# Shattered boat, whole bottle old tv commercial **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 9, 2017, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattered-boat-whole-bottle-old-tv-commercial/781754 "2017-03-09T04:02:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zoogirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b9bd4f/32.png) [@zoogirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoogirl)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattered-boat-whole-bottle-old-tv-commercial/781754/1 "2017-03-09T04:02:26Z")
Many years ago I saw a TV ad in which a boat was being christened. The bottle stayed whole and the boat shattered. I think the tag line was “Expect the Unexpected” and I think it may have been a beer ad. Does this ring a bell for anyone? I can’t find it at all! ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattered-boat-whole-bottle-old-tv-commercial/781754/2 "2017-03-09T14:45:35Z")
“Expect the unexpected” was, I believe, a tag line for Colt 45 Malt liquor. ---
**Author:** ![zoogirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b9bd4f/32.png) [@zoogirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoogirl)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2017, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattered-boat-whole-bottle-old-tv-commercial/781754/3 "2017-03-10T03:36:00Z")
Ah, thank you! A starting place, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2017, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattered-boat-whole-bottle-old-tv-commercial/781754/4 "2017-03-10T13:19:35Z")
> [@zoogirl](#): > > Many years ago I saw a TV ad in which a boat was being christened. The bottle stayed whole and the boat shattered. I think the tag line was “Expect the Unexpected” and I think it may have been a beer ad. Does this ring a bell for anyone? I can’t find it at all! Not quite the same, but in [this ad](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiztCIDlcYM) for the [Obsidian video game](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsidian_(video_game)) back in the 1990s, the dropped egg remains intact while the guy shatters. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2017, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattered-boat-whole-bottle-old-tv-commercial/781754/5 "2017-03-10T15:30:43Z")
> [@MonkeyMensch](#): > > “Expect the unexpected” was, I believe, a tag line for Colt 45 Malt liquor. I thought their line was [“it works every time”](https://youtu.be/uHtT0x6_MDM). 😃 ---
**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:** [March 10, 2017, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattered-boat-whole-bottle-old-tv-commercial/781754/6 "2017-03-10T20:55:49Z")
> [@MonkeyMensch](#): > > “Expect the unexpected” was, I believe, a tag line for Colt 45 Malt liquor. “Expect the unexpected” is/was a tagline for Disaronno liqueur. I don’t remember an ad like that, though. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Terrific](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tom_terrific/32/342_2.png) [@Tom\_Terrific](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Terrific)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2017, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattered-boat-whole-bottle-old-tv-commercial/781754/7 "2017-03-10T21:57:46Z")
I remember that commercial. I’m not sure it was a beer commercial though. It seems to me to have been something like a Timex, Keeps on ticking, or maybe insurance. Bugs me now, I just don’t remember. ---
**Author:** ![zoogirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b9bd4f/32.png) [@zoogirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoogirl)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattered-boat-whole-bottle-old-tv-commercial/781754/8 "2017-03-11T20:09:45Z")
I remember the Timex ad. It was a watch strapped to the bottle. I don’t think anything happened to the boat, though. As I recall, the whole ship just disintegrated. It must have been early CGI. I think it was Nineties, maybe Eighties but probably not later. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2017, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattered-boat-whole-bottle-old-tv-commercial/781754/9 "2017-03-12T00:06:33Z")
Moved to CS ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2017, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattered-boat-whole-bottle-old-tv-commercial/781754/10 "2017-03-12T02:57:34Z")
It sounds familiar to me, but are you certain it was a commercial? I’m thinking it was a Mad Magazine cartoon (Sergio Aragonés or Don Martin perhaps). mmm ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2017, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattered-boat-whole-bottle-old-tv-commercial/781754/11 "2017-03-12T21:03:13Z")
Probably not what you’re thinking of, but in _Caddyshack_, when Judge Smales’ wife christens his new boat, she knocks the prow off while the bottle remains intact. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shattered-boat-whole-bottle-old-tv-commercial/781754/12 "2017-03-15T23:05:50Z")
Colt 45 had a series of commercials which featured the tagline “A completely unique experience”. While [this example](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdctecDLgm4) doesn’t feature the scene that the OP remembers, it’s certainly possible that the boat christening made its way into the campaign.