# That screaming woman cell phone commercial. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 23, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098 "2011-07-23T18:40:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098/41 "2011-07-25T01:26:54Z")
[QUOTE=saoirse] Okay, why is he going to call a plumber? [/QUOTE] > [@curlcoat](#): > > Because his daughter and what I guess is her roommate are too stupid to do so themselves is what I assume given the tone of the rest of the commercial. I think what he means is why call a plumber for a washing machine malfunction. Is that a plumber’s purview? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098/42 "2011-07-25T02:01:40Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > Because his daughter and what I guess is her roommate are too stupid to do so themselves is what I assume given the tone of the rest of the commercial. > > I don’t see how showing another demographic as incompetent would make this commercial any less asshole-ish, nor how (apparently) the genetics on your wife’s side can be used to “prove” that a majority of women are completely idiotic. perhaps you should go back and watch that commercial again. The first part. The young ladies are faced with a problem that they are unfamiliar with and have no experience with. If they were stupid they would be running around saying woe is me, or maybe going out for a beer. Instead they were searching the net for information. When that did not work they called the one girl’s dad who suggested unplugging the unit. The young ladies are 18 or thereabouts, the father is 50 or so. He has roughly 2.5 times as much life experience as they do. My children often call me for advice about things mechanical because I have a metric buttload more experience with mechanical things than they do. This does not make them stupid. On the contrary I think it shows their brains, they recognize when at the end of their experience / knowledge. Inexperience does not equal stupid. ---
**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098/43 "2011-07-25T02:11:55Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > perhaps you should go back and watch that commercial again. The first part. The young ladies are faced with a problem that they are unfamiliar with and have no experience with. > If they were stupid they would be running around saying woe is me, or maybe going out for a beer. > Instead they were searching the net for information. When that did not work they called the one girl’s dad who suggested unplugging the unit. > The young ladies are 18 or thereabouts, the father is 50 or so. He has roughly 2.5 times as much life experience as they do. > My children often call me for advice about things mechanical because I have a metric buttload more experience with mechanical things than they do. > This does not make them stupid. On the contrary I think it shows their brains, they recognize when at the end of their experience / knowledge. Inexperience does not equal stupid. I don’t think it takes that much experience to know things stop when you unplug them. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098/44 "2011-07-25T02:18:38Z")
You do realize that when you are up to your ass in alligators it is sometimes hard to remember that your original goal was to drain the swamp. I get calls from people on an almost daily basis about their cars. They ask questions that to an experienced technician might appear dumb, but they are not experienced technicians. Inexperience does not equal dumb. Now if the machine overflowed again next week and they didn’t know to unplug it, that would be dumb. ---
**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098/45 "2011-07-25T02:48:24Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > You do realize that when you are up to your ass in alligators it is sometimes hard to remember that your original goal was to drain the swamp. > I get calls from people on an almost daily basis about their cars. They ask questions that to an experienced technician might appear dumb, but they are not experienced technicians. Inexperience does not equal dumb. > Now if the machine overflowed again next week and they didn’t know to unplug it, that would be dumb. I think my age was still somewhere in the low single digits when I figured out that normally things that are running, stop running when you unplug them. Anyone who manages to make it all the way to their late teens/early twenties without making that connection is what I would call “dumb”. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098/46 "2011-07-25T03:04:54Z")
> [@emcee2k](#): > > I think my age was still somewhere in the low single digits when I figured out that normally things that are running, stop running when you unplug them. Anyone who manages to make it all the way to their late teens/early twenties without making that connection is what I would call “dumb”. As someone who helps people out with computers, do you know how many times I’ve had to tell people that, when their computer freezes up, and they can’t get the power button to work, they can just unplug it? People forget crap when they are in a crisis. Heck, I don’t know how many times I’ve been complaining about a problem to somebody who doesn’t know anything, and they suggest something so simple I’d never thought of it. Heck, I probably wouldn’t have thought of unplugging the washer. (Of course, that’s because it’s a dumb idea. The plugs are usually behind the unit and hard to get to, requiring you to get on top the washer, where you can easily slip with all the soap, and wind up unplugging a higher voltage device with your hands being wet. The correct response is to shut off the circuit breaker.) ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098/47 "2011-07-25T03:05:32Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Precisely. It doesn’t pay to get upset when it is the woman is stereotyped as opposed to when the man is stereotyped. Both sexes are negatively stereotyped in commercials for comedic effect (which often fails) with alarming regularity. My hate for that ad has little to do with stereotypes per se, it has to do with the demonstration of extreme stupidity as normal and even, cute. Plus the fact it is run on pretty much every station, all day, multiple times per day. It would make me crazy if it showed two 20-something boys. > [@Mince](#): > > I think what he means is why call a plumber for a washing machine malfunction. > > Is that a plumber’s purview? 