# Putin Parody In Back Pain Commercial? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 13, 2022, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-parody-in-back-pain-commercial/973160 "2022-10-13T02:26:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-parody-in-back-pain-commercial/973160/1 "2022-10-13T02:26:50Z")
For a few years, a manufacturer of a popular back pain remedy has had commercials using a wooden marionette. They have a new commercial where the puppet is weightlifting, gets back pain, takes the medicine, removes needles from his back… the puppet has been described by others as kind of eerie, but they’ve been using it for the better part of a decade. But I swear the puppet, though crude, has the same facial features as Putin. Sure, it’s vague. But it’s definitely there. Same nose, mouth and eyes, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-parody-in-back-pain-commercial/973160/2 "2022-10-13T02:46:06Z")
I think it’s for robaxicet. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-parody-in-back-pain-commercial/973160/3 "2022-10-13T02:54:39Z")
This one? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/hyu20sWfEXQ/hqdefault.jpg "Robaxacet String Puppet Commercial 1994") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyu20sWfEXQ) ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-parody-in-back-pain-commercial/973160/4 "2022-10-13T03:11:10Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > it’s definitely there. Same nose, mouth and eyes Well, I don’t see any resemblance at all. I see such a lack of resemblance that I would think you were projecting, if I could sense any reason for you doing so. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-parody-in-back-pain-commercial/973160/5 "2022-10-13T03:34:24Z")
I doubt it’s meant to be him. Putin hadn’t risen (lowered?) to that level of prominence and infamy in 1994. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2022, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-parody-in-back-pain-commercial/973160/6 "2022-10-13T03:43:00Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Putin hadn’t risen (lowered?) to that level of prominence and infamy in 1994. Indeed; according to Putin’s Wikipedia entry, in 1994, he was an official in the administration of the city of Saint Petersburg, having resigned from the KGB a few years earlier. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-parody-in-back-pain-commercial/973160/7 "2022-10-13T03:46:49Z")
Dr. Paprika, are you Canadian? Methocarbamol is RX-only in the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-parody-in-back-pain-commercial/973160/8 "2022-10-13T04:18:55Z")
It’s a new commercial showing the puppet weightlifting. I couldn’t see it on YouTube. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2022, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-parody-in-back-pain-commercial/973160/9 "2022-10-13T04:51:36Z")
Is this the puppet that you’re seeing in the ad? (It’s an image from Robax’s website) [![](https://i-cf65.ch-static.com/content/dam/cf-consumer-healthcare/bp-backrelief/en_CA/pages/homepage/robax_brand_carousel_en_updated.jpg.rendition.900.620.jpg?auto=format) ](https://i-cf65.ch-static.com/content/dam/cf-consumer-healthcare/bp-backrelief/en_CA/pages/homepage/robax_brand_carousel_en_updated.jpg.rendition.900.620.jpg?auto=format) If so, I suppose that I can, very vaguely, see a resemblance to Putin’s face, but I would suspect that it’s just a coincidence. There’s nothing about what you describe in the ad itself which would seem to be trying to be a parody of Putin – especially because it sounds like the puppet is meant to be the beneficiary of the drug’s benefits (and, thus, a sympathetic character), rather than a villain or the source of the pain. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-parody-in-back-pain-commercial/973160/10 "2022-10-13T12:41:03Z")
Putin has unusually deepset eyes, is bald on top, and keeps the hair he has very close cut. Then, his ears are unusually close to his head. The ears and the baldness make his head rounder than most people’s heads. The puppet has no ears, hair, or eyes. I think those things are to make you project yourself-- or any face-- onto it, though, not to make it look like Putin specifically. I’m guessing it’s a coincidence. Albeit, I’d also guess there are lots of Putin dolls out there with pins stuck in them. No one looking for a way to take them out, though. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-parody-in-back-pain-commercial/973160/11 "2022-10-13T13:26:02Z")
Maybe the similarity is in the toplessness. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-parody-in-back-pain-commercial/973160/12 "2022-10-13T15:28:15Z")
That is the product and puppet. In the commercial, there is a moment where he lifts a barbell, then his face moves upward and grimaces. It is during this shot the features look most like Putin. The character is long-standing and I am pretty sure it is a coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-parody-in-back-pain-commercial/973160/13 "2022-10-13T16:23:15Z")
So Putin is being crippled and they _cure_ him? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-parody-in-back-pain-commercial/973160/14 "2022-10-13T18:56:44Z")
It is a reasonably common artist’s [drawing puppet](https://www.ebay.com/itm/265778269983?chn=ps&var=565562729202&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A1kX_CdU-_T0CRhJfDEVRR3A72&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=565562729202_265778269983&targetid=&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=1014885&poi=&campaignid=17597089569&mkgroupid=&rlsatarget=&abcId=9300988&merchantid=425245431&gclid=CjwKCAjw7p6aBhBiEiwA83fGugIeZ9eYRIlTpZBYgolbK0M9vH6LysLARIN6EVP9d2C8kzuDd0oULRoCdR4QAvD_BwE), seen maybe a dozen of them over the years. I might even still have one knocking around in the basement at my parent’s house. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-parody-in-back-pain-commercial/973160/15 "2022-10-13T20:31:47Z")
Have you taught any of them how to ride a horse? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2022, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-parody-in-back-pain-commercial/973160/16 "2022-10-14T03:17:47Z")
I didn’t watch it, but the still image reminds me of a **Tool** video. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2022, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-parody-in-back-pain-commercial/973160/17 "2022-10-14T04:21:09Z")
🤨 Did you mean to link to that? Your link shows a shapely nude female puppet. It doesn’t look anything like the one pictured in kenobi\_65’s post. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2022, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-parody-in-back-pain-commercial/973160/18 "2022-10-14T04:39:33Z")
Did you see there were a set of photos on that page with male and female figures? ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2022, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-parody-in-back-pain-commercial/973160/19 "2022-10-14T05:01:10Z")
Ugh, that thing is creepy. I don’t know if the commercial (at least the original video) would interest me in buying that stuff. I think nightmares might be the more likely outcome. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2022, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-parody-in-back-pain-commercial/973160/20 "2022-10-14T13:44:44Z")
You linked to an eBay auction of a naked female figure. If you meant to show something else, link to that other image. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-parody-in-back-pain-commercial/973160.md?page=2)