There have been occasional threads on annoying or ineffective ads in the past. Also the most annoying commercials or slogans.
This thread is meant to pick a single line from any advertisement you found to be a ridiculous non-sequitur, annoying or otherwise noteworthy in a negative way.
“One for you and one for me.”
I think GMC Trucks. Haven’t seen the ad in years and still disgusted by it.
“If it doesn’t get all over the place, it doesn’t belong in your face.” - Carl Jr slogan
I’ll go somewhere where the food can be consumed without ruining clothes or making the eater look like a barbarian with no table manners, thanks. Telling me your food is sloppy and messy kills my appetite.
Having Paris Hilton (one of the most useless people around, IMO) as your spokes-skank for a while didn’t help. Associating food with someone that sleazy and probably hauling a load of STDs and other contagion around is also very bad for the appetite.
There used to be a diet shake called Nestle Sweet Success. “The only diet plan that starts with Nestle and ends with Sweet Success”. Yeah, OK, no other product has the same name as yours. I’m impressed.
There also used to be ads for Seeley Mattresses advertising their “Sense and Respond” springs: “The harder you push down on them, the harder they push back”. Good to know that they obey Newton’s Third Law. Like absolutely everything else in the Universe.
“Only your hairdresser knows for sure”
I can’t even recall exactly what crap this was selling but I think it was some line of home hair coloring for women in about 1970.
Oh dear, on Sunday Night Football I just saw the successor for this abomination and it’s just as bad.
Husband gets wife a puppy for Christmas (pets as gifts annoy the hell out of me) who comes running through the snow. Then she whistles and a big ass truck comes crashing through the snow (her gift to him)
How about, “Apply directly to the forehead” or “Ancient Chinese secret”?
‘Switching to Geico could save you up to fifteen percent or more on your insurance!’
So, it could maybe save you fifteen percent? Or five percent? And maybe twenty, but maybe zero? The words suggest something, but: what, if anything, is actually getting communicated?
The ideal advert slogan suggests something very concrete and valuable, while actually saying exactly nothing.
“Could save you up to 15% or more” is an excellent peice of workmanship. It strongly implies everybody gets nearly 15% and many get even more. While actually saying that some people might get some negligible discount and others may experience a price increase.
In many ways this isn’t the worst advertising slogan, but instead one of the very best.
From sometime around 1980 (didn’t last long for obvious reasons):
Maxi-pad commercial; distinctive packaging. Pretty young woman looks into the camera and says Look for the box with the dots!
1-877-cars…
No, I can’t even bring myself to type the whole thing.
And, of course, it’s people who switched who saved some unspecified amount of money. Well, sure. The people who wouldn’t have saved money didn’t switch.
“You’re my present this year”
As a kid watching a lot of TV in the 50s and 60s, I still remember thinking the advertisers were stupid, with horrible dialog.
The line that made me think that at a young age was a commercial where a housewife has switched to the “better” coffee for their dinner party. The husband looks adoringly at her and says: “My wife… I think I’ll keep her!”
That’s why you should only pay for what you need.
One TV commercial line that has stayed with me for the past 20 years was an ad for something completely different but it was referencing high gas prices to contrast with their cheap product. A radio DJ voice goes “High gas prices, love them, hate them call in now!” and then the commercial has somebody call in to talk about how inexpensive the actual product is. But what kind of person would call into a radio show and say they love high gas prices?!?
More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette.
“Aawon Buhh”.
Maybe an oil company investor is listening?
The toilet tissue commercial, whichever brand it is, telling us to “enjoy the go”.
mmm