# Things you see in TV commercials that never happen in the real world **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** commercials-ads\ **Created:** [February 18, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112 "2020-02-18T15:22:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**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:** [February 25, 2020, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/202 "2020-02-25T16:28:11Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > What about a gecko? I think that’s one of the best ad campaigns ever. Am I being whooshed? A gecko _is_ a lizard. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/203 "2020-02-25T16:38:46Z")
Anything shown on screen after the words: “Has this ever happened to you?” ---
**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:** [February 25, 2020, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/204 "2020-02-25T20:26:13Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Tastes as good coming up as it does going down. Fruit salad and ginger ale. Tastes substantially the same either direction. Probably the reason that it is one of the first post anaesthetic food options available. Saltines and chicken noodle soup also taste substantially the same either direction. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/205 "2020-02-25T20:48:56Z")
People who knock on a street door, and there is always someone in, and they answer instantly. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/206 "2020-02-25T21:44:21Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Kid makes a huge mess and parents just laugh as they clean it up. This is my top pick. Second is people who ignore an exciting event they’re watching on TV, leaving early to go to a “sale” at the auto dealership. ---
**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:** [February 25, 2020, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/207 "2020-02-25T22:01:24Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > People who knock on a street door, and there is always someone in, and they answer instantly. “Hello, madam. I’m a burglar.” “I don’t believe you. I think you’re an encyclopedia salesman.” ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/208 "2020-02-25T22:07:09Z")
“You want me to buy a subscription to the _Saturday Evening Post_” ---
**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:** [February 25, 2020, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/209 "2020-02-25T22:08:49Z")
“No, ma’am. I just want to come in, ransack the flat, steal a few things…” ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/210 "2020-02-25T23:58:32Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Women washing soap off their faces like to cup a bunch of water in their hands, then pop up from the bathroom sink and throw the water directly into their smiling faces. There’s an ad from 2018 or 2019 featuring Madelaine Petsch (Riverdale) making fun of this. Only in ads do I ever see a doctor who tells their patient what medicine they’re going to prescribe, _and then_ complete a physical exam. ---
**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:** [February 26, 2020, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/211 "2020-02-26T00:07:29Z")
A guru entering your house through the cat flap and giving you a Canada Dry. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/212 "2020-02-26T02:39:42Z")
Dating myself with this late-90s complaint: Commercials of people driving SUVs off suburban pavement. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/213 "2020-02-26T14:56:43Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > Commercials of people driving SUVs off suburban pavement. And tearing up the ground. And, even if they’re shown on rock, driving noisy disrupting damaging vehicles into places they’ve got no business in. Unfortunately this is not a thing that doesn’t happen in the real world. If it didn’t, I wouldn’t get so ticked off about it. Yes, such vehicles are essential tools in some people’s necessary work. But you just want to tear up the ground because you think it’s fun? Go find a track dedicated to the purpose. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/214 "2020-02-26T15:00:58Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Yes. Person opens medicine cabinet to get toothbrush or whatever, finds himself face to face with another guy already doing the same thing. One guy tells the other about Brand X. Mona! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/215 "2020-02-26T15:27:35Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > “No, ma’am. I just want to come in, ransack the flat, steal a few things…” Mind you, have you considered the benefits of a set of encyclopedias? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/216 "2020-02-26T18:02:26Z")
Do radio stations ever call people and offer them money for answering a idquestion? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/217 "2020-02-26T18:47:07Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Do radio stations ever call people and offer them money for answering a idquestion? Maybe in the 1930’s, but still today you can call them and get $ for answering a question. I believe some stations still have a thing where you send in your #, and if they call it on (e.g.) Tuesday @ 10AM you get a prize. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2020, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/218 "2020-02-27T03:59:18Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Maybe in the 1930’s, but still today you can call them and get $ for answering a question. > > I believe some stations still have a thing where you send in your #, and if they call it on (e.g.) Tuesday @ 10AM you get a prize. At the radio station where I worked in the '90s, we did a weeknight quiz show where you could phone in and win a T-shirt. I think the pervasiveness of the Internet would make the whole thing pointless today. How would you know the guy on the other end of the line wasn’t just looking up the answer as soon as you posed the question? The station gave out other prizes as well, but SFAIK never cash (though we did “offer” it on Halloween and April Fool’s Day 😛 ). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/219 "2020-02-27T06:06:21Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > At the radio station where I worked in the '90s, we did a weeknight quiz show where you could phone in and win a T-shirt. I think the pervasiveness of the Internet would make the whole thing pointless today. How would you know the guy on the other end of the line wasn’t just looking up the answer as soon as you posed the question? > … Give them a short time to answer. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/220 "2020-02-27T07:09:55Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Give them a short time to answer. Yes; a local radio station does this. They only take 3 callers and they each only have 5 or 10 seconds to answer How about huge ginormous bathrooms? Those are everywhere on ads. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2020, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/221 "2020-02-27T08:05:05Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Give them a short time to answer. Doesn’t work if (a) you ask the question before people start calling in, or (b) you ask the first person who calls in on-air and he/she can’t answer it; then every subsequent listener/caller has plenty of time to Google the answer. You have to at least announce the category before people can start calling in so they have some idea if they’ll know the answer. Taking the calls during commercials or records eliminates problem (b), but then the quiz can drag on off-air for some time. It’s more interesting for the audience if they can hear other listeners responding. In radio, anything that lasts for more than three minutes is evil! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112.md?page=12)