drug ads drive me bonkers…expecially when shown in tandem. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_from\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Man\_from\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_from_Mars)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-commercials/275655/58 "2004-11-26T18:40:58Z")
What about the GEICO ads where some one is given good news and bad news. First, the bad news: the baseball pitcher is being taken out of the game, the rapper auditioning is told that he sucks, the jailbird isn’t getting out of jail any time soon. Then the good news: the bearer of bad news (the baseball manager/pitching coach, nightclub manager, criminal attorney) has saved a load of money on their car insurance. Yipee! How one is related to the other makes no sense, of course, but who cares since the ads are so friggin’ “clever.” I’m also wondering who is working on the ads for Burger King these days. First, there’s the Burger King with the Joker-esque smile frozen on his face greeting you in bed. Now we’re invited to watch a couple of dorks in chicken suits gearing up for a big Wrestle-mania match on the internet. Maybe they’re trying to pick up on the Bud-Bowl idea of a few years back, but somehow cock-fighting doesn’t seem to have the same kind of appeal. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-commercials/275655/59 "2004-11-26T19:18:08Z")
> [@Boscibo](#): > > Anti-drug commercial: Is your child smoking pot? Then she is doing drugs! Drugs are bad…blah, blah, blah. My favorite is “Don’t feel like a hypocrite for confronting your kids about smoking pot. Because the obvious conclusion is that if your kid smokes pot, he’s on the fast track to hell and heroin and is supporting terrorism. Not that a lot of kids try pot and turn out fine, like you did.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-commercials/275655.md?page=2)