# Old Navy commercials **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 24, 2000, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-navy-commercials/11138 "2000-04-24T02:34:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-navy-commercials/11138/1 "2000-04-24T02:34:00Z")
What the heck is it about those Old Navy commercials? They’re so bad, yet when one comes on, you’re glued to the screen! You can’t pull yourself away! And don’t say that ALL television is like that, 'cuz there’s some real crap on that makes it really easy to turn off the tube. Any theories out there? (Moderators… I couldn’t decide if this belonged in the GD or GQ… I chose here since I didn’t think it’d cause much discussion). * * * -SPOOFE ---
**Author:** ![your\_zer0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e47774/32.png) [@your\_zer0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/your_zer0)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-navy-commercials/11138/2 "2000-04-24T02:41:00Z")
I think the sheer terribileness of the commercials pulls our every iota of attention to the screen when Old Navy commercials come on. You assume that it is some sort of joke at first, and wait for the punchline. Sadly, the joke’s on you, you’re the poor idiot who watched the stupid thing. ---
**Author:** ![sorrel554](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@sorrel554](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sorrel554)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-navy-commercials/11138/3 "2000-04-24T02:57:00Z")
What **your zer0** said. I think the phenomenon is akin to that of Mentos commercials. * * * Those who do not learn from history are condemned to fail the class. --A **WallyM7** creation ---
**Author:** ![Breckinshire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71c47a/32.png) [@Breckinshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Breckinshire)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-navy-commercials/11138/4 "2000-04-24T03:02:00Z")
I enjoy a rousing Mentos commercial. Old Navy, however, is postively criminal. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-navy-commercials/11138/5 "2000-04-24T04:05:00Z")
On the other hand, the Asian actress who’s appearing in the current series of Old Navy ads is very attractive. Anyone know who she is? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-navy-commercials/11138/6 "2000-04-24T04:30:00Z")
That would be Lisa Ling of “The View”. She’s not an actress, she’s a “television personality.” ---
**Author:** ![SingleDad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9e8a1a/32.png) [@SingleDad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SingleDad)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-navy-commercials/11138/7 "2000-04-24T06:12:00Z")
The ad exec who came up with the Old Navy commercials should be getting a _big_ bonus. He hit the jackpot. You remember it, you’re talking about it, _and_ you remember the name of the company. Pure creative genius. * * * Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-navy-commercials/11138/8 "2000-04-24T07:01:00Z")
And who is the woman wearing the ship portholes on her face in the Old Navy commercials? Why do we care what she thinks about fashion, and if she’s important enough that we should care what she thinks about fashion, do we believe she’s going to shop a division of the Gap? And if her eyesight is that bad, how can we possibly trust her taste in clothes? ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-navy-commercials/11138/9 "2000-04-24T13:25:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by SingleDad: > **The ad exec who came up with the Old Navy commercials should be getting a _big_ bonus. He hit the jackpot. You remember it, you’re talking about it, _and_ you remember the name of the company. Pure creative genius.** Get on with your bad self, hitting the nail on the head perfectly. People spend CAREERS trying to get the kind of attention these spots are garnering. Annoyance or genious? You decide ! NEXT, on Geraldo !!! ``` Cartooniverse. ``` " The preceeding was neither an endorsement nor an indictment of Geraldo Rivera. " ---
**Author:** ![mrblue92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@mrblue92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrblue92)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-navy-commercials/11138/10 "2000-04-24T16:13:00Z")
I refer to them as “Old Lady” rather than “Old Navy”. They’re just as bad as those C/Net commercials with the doofuses [doofi?] in the white t-shirts. You may call these guys geniuses for coming up with ads that people remember, but crap is still crap. Bubble gum that sticks to the bottom of my shoe does not entice me to buy that particular brand, and if really stinks I’ll probably make sure I avoid it. Reminds me a an old movie (I think with Cary Grant and/or Jack Lemmon) where these advertising guys were marketing a product that didn’t exist. Nobody knew what the heck it was, just that they NEEDED it. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-navy-commercials/11138/11 "2000-04-24T16:20:00Z")
The ship-porthole lady is Carrie Donovan formerly a big Fashion Editor in New York (can’t recall which magazine, offhand). Sort of a post-modern Diana Vreeland, or a less-scary Polly Mellon (Polly is the scariest, most humor-free and least self-aware fashionista currently haunting New York). I keep hoping Magic the dog will go rabid and tear out Carrie’s throat during one of the commercials. On an up note, remember last year when Old Navy was ordering us to rush out like maniacs and buy those hideous zip-up “tech vests?” I am pleased to say that despite the advertising barrage, I never saw one single human being wearing one of those atrocities. Almost gives you a little faith in the human race after all. