# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/101 "2020-02-19T20:35:46Z")
Sober people on cruises. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/102 "2020-02-19T20:42:39Z")
> [@digs](#): > > We weren’t saying we didn’t believe anyone could put a bow on a car, it was the fact that someone bought their spouse a car (or in one ad, his and her trucks) without a discussion beforehand. > > In the commercials, it’s always a surprise, and a delighted one at that. (“Yay, we can put off all our vacations and the kids’ orthodontia while we pay off this car!”) I used to think the same thing, but now I just think that if buying a new luxury car as a surprise gift would be such a major financial burden, then you’re not in that ad’s target demographic. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/103 "2020-02-19T20:52:20Z")
A complete stranger coming up to you, giving unsolicited and very smug advice about how she got her holiday so much cheaper than them so they should do the same, and your reaction is “hmm, she’s very informative” rather than “superior cow, who does she think she is?” On the salad theme: [Women Laughing Alone With Salad](https://www.thehairpin.com/2011/01/women-laughing-alone-with-salad/) I do see multi-ethnic groups of friends in their twenties and thirties pretty frequently in real life, though. Guess it depends where you live. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/104 "2020-02-19T20:54:50Z")
A complete stranger coming up to you, giving unsolicited and very smug advice about how she got her holiday so much cheaper than them so they should do the same, and your reaction is “hmm, she’s very informative” rather than “superior cow, who does she think she is?” On the salad theme: [Women Laughing Alone With Salad](https://www.thehairpin.com/2011/01/women-laughing-alone-with-salad/) I do see multi-ethnic groups of friends in their twenties and thirties pretty frequently in real life, though. Guess it depends where you live. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/105 "2020-02-19T21:41:43Z")
> [@digs](#): > > We weren’t saying we didn’t believe anyone could put a bow on a car, it was the fact that someone bought their spouse a car (or in one ad, his and her trucks) without a discussion beforehand. > > In the commercials, it’s always a surprise, and a delighted one at that. (“Yay, we can put off all our vacations and the kids’ orthodontia while we pay off this car!”) I know, I was just providing a data point. I agree on buying a car to surprise your spouse being a BIG and unplanned financial commitment - like that GMC couple where the guy buys not one, but TWO luxury GMCs (one an SUV and the other a truck) and puts them $125K-$150K in the hole. Do people really do that? ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/106 "2020-02-19T22:20:47Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > All indications are that it hasn’t been. Buick sales in the US have been in the toilet for years now. As I mentioned in another thread recently, supposedly the only reason GM keeps Buick alive is because they’re popular in China. > > There was a time when a Buick was considered a fairly prestigious car to own, but that hasn’t been the case for decades now. “Mid-level” or “near luxury” brands like Buick\* became pretty much irrelevant when car companies started offering high trim levels on their entry level brands, i.e. if you can get a high trim Chevy that’s just as nice as any Buick, there’s no reason to buy a Buick anymore. > > \*and already dead brands like Oldsmobile and Mercury. Yes to all that. The Buick people keep clinging to that dream of convincing commercial-watchers that Buicks are prestige-cars…but all they’re accomplishing is convincing us to laugh at their efforts. Back to: **Things you see in TV commercials that never happen in the real world:** [ul] [li]Call-center workers with large, well-lighted cubicles in a large, well-lighted office, smiling and relaxed, and all looking as though they’d just stepped away from their jobs as lawyers, engineers, or other professional careers.[/li][li]Insurance-business trainees who, one-on-one, walk through the spacious and venerable halls of Insurance-academe with their one-on-one instructor, looking at various museum-quality exhibits that explain various insurance scenarios. Then it’s off to the Skull-and-Bones meeting, then squash with Bitsy![/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/107 "2020-02-19T22:43:42Z")
Brothers and sisters getting [just a little too close](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMwFWDIFVCU) over a cup of coffee. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/108 "2020-02-19T22:58:51Z")
