# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/61 "2026-07-31T03:56:29Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Then there’s this Nature Made vitamin commercial which gives out some pretty major Oedipal vibes. Not in the least. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/62 "2026-07-31T04:30:12Z")
Anyone remember the time 20 years ago when McDonald’s ran a web ad depicting a guy who wanted to fuck one of their double cheeseburgers? “Double Cheeseburger? I’d hit it. I’m a dollar menu guy.” ---
**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 31, 2026, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/63 "2026-07-31T10:29:19Z")
I have to agree w @DrDeth here. Anyone seeing Oedipal vibes there is projecting like a … well … mofo. ---
**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 31, 2026, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/64 "2026-07-31T10:49:49Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > The JG Wentworth 877-CASH-NOW commercials. I’ve been on this rock for 55 years and not once have I known a person who lived off of a structured settlement. I imagine the number of people who do is in the low seven figures. Seems they believe their actual market is considerably bigger than it is. _Last Week Tonight_ did a whole long segment on structured settlements, starting with those ads, and as you might expect it is a long and twisted story of misery and exploitation. In short, the number of people able to live off of structured settlements is drastically reduced by companies like JG Wentworth who prey on them. ---
**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 31, 2026, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/65 "2026-07-31T11:43:12Z")
Cf. the Hardee’s commercial that implied their burgers taste like ass: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/00qaMs3025I/hqdefault.jpg "Hardee's Little Thickburger Badonkadonk Commercial") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00qaMs3025I) ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/66 "2026-07-31T11:54:58Z")
At the end, he says to his wife, “There’s one more benefit. It’s made you a lot nicer to me.” What does that mean? She was an utter hag until you started taking this supplement? ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/67 "2026-07-31T13:03:31Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Not in the least. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > I have to agree w @DrDeth here. Anyone seeing Oedipal vibes there is projecting like a … well … mofo. That’s a pretty ugly thing to say, LSLGuy. DrDeth was able to disagree with the premise without making any gross personal implications about me in the process. ---
**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 31, 2026, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/68 "2026-07-31T13:15:05Z")
I apologize that the joke fell flat for you. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/69 "2026-07-31T13:37:19Z")
I thought the joke was funny but the verb “projecting” unnecessary, and as we see, capable of being read as an insulting insinuation. I propose as a friendly amendment the revised version _”misinterpreting like a mofo”_, which in addition provides a stronger alliterative allusion to the immortal line that generated this idiom in the first place. 😁 ---
**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 31, 2026, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/70 "2026-07-31T13:42:59Z")
Thank you. That would have been better. Lots better. I screwed up. ---
**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 31, 2026, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/71 "2026-07-31T14:23:57Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > At the end, he says to his wife, “There’s one more benefit. It’s made you a lot nicer to me.” > > What does that mean? She was an utter hag until you started taking this supplement? Which commercial are you referring to? ---
**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 31, 2026, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/72 "2026-07-31T14:27:49Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > When the domestic violence hashtag #whyIstayed was trending to discuss domestic violence and why people didn’t leave abusive relationships, so DiGiornos used it to promote pizzas w/o understanding what the hashtag was about. I used to see McDonald’s billdboard ads with a dude looking at a hamburger saying, “I’d hit that.” I’m pretty sure McDonald’s didn’t understand the phrase was an idiom for having sex. Edit: Once again, I need to remind myself to read the thread before bringing something up. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/73 "2026-07-31T14:35:36Z")
I just saw one of those “Buy Gold” ads, which is all about how the dollar has lost so much value and gold has gained so much, so this company is totally willing to give you gold in exchange for dollars. I feel so sorry for that company making such an obviously financially foolish offer that I refuse to take advantage of their blunders. ---
**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/74 "2026-07-31T18:45:17Z")
Decades ago, when the Dark Age of Technology was in its infancy, I worked for Motorola. Chris Galvin had recently become top dog (President? CEO? I can’t recall), and there was a big deal when they gathered us all together so Galvin could call and talk to us live on a satellite phone from a rowboat in the middle of a lake far off in the untamed wilderness. Part of the presentation was a private screening of a new, very artistic ad for the upcoming Motorola RAZR phone that featured fluttering John Woo-esque doves and dreamy visuals set to the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” Of course, if you know the song, the resolution is that while you can’t always get what you _want_, if you try sometimes, you get what you _need_. The way the commercial was cut, though, it just kept repeating “you can’t always get what you want.” We’re talking about cell phones here. Back then (c. 1998), cell phones were a luxury item rather than a ubiquitous necessity, so it struck us all as very odd that you’d want to drill into your viewers that they aren’t going to be able to get what they want. I think they must’ve re-cut the original commercial after this reception, as [the version Youtube has](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK6hn4PBzYU) is much shorter and doesn’t repeat the song’s title like the preview we were shown. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/75 "2026-07-31T19:07:28Z")
> [@psiekier](#): > > Part of the presentation was a private screening of a new, very artistic ad for the upcoming Motorola RAZR phone > [@psiekier](#): > > Back then (c. 1998) The RAZR debuted in 2004. > **[Motorola Razr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_Razr)** > > The Motorola Razr (pronounced /ˈreɪzər/ like "razor"), sometimes stylized motorola razr, is a brand of mobile phones manufactured by Motorola Mobility (previously Motorola, now a division of Lenovo), currently consisting of foldable clamshell smartphones. The Razr name was introduced with the V3 model (then styled RAZR, also MOTORAZR) in 2004, which became extremely popular. The line was succeeded by the Motorola Razr2 flip phones in 2007. The Razr later evolved into a line of non-clamshell dev... ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/76 "2026-08-01T04:21:07Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Then there’s this Nature Made vitamin commercial which gives out some pretty major Oedipal vibes. That’s not how I see it. It’s a role reversal: the son is encouraging his mom to take her vitamins, just like she did with him when he was a kid. It’s indirect marketing. They hope young adults who see the ad will try to get their parents to take Nature Made every day. The acting in the ad is drippy, but to me it portrays filial affection, not romantic feelings. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/77 "2026-08-01T07:17:17Z")
A few months ago IndyCar sold an official teeshirt for the upcoming Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, DC that read “ONE NATION ONE RACE.” Not quite a commercial, but official merchandise like this is a form of advertising, branding, messaging, etc, so I think it makes the cut. Here is what it looked like: > **[2026 Freedom 250 Grand Prix One Nation T-Shirt](https://web.archive.org/web/20260506181124/https:/shop.indycar.com/products/inc2mt2605-2026-freedom-250-grand-prix-one-nation-t-shirt)** > > This year INDYCAR takes over Washington, D.C. for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix and this graphic shirt is the perfect piece to wear! Screenprinted on a high-quality shirt, this fun graphic tee is going to be a piece that brings back great memories of... Way to go, IndyCar. Maybe you’d like to fuck a McDonald’s double cheeseburger to go with that. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/78 "2026-08-01T07:49:43Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Which commercial are you referring to? The same one the OP referred to. (I hit the wrong reply button) ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/79 "2026-08-01T07:53:54Z")
Their selling point is that paper doesn’t accumulate in value. It’s like their customer base are all the people who don’t trust banks and keep their cash stuffed under their mattress. ---
**Author:** ![Hook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@Hook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hook)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/80 "2026-08-01T14:41:17Z")
The ad I remember that I think fits here is a Michelob ad in late 80s/early 90s where Clapton was singing “After Midnight.” A short time after it debuted, he checked into rehab. The ad was very quickly pulled. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017.md?page=5)