# Most tone-deaf/out of touch commercials? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** commercials-ads\ **Created:** [July 30, 2026, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017 "2026-07-30T11:04:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/1 "2026-07-30T11:04:05Z")
I think of this every time I see a commercial of John Walsh for OmegaXL. He talks about how the green-lipped mussel goo gives him the energy that he needs to exercise his polo ponies on his ranch. I always think of how few people in the audience are saying “This might help me exercise _my_ polo ponies!”. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/2 "2026-07-30T13:19:25Z")
It depends on which part of your body you refer to as your “polo ponies”. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/3 "2026-07-30T13:21:53Z")
I know. Since the first time I saw that commercial, I thought, ‘How nice for you to have polo ponies. (Not just horses, but POLO PONIES!). I guess you became a shill for this stuff to support your lifestyle.’ ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/4 "2026-07-30T13:31:07Z")
A few years ago back, the British menswear retailer Charles Tyrwhitt ran a series of ads in the New York City Subway showing a snappily dressed male model next to the text: > See the chap next to you in the shabby shirt? > > Would you tell him to visit us? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/5 "2026-07-30T13:52:00Z")
Of course, we have to mention the ad where Kendell Jenner solves civil unrest by giving the cops a Pepsi: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJCcnkqnjqU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJCcnkqnjqU) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/6 "2026-07-30T14:23:38Z")
Ah, yes, back when millions of people were taking to the streets to protest the police not drinking enough Pepsi. ---
**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:** [July 30, 2026, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/7 "2026-07-30T14:48:19Z")
A few years back there was a remake of _Death Wish_ starring Bruce Willis. When I saw my first ad for it, which wasn’t long after the school shootings in Parkland, and of course ongoing problems with law enforcment shoting people, I couldn’t believe someone decided to market a movie like that. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/8 "2026-07-30T16:34:17Z")
There’s the infamous folgers incest commercial, but I’m not sure that counts as tone deaf or out of touch. I can’t remember what company it was but years ago there was that one house buying commercial where the realtor and wife team up and mock the husband who just wants to wait to make a decision, it makes them look horrible. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/9 "2026-07-30T16:52:23Z")
Those radio ads for PureTalk cellular service. Mentioning how most Americans want a cellular company that “stands for something”. They do? I don’t think that was ever a considering factor when I chose a carrier. Is it for anyone? Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/10 "2026-07-30T17:13:15Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > ‘How nice for you to have polo ponies. (Not just horses, but POLO PONIES!). I guess you became a shill for this stuff to support your lifestyle.’ Was he able to afford polo ponies before or after Adam was murdered? Wait, I’m sorry. m\_rd\_red. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/11 "2026-07-30T17:17:19Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I think of this every time I see a commercial of John Walsh for OmegaXL. He talks about how the green-lipped mussel goo gives him the energy that he needs to exercise his polo ponies on his ranch. I always think of how few people in the audience are saying “This might help me exercise _my_ polo ponies!”. I haven’t seen that commercial, so I Googled. Yes, he really talks about the polo ponies on his ranch. > **[Omega XL John Walsh’s Ranch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SW-C7OD4as%2F)** > > Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/12 "2026-07-30T17:17:33Z")
Is this the company that boasts that it is not “Woke AT&T”, but uses the AT&T network itself? ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/13 "2026-07-30T17:20:47Z")
I guess they didn’t have complete control over who their ads reached, but it was always odd to hear one of those “Farmers Only Dating” radio ads in an urban area. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/14 "2026-07-30T17:22:22Z")
Well I’d guess it would be even _harder_ for farmers to find other farmers there. Can’t just look for the farm, like you normally can. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/15 "2026-07-30T17:46:31Z")
As to polo ponies, etc. It’s amazing how many Americans consider that they too deserve fatcat status, and even more, _will have it pretty soon_. Just as soon as they start emulating the behaviors of other fatcats. The thought process is > Ohh, look that guy is eating mussel goo and is rich. I better follow his advice. After all, rich people are smarter and better than I am … now. But as soon as I’m rich too, I’ll be better like them. And mussel goo will make that happen. Sounds far too dumb to be real, but that’s a lot of what goes on in a lot of heads, just not quite in sharp verbalized form. It’s pure emotion. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/16 "2026-07-30T18:03:06Z")
I hate hate HATE the GMC [“one for you, one for me”](https://www.ispot.tv/ad/qFul/gmc-holidays-one-for-you-one-for-me-t2) ad where the husband buys trucks for him and his wife. They still bring it out at Christmas 5 years later. It has so much wrong - the idea that it’s nothing to run out and buy two $50-70K cars, the male-centric view that the husband controls the budget and doesn’t need to consult with his wife, the stereotype that of course the big black truck is for the man and the red SUV is for the woman. He doesn’t know what his wife likes? Did he even think of asking her? ---
**Author:** ![We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/We_re_wolves_not_werewolves)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/17 "2026-07-30T18:15:27Z")
this is an old one but I always thought it was unintentionally hilarious. [Buick NCAA March Madness Event TV Spot, 'Nosy Neighbors' - iSpot](https://www.ispot.tv/ad/7igM/buick-ncaa-march-madness-event-nosy-neighbors) the wife clearly could care less about the car and only wants to bang Mr. Garcia and her beta husband can only stare at her in disbelief ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/18 "2026-07-30T18:15:45Z")
On the “tone-deaf” side, there was a commercial where a suburban couple are enjoying Sabra hummus on their front porch and commenting that “it’s like our own little Mediterranean vacation!”…when the bay window next to them suddenly shatters outward in an explosion of glass shards. “Sabra - you’ll swear you’re really in Israel!” 😬 …ok, it’s actually one of their son’s friends throwing a bowling ball through the window, alerting them to the wild teen party that was taking place inside the whole time (“Dude, I thought your parents were in the Mediterranean!”). But there’s _just_ enough time before that reveal for viewers to draw the wrong conclusion. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/19 "2026-07-30T18:16:18Z")
There’s a crappy mobile game ad Duolingo keeps playing here; it starts with a couple at the beach, with the guy excitedly suggesting going surfing, only to be told that nah, she’s going to sit there and play this game all day, followed by a dismal pitch about how fun the game is. I assume it’s supposed to be suggesting that this game is more fun than surfing, but it honestly could work fine for a therapist, or possibly a divorce lawyer. ---
**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:** [July 30, 2026, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/20 "2026-07-30T18:25:13Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > I hate hate HATE the GMC [“one for you, one for me”](https://www.ispot.tv/ad/qFul/gmc-holidays-one-for-you-one-for-me-t2) ad where the husband buys trucks for him and his wife. They still bring it out at Christmas 5 years later. I think the first holiday ad featuring someone purchasing a vehicle as a surprise Christmas gift for their spouse was Lexus. Those commercials were bad enough all those years ago, but who in their right mind thinks it’s a good commercial in the last few years with so many people struggling economically. SNL had a decent parody of these commercials a few years back. When a husband surprises his wife with an SUV for Christmas she goes on a tirade about how they’re already in debt up to the eyeballs, he also bought ridiculous gifts for the kids, he doesn’t have a job, and just how financially irresponsible he is in general. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017.md?page=2)