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-navy-commercials/11138/12 "2000-04-24T18:05:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Reminds me a an old movie (I think with Cary Grant and/or Jack Lemmon) where these advertising guys were marketing a product that didn’t exist. Nobody knew what the heck it was, just that they NEEDED it. I think you may be thinking of _Lover Come Back_, one of the Rock Hudson/Doris Day comedies. The non-existent product is sort of a McGuffin. The plot from IMDB: > [@](#): > > Jerry Webster and Carol Templeton are both in the advertising business, but for different agencies. Annoyed by Jerry’s methods of using alcohol and women to ensure contracts for his agency, Carol tries to get him thrown out of his profession. To avoid this Jerry bribes the girl who’d testify against him, by starring her in a TV commercial for a product named VIP that he’s just made up. By accident these commercials are broadcasted and to keep his job, Jerry has to come up with VIP for which he enlists the help of Doctor Linus Tyler. Carol goes to see the Doctor to try and get the VIP account, but because she and Jerry have never met, she mistakes Jerry for the Doctor. Jerry then takes advantage of this situation to win her. But back to Carrie Donovan…why would we take fashion advice from someone who wears glasses that hideous? Jesus, Carrie, where’s your snorkel and swim fins? ---
**Author:** ![Turpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Turpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turpentine)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2000, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-navy-commercials/11138/13 "2000-04-25T14:34:00Z")
Old Navy commercials are very, very, BAD! But I think we are drawn to them because of the colors. Seriously. The actors are attractive- but I think it catches our eye because the multicloured Tech Vests or parkas or whatever boring clothes they are trying to sell off are aesthetically pleasing on a basic level, especially a bunch of different vest-wearers all together. Then you have a bright white background or nice green grass against khaki pants- it pretty. But it still thirty seconds that I have to resist opening up my wrists with a butterknife. ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2000, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-navy-commercials/11138/14 "2000-04-25T15:43:00Z")
> [@](#): > > The ship-porthole lady is Carrie Donovan formerly a big Fashion Editor in New York (can’t recall which magazine, offhand). OK, this is a guess, albeit an educated one: I believe she was a former editor for _Vogue_, then _Harper’s Bazaar_ and then _New York Times_ magazine. * * * “One more anal-probing, gyro, pyro, levitating, eco-plasm, alien anti-matter story and I’m gonna take out my gun and shoot somebody.” – Fox Mulder ---
**Author:** ![emarkp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@emarkp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emarkp)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2000, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-navy-commercials/11138/15 "2000-04-25T18:55:00Z")
SingleDad, I’m not quite sure that’s a correct assessment (that just being remembered is good). I remember the ads, and as a result avoid Old Navy stores like the plague that the commercials are. However, I have no idea if I’m representative of the population. ---
**Author:** ![mrblue92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@mrblue92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrblue92)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2000, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-navy-commercials/11138/16 "2000-04-25T21:25:00Z")
Yep, Otto, you nailed it. I was looking on IMDB, too, but went right by the right movie. ---
**Author:** ![Louie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@Louie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Louie)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2000, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-navy-commercials/11138/17 "2000-04-26T06:55:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Eve: > **On an up note, remember last year when Old Navy was ordering us to rush out like maniacs and buy those hideous zip-up “tech vests?” I am pleased to say that despite the advertising barrage, I never saw one single human being wearing one of those atrocities. Almost gives you a little faith in the human race after all.** You lucky bum. Over here in Central CA, most people here are trend sheep to whatever Old Navy puts out in their stores and on TV. And yes, most of them had those tech vests _shudder_ * * * _Louie: young guy, possibly a bit green, but smart as paint._ - Greg Charles ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2000, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-navy-commercials/11138/18 "2000-04-26T09:20:00Z")
The real problem isn’t the ads, its Old Navy itself. I mean they make these stupid clothes that are no different from the ones our granddads wore when they were lifting weights or hitting the heavy bag, and they charge designer prices for them! God people are sheep-like * * * Perked Ears indicate curiosity - Know Your Cat ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2000, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-navy-commercials/11138/19 "2000-04-26T23:53:00Z")
[semi-hijack] What do y’all think of the dancing commercials for Old Navy’s parent company, The Gap? [/semi hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-navy-commercials/11138/20 "2000-05-01T13:55:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > The real problem isn’t the ads, its Old Navy itself. I mean they make these stupid clothes that are no different from the ones our granddads wore when they were lifting weights or hitting the heavy bag, and they charge designer prices for them! God people are sheep-like > \*\* Well, now, I hate to be perceived as an Old Navy apologist, but this particular criticism isn’t really fair. Old Navy’s clothes are _cheap_! I’ve bought khakis there for just $24, which is comparable to discount chains like Target or K-Mart. Whether they’re high-quality or will last a long time is a separate question, but undeniably Old Navy doesn’t charge “designer prices” like its sister stores The Gap and Banana Republic do. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-navy-commercials/11138.md?page=2)