Labs at tech companies that are spotlessly clean\*, and futuristic looking with glass walls and modernist furniture. Or for that matter, labs with test tubes full of colored liquid heating over Bunsen burners, with scientists in clean white lab coats staring at them intently while holding a clipboard. German engineers, also in white lab coats and holding clipboards, checking cars for quality. (ETA: I’m sure they do quality control, but I doubt that’s what it actually looks like) \*Not talking about clean rooms, just general labs. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/109 "2020-02-19T23:43:42Z")
Every single person who wants to rob your house is a lone middle aged white man who wears either a domino mask and black knit cap, or a black balaclava, and black t-shirt and dark jeans. They also always employ bright flashlights and wave them around haphazardly like they’re an incompetent security guard. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/110 "2020-02-19T23:56:24Z")
^ Do they have a canvas bag with a big “$” on the front? Well, they should; that’s just poor planning. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2020, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/111 "2020-02-20T00:02:08Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Every single person who wants to rob your house is a lone middle aged white man who wears either a domino mask and black knit cap, or a black balaclava, and black t-shirt and dark jeans. And they shill for a security company on their off-day, still in the black balaclava outfit. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2020, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/112 "2020-02-20T00:12:35Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > A bag of groceries will always have carrot greens and/or celery sticking out the top. And an unwrapped baguette. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2020, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/113 "2020-02-20T00:21:30Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > A well-balanced breakfast. The entire family sitting down together for a healthy breakfast of juice, toast, milk, and delicious sugar bomb cereal before going to work and school. As if all those carbs won’t cause a sugar high and a terrible crash in 3 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2020, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/114 "2020-02-20T03:15:36Z")
> [@CelticKnot](#): > > The entire family sitting down together for a healthy breakfast of juice, toast, milk, and delicious sugar bomb cereal before going to work and school. As if all those carbs won’t cause a sugar high and a terrible crash in 3 hours. Or fighting for the last waffle. ---
**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 20, 2020, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/115 "2020-02-20T03:23:04Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > And an unwrapped baguette. I believe I said that. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2020, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/116 "2020-02-20T04:00:22Z")
A lady rubbing her bum covered in the ‘pretty’ incontinence panties. And same bum with nice slacks on that doesn’t show her ‘pretty’ panties underneath. If I wore them I’d put them on in the dark and put my slouchy sweatpants on fast. (:)) ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2020, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/117 "2020-02-20T04:18:27Z")
> [@CelticKnot](#): > > The entire family sitting down together for a healthy breakfast of juice, toast, milk, and delicious sugar bomb cereal before going to work and school. As if all those carbs won’t cause a sugar high and a terrible crash in 3 hours. I never understood why in breakfast commercials people would drink both milk and orange juice in the same meal, why are you doubling your dish load? ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2020, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/119 "2020-02-20T07:09:51Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Or even saying ‘who the hell are you? Get out of my bathroom!’ Not gonna lie, Mr. Clean or the Brawny guy shows up to help me clean, I’m not telling them to get out. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2020, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/120 "2020-02-20T07:18:08Z")
Frazzled ditzy housewife in curlers, in bathroom, lamenting hysterically about the ring around her bathtub. Deep male white-lab-coat calm voice, off-camera: “Madam! Have you tried Fantastik?” Ditzy housewife, in exaggerated caricature hysterical screeching panic: “But Fantastik is my kitchen cleaner! Whaaaaat about my baaaaaaaaaaath?” Deep male white-lab-coat calm voice, off-camera: “Madam! Just as fast as Fantastik will clean your kitchen, it will also clean your bath!” Madam cleans tub with light swish of sponge (as noted in an earlier post) and is all smiles. Yes, that was a real commercial some years ago. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2020, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112/121 "2020-02-20T08:16:00Z")
Neatly-dressed shoppers who are not fat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-see-in-tv-commercials-that-never-happen-in-the-real-world/848112.md?page=7)