# When Marketing Goes Wrong! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2004, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-marketing-goes-wrong/271778 "2004-10-29T02:17:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DadWagonDriver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@DadWagonDriver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DadWagonDriver)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-marketing-goes-wrong/271778/41 "2004-10-31T04:26:38Z")
Dairy Queen’s commercials with the two guys making music with the blizzards. I wouldn’t go to DQ for that entire campaign. ---
**Author:** ![citrus\_x\_paradisi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6f9a4e/32.png) [@citrus\_x\_paradisi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/citrus_x_paradisi)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-marketing-goes-wrong/271778/42 "2004-10-31T04:53:40Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > I already refuse to ever think about doing business with AOL, but that new commerical of their’s which basically has this woman wanting to abdicate all her responsibility of raising her kids and supervising their online activity is seriously pissing me off every time I see it. YES! She rattles off a list of demands- “a report card on my kids’ internet use, safeguards on the content they recieve, homework help,” et cetera ad nauseam. I expected a response like “Of course, any logical person knows you can’t do all that, but with INSERT PRODUCT, you _can_ help determine what your children do on the ‘web.’” No such luck. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-marketing-goes-wrong/271778/43 "2004-10-31T21:10:07Z")
> [@sleeepy2](#): > > Back on topic, here in Philadelphia years back, when the Cosby Show was coming to syndication, there was a big ad blitz (bus ads, radio, billboards) saying “Philadelphia is Bill-adelphia!” > This got a strongly negative reception, and was soon dropped. I may be thick, but I don’t get why this campaign got such a negative reaction. t seems pretty harmless to me. ---
**Author:** ![Servo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@Servo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Servo)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-marketing-goes-wrong/271778/44 "2004-11-01T15:02:49Z")
> [@voguevixen](#): > > The last six months or so of VW commercials have been driving me up the wall. The jist of it is people are retarded and don’t know how to drive a car. Dealer: “See how the road is curving up ahead? Notice what happens when you move this giant round handle in front of you!” Customer: “WHAAAAAA! IT’S MAGICAL!!!” Oh man, do I hate that guy. The worst one is the woman who’s dazzled by the sun’s reflection off a coffee truck. He reaches over to flip her sun visor down and she thanks him. He replies with a smug, all-in-a-days-work, “no problem.” Damn it! I want to slap him. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-marketing-goes-wrong/271778/45 "2004-11-01T15:05:30Z")
> [@fruitbat](#): > > Lest I forget, let me nominate the Mazda ad that pitches its car with “there was this car . . . and it had all this stuff”. They then follow up that brilliant premise by reminding you that they sell other cars with other stuff. Just how fucking stupid do they think I am? This is marketing. I’m sure you don’t want the answer to that question. ---
**Author:** ![andymurph64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@andymurph64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andymurph64)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-marketing-goes-wrong/271778/46 "2004-11-04T14:31:41Z")
Bluecanary, Midnightradio has it right I think. I believe it was unfortunate and not planned. ---
**Author:** ![Kayeby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de0a6/32.png) [@Kayeby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kayeby)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-marketing-goes-wrong/271778/47 "2004-11-04T14:48:07Z")
There are some ads for the Ford Focus that air during Sex and the City here. In the ads there are two 20-something women who drive around in their Ford and mimic dialogue from Sex and the City. For instance, in the episode where Samantha suspected her maid of using her vibrator, in the next ad break one of the women was like “Can you believe it? I had to hide it from my maid.” _giggle_ _drive around in car_ The idea is marginally clever but it is trying much too hard. Dialogue that sounds perfectly natural coming from a well-off, sexually adventurous 40 year old New Yorker sounds ridiculous coming from a 23 year old Australian driving around in a shitty car, who’s _pretending_ that she’s a well-off, sexually adventurous 40 year old New Yorker. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-marketing-goes-wrong/271778/48 "2004-11-04T14:52:49Z")
> [@Kayeby](#): > > There are some ads for the Ford Focus that air during Sex and the City here. In the ads there are two 20-something women who drive around in their Ford and mimic dialogue from Sex and the City. > > For instance, in the episode where Samantha suspected her maid of using her vibrator, in the next ad break one of the women was like “Can you believe it? I had to hide it from my maid.” _giggle_ _drive around in car_ > > The idea is marginally clever but it is trying much too hard. Dialogue that sounds perfectly natural coming from a well-off, sexually adventurous 40 year old New Yorker sounds ridiculous coming from a 23 year old Australian driving around in a shitty car, who’s _pretending_ that she’s a well-off, sexually adventurous 40 year old New Yorker. Because I haven’t seen them, I have no basis for judgement, but I must say that I really like this concept; advertising that dovetails with the actual show that’s showing? A very neat idea (if properly executed, clearly). Totally OT but it reminds me of the coolest transition between shows I ever saw. Back when they started eliminating (do they still do this? I watch almost zero TV) the commercials between shows during primetime, I was watching Spin City. At the end of the show, they showed Michael J. Fox and his girlfriend (can’t remember if it was Gugino or Klum) watching tv. The show was Sports Night, which happened to be the next show on the line up. Zoom in on the screen, then zoom back out, in the studio of Sports Night as the opener to the show. It was a seamless transition that was just too cool. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-marketing-goes-wrong/271778/49 "2004-11-04T15:02:31Z")
> [@ITR champion](#): > > In general any ad implying that the product is aimed at men who are sloppy and unkempt, don’t shower regularly, and are generally rude or ill-behaved will put me off. I take it you’re not a big fan of those “Without us, some guys would starve” Carl’s Jr. commercials, then. ---
**Author:** ![Kayeby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de0a6/32.png) [@Kayeby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kayeby)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-marketing-goes-wrong/271778/50 "2004-11-04T15:08:41Z")
> [@TellMeI'mNotCrazy](#): > > Because I haven’t seen them, I have no basis for judgement, but I must say that I really like this concept; advertising that dovetails with the actual show that’s showing? A very neat idea (if properly executed, clearly). They’re available at the [Ford website](http://www.fordfocus.com.au/tvc/) if you’re interested. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-marketing-goes-wrong/271778/51 "2004-11-04T15:30:58Z")
Any commercial for a movie starring Julia Roberts which shows the obligatory shot of her laughing with her XXXL mouth wide open. Just makes me want to avoid that movie just so I don’t have to see that shot. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-marketing-goes-wrong/271778/52 "2004-11-05T16:18:22Z")
But without that shot, no one would know it was Julia Roberts! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-marketing-goes-wrong/271778.md?page=2)