# 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:** 7
**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:** [August 3, 2026, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/121 "2026-08-03T00:07:58Z")
Yeah. Such that “It’s the Cadillac of [whatever]” now means it’s the clueless has-been that doesn’t realize it yet. Like the coyote, it’s off the cliff and once it looks down, a plummet is assured. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/122 "2026-08-03T02:29:22Z")
As a certified old person, I should probably be offended by the Progrssive insurance ads with “Dr. Rick” counseling young homeowners who are turning into their parents. However, my wife and I find them amusing enough to overcome the premise that we’re doddering old farts. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Bk4JjtbNaRs/maxresdefault.jpg "Dr. Rick | Let It Out | Progressive Insurance Commercial") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk4JjtbNaRs) ---
**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:** [August 3, 2026, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/123 "2026-08-03T02:31:51Z")
I too enjoy them. Even though I’d sorta like to kick Dr. Rick in the 'nads. He’s just so earnest and harmless though. I sure hope I’m not him. But I fear that I am. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/124 "2026-08-03T02:36:48Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > You drank beer regularly as a child? Welcome to Wisconsin, Problem Drinking Capital of America. 😛 And, yes, growing up in Wisconsin as I did, it was _very_ common – and _legal_ – for kids to be served a little beer by their parents, and even be allowed to drink beer at bars and restaurants, if they were with their parents. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/125 "2026-08-03T05:14:13Z")
I do like the first two scenes in this commercial. That word, by the way, is pronounced keen-wah. > **[Dr. Rick Methods Progressive Insurance Commercial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc-CN53147Q%2F)** > > Dr Rick Methods Progressive Insurance Commercialprogressive insurance,progressive insurance commercial,progressive,insurance commercial,progressive comm... I also remember a beer commercial where the people on screen referred to it as “food.” That didn’t last very long, thankfully. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/126 "2026-08-03T12:37:12Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I also remember a beer commercial where the people on screen referred to it as “food.” Beer has been considered a food throughout history. It was liquid bread included in the pay given to laborers in places like Ancient Egypt, and was safer to drink than water. The food value in a stout like Guinness is enough to keep a modern hiker or cyclist going all day. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/127 "2026-08-03T12:41:58Z")
If you think the Pepto-Bismol commercials are clever (the people suffering gastric distress do a little dance culminating in grabbing their asses to convey diarrhea 🤮 ), we need to talk. ---
**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:** [August 3, 2026, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/128 "2026-08-03T13:27:26Z")
I’ve always wondered about the actors’ résumés. ‘I was the Diarrhea Guy in the Pepto Bismol commercial!’ ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/129 "2026-08-03T13:35:30Z")
“It was a shit role.” Actually, I _do_ do a little dance when I get the runs : The Green Apple Quickstep. ---
**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:** [August 3, 2026, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/130 "2026-08-03T13:39:20Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I’ve always wondered about the actors’ résumés. ‘I was the Diarrhea Guy in the Pepto Bismol commercial!’ See also: Wes Tolman, a.k.a. “The Prince” in the [Squatty Potty](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbYWhdLO43Q) commercial Joe Ferrara a.k.a. “[Juan Sheet](https://admascots.fandom.com/wiki/Juan_Sheet)” in the Plenty ads I mean, when you’re an actor a job’s a job and the bills gotta be paid. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/131 "2026-08-03T13:41:56Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I’ve always wondered about the actors’ résumés. ‘I was the Diarrhea Guy in the Pepto Bismol commercial!’ I’m reminded of the end of _Goodbye Girl_, where Dreyfuss gets a job based on “if you could make that role seem real, you can do this reasonable thing”. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/132 "2026-08-03T13:46:57Z")
Yep, that’s tone deaf, and it’s tempting to think of it as worse than tone deaf. One Nation One Race (Shaking my effing head) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/133 "2026-08-03T13:50:22Z")
Shatner is in some commercial lately where he goes by Will Shat — something to do with excretion. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/134 "2026-08-03T14:02:25Z")
How can I forget Al Bundy on Married With Children, ‘The Gas Station Show’…Bud gets a ride with the Swedish Bikini Team and Al is offered a ride with the Womens Chicago Bowling Team. Resigned to his fate, he hops in, ‘Let’s boogie!’ ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/135 "2026-08-03T14:04:27Z")
“Red Wigglers, the Cadillac of worms.” - proud sponsor on WKRP in Cincinnati. ---
**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:** [August 3, 2026, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/136 "2026-08-03T14:13:47Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I do like the first two scenes in this commercial. That word, by the way, is pronounced keen-wah. I just figured out why Dr. Rick creeps me out a bit. I have a friend who’s mid-70s now. But he totally could have passed for Dr. Rick when he was about 55. The could be twins, or certainly similar brothers. And he has that same sort of calm no-judging “I’m just here to help” demeanor most of the time. Gaah! ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/137 "2026-08-03T14:14:17Z")
Aw, I LOVE Dr. Rick. I’m a senior myself and find the commercials particularly amusing since I know quite a few ‘young homeowners’ now, rapidly suffering the horrific fate of turning into their pathetic parents. (yes, you should line your kitchen shelves with contact paper, you should paint a deep forest green wall with a base white before you paint it ‘Shimmering Snowflake’, and so on. Ha-Ha!) ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/138 "2026-08-03T14:25:36Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > USAA recently had a series of commercials that I objected to. Some of them had Rob Gronkowski trying to get USAA insurance, and being told that he didn’t qualify because he wasn’t a member of the armed services (or a elligible family member). As it happens, I am qualified for USAA, so maybe I watched those commercials a little more intently than most. At some point I realized that they weren’t actually selling anything about the product except its exclusivity (in the worst sense of the word). They didn’t promise lower prices, or better service. The only message in those commercials was “get USAA because other people can’t”. Another thing that those ads convey to me is the hint of societal neglect they throw in. “Nobody would insure these guys. So they decided to look after themselves. And so now we look after you and yours.” Maybe they’re trying to ride the last of the Vietnam vets’ feelings of betrayal by society. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/139 "2026-08-03T15:22:22Z")
> [@salinqmind1](#): > > I LOVE Dr. Rick I am not going to take life advice from a guy in a sweater vest! And dammit, I read books about submarines. Fuck you Dr Rick. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > ‘I was the Diarrhea Guy in the Pepto Bismol commercial!’ Better than “I was the fourth diarrhea guy.” My advice to any actors out there: make sure your character has a name, even if no one says it. You don’t want your IMDB listing to have a bunch of “second guy” or “first henchman” or “mailman” roles. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017/140 "2026-08-03T15:31:55Z")
Back in the 2000’s Taco Bell had a campaign that revolved around what they called the “Fourth Meal” - encouraging people to go to Taco Bell late in the evening, to order a substantial amount of unhealthy food after already eating three meals earlier in the day. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tone-deaf-out-of-touch-commercials/1032017.md?page=8)