😕 Oh, I hadn’t thought about that! No, you’d call someone who repairs appliances, tho in the case of the ad it looks like they just put too much soap/clothes in the washer. I guess the dad isn’t all that smart either. > [@Rick](#): > > perhaps you should go back and watch that commercial again. The first part. The young ladies are faced with a problem that they are unfamiliar with and have no experience with. > If they were stupid they would be running around saying woe is me, or maybe going out for a beer. If they were unconcerned with the situation they’d go out for a beer, if they were completely helpless they would stand around saying woe is me. But since they haven’t the brains God gave gophers, the one looks online and starts asking the other one about things that have close to zero to do about their situation. They are also completely overreacting. > [@](#): > > The young ladies are 18 or thereabouts, the father is 50 or so. He has roughly 2.5 times as much life experience as they do. I’d say they are older than that, since it appears that at the least they are renting the house the washer is in. How much more life experience he has is immaterial to the stupidity of the ad (except for the plumber part - see above). > [@](#): > > My children often call me for advice about things mechanical because I have a metric buttload more experience with mechanical things than they do. > This does not make them stupid. On the contrary I think it shows their brains, they recognize when at the end of their experience / knowledge. Inexperience does not equal stupid. I certainly hope they don’t “run in circles, scream and shout” before they do so, and that their first thought after the immediate crisis is over is of a cute member of the opposite sex. ---
**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098/48 "2011-07-25T03:25:36Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > As someone who helps people out with computers, do you know how many times I’ve had to tell people that, when their computer freezes up, and they can’t get the power button to work, they can just unplug it? > > People forget crap when they are in a crisis. > > Heck, I don’t know how many times I’ve been complaining about a problem to somebody who doesn’t know anything, and they suggest something so simple I’d never thought of it. Heck, I probably wouldn’t have thought of unplugging the washer. > > (Of course, that’s because it’s a dumb idea. The plugs are usually behind the unit and hard to get to, requiring you to get on top the washer, where you can easily slip with all the soap, and wind up unplugging a higher voltage device with your hands being wet. The correct response is to shut off the circuit breaker.) I can see maybe just not thinking of something that should be obvious because you’re panicking. But this obviously has nothing to do with “life experience”. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098/49 "2011-07-25T03:33:03Z")
> [@emcee2k](#): > > I can see maybe just not thinking of something that should be obvious because you’re panicking. But this obviously has nothing to do with “life experience”. Yes it does. If the first time the washer overflows and you have never had a washer overflow, you might not know to unplug it / turn off the breaker. If it is the third time it has happened your life experience has prepared you (or damn well should have) to cut the power. ---
**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098/50 "2011-07-25T03:41:58Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > Yes it does. If the first time the washer overflows and you have never had a washer overflow, you might not know to unplug it / turn off the breaker. If it is the third time it has happened your life experience has prepared you (or damn well should have) to cut the power. I think you’re missing my point. I just typed a post here to better clarify my point, but reading it back, I realized I was just restating what I said in post number 45. And I honestly can think of a way to make it clearer than that. So, nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098/51 "2011-07-25T03:48:21Z")
You obviously have not read what both I and **BigT** posted. Silly me trying to bring logic into a pit thread. Well I guess we have settled once and for all the if there is such a think a a dumb question. According to you they are all dumb, and just because those girls were not born with the knowledge to cut the power to the washer they are fucking idiots. :rolleyes: :dubious: I can’t wait for you to have a question in GQ. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098/52 "2011-07-25T04:03:21Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > I agree the scream is annoying, but damn if this commercial isn’t funny as shit. The actors are brilliant - from the gormless spider phone guy, to the overcompensating shoe-hitting daddy figure, to the girl. They say so much in their facial expressions. And the final smack with the shoe seals the deal for me. Umm me too. And I don’t know what’s so “sexist” about people hating spiders. I think I find this funny because I too am afraid of the darned things. But it’s not just a “girl” thing [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/V1_cKGWyDAY/hqdefault.jpg "Martin Lawrence: There's a Spider on Your Head?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1_cKGWyDAY) ---
