“Stain my undershorts” is my typical response, ever since I thought of that response at the beginning of a plane trip and cracked myself up (to my companion’s disgust) by remembering the quip every fifteen seconds until we landed.
I remember one of the producers of the 70s sitcom Happy Days (Gary Marshall?) talking about attempts at starting artificial fads based on the shows characters. Fonzie had become a cultural icon, and people were going around spouting “Sit on it!” and “AAAAAY!” (with thumbs upturned).
So they tried to start another fad – tying a bandana around one thigh. When Scott Baio came on the show as Chachi, Chach often wore a bandana around his leg. Needless to say, this never caught on as cool.
“Head on! Apply directly to the forehead!” comes from a commercial for a product apparently called “Head On!” which is a frequent advertiser on “Wheel of Fortune” and Jeopardy!" The script for the commercial includes “Head on! Apply directly to the forehead!” and little else, and footage of a woman applying something directly to her forehead. I have no idea what it does, but at least on the “Jeopardy!” end credits, when the sponsors are being thanked, it comes in extra-strength. Whatever it is, one applies it head-on, directly to the forehead.
Ah – thought of another failed artificial fad from TV. This one’s much more recent.
When the CBS sitcom “How I met Your Mother” debuted last fall, the character Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) often suggested that a lovelorn buddy of his should “Suit Up!” to impress the ladies … “Suit Up!” meaning “to wear a suit and tie to casual places that absolutely don’t require dressing up”.
Maybe six months later, I started seeing signs in the men’s sections of Target stores urging men to “Suit Up!” (yep, Target carries suit separates now).
The problem is it will never be cool to be so familiar to that stuff that call it by a pet name. A good bottle of scotch, on the other hand, has a pet name for you. It’s the one that it uses to get your attention as you walk by it in the liquor store. I often wonder if vodka connoisseurs had the same experience in the old Soviet Union.
Apple is currently pitching a painfully obvious “we’re hip, they’re square” message to prospective computer buyers. I find it exasperating and annoying–and I’m a Macintosh fan …
It’s a homeopathic headache remedy. It doesn’t say what it does, because it can’t, because of FDA and DSHEA law. If they claim it cures a diagnosable medical condition (cures a headache), they’d have to have FDA approval and studies to back that up - it’s called making a “health claim”. Some herbal supplements get around this by saying their products “support <body system> health” (“Supports Endocrine Health!” “Supports Female Well-Being”, etc.) but Head-On’s decided to be even more vague. If you don’t make a claim, you don’t need to prove it.
How about attempts to manufacture fads from TV shows? The aborted attempt that came to mind when reading the OP was Chachi’s bandana worn just above the knee on Happy Days. I read the producer did this just to see if kids would copy it.
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