What is the worst single line in an advertisement?

Oh, yes.

Disclaimer, I haven’t read most of the thread-

“When a woman sweats, it just isn’t sexy.”

Just so very stupid. I remember another antiperspirant commercial aimed at men with the tag line “When she sweats, it’s sexy. When you sweat, you stink.” That one I agree with.

The first time I ever saw a commercial for this, it was featured in an episode of My Name is Earl. I honestly thought it was a fake jewelry store because nobody could have a tag line that was so lame.

It wasn’t always such.

We watch 1988-1990’s Classic Concentration on Buzzr, and they feature prizes from Kay Jewelers, and they don’t use that line. Wonder when they came up with it. Maybe it’s time to change it again.

I have now read the whole thread. I stand by my choice. Anybody remember the Dudley Moore/Darryl Hannah film Crazy People? It was about an advertising executive who has a breakdown and begins telling the truth in his ads. ‘If your mother soaked her hands in dishwashing liquid, you’d put her in a home!’

That commercial inspired “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her,” a popular country song by Mary Chapin Carpenter:

From the Wikipedia article:

I remember it. And I remember some of the ads, which were hilarious!

“Volvo. They’re boxy. But they’re good.”

“Jaguar. For men who would like to get handjobs from women like this.” Featuring a beautiful girl leaning on a Jaguar car.

“Get laid in the Bahamas.”

Personally, I want one that gives me good investment advice.

Still one of my favorite movies, particularly now that I’ve worked in the advertising industry for 20 years.

In Doonesbury, Joanie Caucus abandoned her husband and kids over it…

And the original ad was for Geritol, unless my memory is failing me.

My contribution:

With a name like Smuckers, it HAS to be good.

“With a name like Dog Vomit it’s gotta be unbelievably delicious!”

(ETA: credit to SNL)

I offer the ultimate null set sentence:

“Do not take MiracleDrug if you are allergic to MiracleDrug.”

A pox on you for even writing that bit! :wink: It’s in my head! But I also hate it for the fact that it doesn’t quite disclose everything. On the other hand, maybe that’s the genius of it.

Diet Pepsi had an ad campaign that debuted during the Super Bowl in 2006 featuring the tag “Brown & Bubbly” and P. Diddy. The tagline didn’t last very long.

Head On! Apply directly to the forehead!

In case anyone’s interested, here’s the Geritol spoof from SNL circa 1976. NSFW and sorry for the quality.

How is this NSFW? It refers to something that’s perfectly legal and now protected by federal law.

Makes you feel like you’re not wearing nothing!

(Some panty hose ad line.)

(I haven’t read the whole thread so I may have duped it.)

I mentioned that way upthread; post number seven.

There was a car commercial in the 80s that showed cars driving around picturesque desert hills and valleys. It ended showing a huge number of cars and trucks gathered in a line all pumping out prodigious amounts of exhaust. And ended with the line “Chrysler… changing the landscape”. I always thought it was a none-too-subtle knock on environmentalism.

There was an old Saturday Night commercial “this camera is so easy to use… that even Stevie Wonder can use it” that showed him taking dramatically out of focus pictures of a tennis game. It was pretty funny, but might not pass muster now.

Although I sometimes can’t remember important things, I remember every word of the commercials they showed repeatedly during hockey games. One very strange one, for wood stain, showed an old man with a blunderbuss and a rocking chair living in his pristine house in the middle of an abandoned ghost town whose wooden buildings were falling to pieces. He shot the blunderbuss to show the “stain gets right into the wood” and it ended with him laughing manically. It wasn’t a bad commercial, though, and clearly was effective; it ran for years and years. I used to wonder what his backstory was.