**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098/53 "2011-07-25T04:07:35Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > You obviously have not read what both I and **BigT** posted. > Silly me trying to bring logic into a pit thread. > Well I guess we have settled once and for all the if there is such a think a a dumb question. > According to you they are all dumb, and just because those girls were not born with the knowledge to cut the power to the washer they are fucking idiots. > :rolleyes: > :dubious: > I can’t wait for you to have a question in GQ. 😃 Alright, well apparently I can’t let this go. I’ve never had a washer overflow. I haven’t had that life experience. Yet, if that situation occurred, I would know to unplug it because I know that washers, like most appliances only run while they’re plugged into an outlet. This is common knowledge that any person of normal intelligence would pick up and retain by their early twenties. If someone hasn’t picked that up by that age, it’s a pretty good sign that they might be dumb. I don’t need to have experience in every possible situation to know what to do if it occurs. The fact that I can take my existing knowledge and experience and apply it to a new situation is one of the things that shows that I’m not dumb. What would they do if tomorrow their TV starts smoking? I bet they’ve never had that life experience. Unplugging it wouldn’t make any sense, though, seeing as how it’s not an overflowing washer. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098/54 "2011-07-25T04:08:45Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > Because his daughter and what I guess is her roommate are too stupid to do so themselves is what I assume given the tone of the rest of the commercial. See, I didn’t get that from the commercial at all. The first couple of lines are talking about getting specific parts to fix it. What I get out of it is more two people trying to be TOO technological about it, (along with being young and inexperienced), and dad using plain old common sense. The very young often ARE a bit short on common sense. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098/55 "2011-07-25T05:04:06Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > [This](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI5RvorlUO0&playnext=1&list=PL896B68FA9885956B) one. > > :mad: hate hate hate :mad: Its ok because the girls are cute 😉 ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098/56 "2011-07-25T06:06:14Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > See, I didn’t get that from the commercial at all. The first couple of lines are talking about getting specific parts to fix it. What I get out of it is more two people trying to be TOO technological about it, (along with being young and inexperienced), and dad using plain old common sense. > > The very young often ARE a bit short on common sense. Girls in their early 20’s are very young? Sigh, I feel so old… Anyway, what I get from the first couple of lines is the girl at the computer just reading stuff off the screen, stuff she hasn’t a clue about which the other girl shows. Have you seen the long version? After computer girl says something, other girl says “I don’t even know what that is”, which I think is true of both. Since it’s a ad for Time Warner high speed wireless, I’d say they wouldn’t want to discourage being too technological…😉 Oh, and I don’t think anyone thought the spider ad was sexist - all I remember is people complaining about the screaming. > [@YogSosoth](#): > > Its ok because the girls are cute 😉 Snerk - men! I bet you don’t even know any of the dialog. ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098/57 "2011-07-25T12:23:52Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > perhaps you should go back and watch that commercial again. The first part. The young ladies are faced with a problem that they are unfamiliar with and have no experience with. > If they were stupid they would be running around saying woe is me, or maybe going out for a beer. > Instead they were searching the net for information. When that did not work they called the one girl’s dad who suggested unplugging the unit. > The young ladies are 18 or thereabouts, the father is 50 or so. He has roughly 2.5 times as much life experience as they do. > My children often call me for advice about things mechanical because I have a metric buttload more experience with mechanical things than they do. > This does not make them stupid. On the contrary I think it shows their brains, they recognize when at the end of their experience / knowledge. Inexperience does not equal stupid. You’ve colored stereotyping in a beautiful shade of grey. Is the minimum factor for understanding that if you cut power to something it stops working 2.5? ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098/58 "2011-07-25T12:44:03Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > She calls her father “Dave”? How improper! Or was she sarcastically “thanking” the boyfriend, Dave? > > Either way, her behaviour is grossly incorrect. Harrumph. I think it is supposed to be a business lunch, so they are coworkers not Woman, Boyfriend and Dad. ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098/59 "2011-07-25T13:20:35Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] She calls her father “Dave”? How improper! Or was she sarcastically “thanking” the boyfriend, Dave? Either way, her behaviour is grossly incorrect. Harrumph. [/QUOTE] > [@Death\_of\_Rats](#): > > I think it is supposed to be a business lunch, so they are coworkers not Woman, Boyfriend and Dad. **Bryan Ekers** responded to [**Chef Troy’s**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14058335&postcount=26) post where \*\*Chef Troy \*\* presumed (probably incorrectly) that the younger guy was her boyfriend and the older guy was her dad. **Bryan Ekers** properly pointed out that since she called the older guy “Dave,” it probably wasn’t her dad. Or, if the “Dave” was directed toward the younger guy, she had no reason to thank him other than a sarcastic “Thanks Dave” for causing the situation. ---
**Author:** ![contradancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@contradancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/contradancer)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098/60 "2011-07-25T13:41:11Z")
This commercial gives me an instant pain between the eyes and makes me very irritable. I reach for the mute button as soon as I see it coming; or I just freeze it until I can mute it. Why in god’s name they think this is effective advertising I can’t imagine. I don’t remember the product without someone telling me so what good is it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-screaming-woman-cell-phone-commercial/590098.md?page=4)