Oh, grasshoppah… The reason is Asian people are always fighting ninja. I hate this ad preemptively, but it makes me doubly grateful for the non-stereotyped Indian family. If only I could afford a new car to show my gratitude properly. I guess I'll have to settle for giving Degree ads and products the finger whenever I see them.

Heh. At least the song in that Degree ad is catchy! :)

Cal, that thing is just evil six ways to Sunday. I need to go gouge my eyes out after that.

AB, I happened to see a blurb in today's USA Today about Crestor. It's a chloresterol drug. Apparently some consumer protection group wants the FDA to ban because it killed one person and injured 7 or something. But, you're exactly right about the ad--it doesn't even have any innuedo like the Levitra ad. There's no way to know what the drug is supposed to treat.

ChinkyGirl, I stumbled on the BingoTV channel while browsing the other night and I was like WTF is that?? I'd never seen it before and it says something like there's bingo everynight at a particular time. I've reached the end if I tune in, I think. Anyone know anything about this BingoTV?

Doh! You're right. If I'm gonna eat potato chips I'm gonna eat Ruffles, so it doesn't affect me, but if it were a Ruffles ad I'd have to rethink my chip preference.

Yeah, what the hell is Crestol, Crester, Crestorama anyway?

Tornado25, just when I thought my post has fallen into the deep, deep well of ignored messages (sniffle), you save me. Coincidentally, while watching CNN this morning, I saw a similar blurb about Crestor on their crawling banner. No wonder its alleged purpose of lowering cholesterol isn't even hinted at in the ads. If they'd made that claim, they would've had to have a whole Happy Fun Ball ad. Do not taunt Crestor!

I guess it's that time again: political ads. I saw the first shot in the political ad war this morning with an ad for President Bush. Putting my opinion of the president completely aside, this commercial is the most unintentionally hilarious I've ever seen.

It's a list of the events of the last four years: struggling economy, tragic day in September, etc, etc. Which is then summed up in the tagline: "President Bush: Stable Leadership in Times of Change."

So apparently someone saw Wag the Dog and missed that the "Don't change horses midstream" ads were supposed to be satire. This person then decided it would be a good idea to write an ad based on them, and communicate the message "Vote for Bush, because it'll just be easier that way."

Tornado25 - I've tried tuning in (though apparently it says it's only at Wedbesdays at 9pm), but I get some stupid message like "this program is not availble in your area". DAMN! I dunno...Dish Network is being all screwy lately.

Here's more info: BingoTV

I'm oddly curious about this...is that wrong? ;)

I just got finished watching VH1's The Best Week Ever. They had a segment on the Spongemonkeys! Didn't someone confirm that it was in fact Spongmonkeys? I'm fairly certain VH1 spelled and pronounced it Spongemonkey. Anyway, I'm surprised they're just now getting around to talking about it. One guy said they are what you see before you die. WORD.

Smaller busted women have difficulty finding bras that fit, too. Especially if we're a size 18 and only a B cup. I hate shopping for bras, because nearly every bra in the store is either too small or too large. Also, some women actually have space between their breasts, occupied by the sternum. I do not need something that "lifts and separates." [/rant]

They're acting. Or so they think.

I did see the commercial with the lady being felt up, but I came in as he was reaching under her shirt, so I had no idea about the set up. It was kinda scary the way I saw it.

Saw the ad for the "natural bra" someone mentioned awhile ago.
Like how are a couple of plastic chicken cutlets sitting on your breast going to give you support?

Just saw the Natural Bra ad last night too.

I don't think I ever heard the word "support" in the thing. So I know why it's called "natural" -- jiggly ta tas.

And if they're washable, how does the adhesive stay on? I can't imagine them staying on for long periods.

They are exactly the same thing as the inserts to increase boobage, except with adhesive and a clip. Boo!

I think it's actually a stroke of genius.

I mean, really, it's not like he has anything else to run on.

I laughed my ass off at the dude reaching in the lady's shirt for the reward. I can't even remember what it was for now, but it was funny. The way she just stops what she's doing and sprays him in the face is classic. One of the funniest out there, along with the Spongemonkeys and the Geico "eatin' a sloppy Ja-hoe" commercial.

I just read a story in the newspaper quoting several relatives of the victims of the 9/11 attacks that vociferously object to the use of Ground Zero images in the ads for Bush. Others were more sanguine about the images. I don't think I'd like it very much, but I haven't seen the ads myself, although my paper said they are airing locally.

Is Patrick Stewart doing the voiceover for that one? I noticed it because I saw a Crestor ad a few minutes after I saw the Ford ad with Kate Mulgrew's vocie. Wow, two starship captains doing commercial voice acting at the same time!

I really hate the Rentway commercial where the guy literally rips off his shirt to prove that yay! he can put his shirt in the washer! I know this stems from a Sears ad where all the dudes put their shirts in the washer to prove to the lady that they all fit, but it was one shirt. It was so an excuse to show the dude in a wifebeater. Since when are wifebeaters the preferred attire in a Rentway commercial?

The "We Are Family" music also gets my hate.

There was a commercial I saw a few months ago for MassMutual Financial Group that had a frog breathing(?) close-up. Details of someone's life scrolled across the screen and there was this great song playing in the background that sounded similar to Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation". Does anyone know what song that was?

add duck, yes, that's the one. I also forgot the Dr. Seussish doggerel. Makes those car ads with James Garner sound inspired.

Love the commercial for DentaStix with a white dog being "punished" sitting with its face in the corner. He turns his head around, all mournful, and the VO goes "Dog got a bad mouth? Use Dentastix blah blah blah."

The dog is just so cyoot. Puppy, I will lurve you, bad breath and all.

Agree that the rewards/feeling up commercial is spit-take funny. Hehehe.

I don't get that. Why is the dog being punished for having bad breath? It's not the friggin' dog's fault! He has no hands! He can't brush his teeth! If the dog has poor dental hygenine, the owner should be the one with its face in the corner. Bad owner! Brush your damn dog's teeth!

Raoul Bova! Oh man, he's Italian, and so, so, so, so hot. Not just hot, but sensual rip your clothes off hot! Wowza.

For some reason, the thing that really annoys me about these commercials, apart from their blatant pandering, is W himself saying, "This message has been approved by George Bush."
Pompous ass.

Not that he's not a pompous ass, but that's actually a new government regulation to curtail some types of soft-money ads. All ads produced by the campaigns now have to have a specific disclaimer from the candidiate expressing his or her endorsement of the ad - to stop people from claiming they had no idea what ads were being produced on their behalf.

Which won't stop the 527s from getting into the act but still...

The bald guy wearing the green shirt or the big black guy?


Besides the War Against Terrorism? I think Bush has done a great job on that (and as a side result, liberated Aftghanistan and Iraq) and cutting taxes, but I'm not so thrilled about some of the other things.


I'd take those complaints with a grain of salt. I saw them on various interviews and they were so obviously ringers or actors; they all pretty much recited the same "talking points" and a few admitted to being Democrats.


Nah, it's just a side-effect of that so-called campaign finance reform law that was passed last year.


Oh gawd, that reminds me of the newest Universal Stuidios ad I keep meaning to mention! There's this one scene in which a father and son are in front of the Incredible Hulk ride and pretending to become the Hulk by ripping their shirts off themselves. OK, that was lame, but the lady who was sufficating her children with her breasts made an appearance, this time seated on an ATB with Captain America flailing about. I guess I'm 12 years old because it looks like the camera cut away just as the captain gets a double-barrelled pummling to the back of his head.

In the Universal Studios ad, my attention is always drawn to the actress playing Storm. I love her expression, like driving a go-cart and wearing a cheesy white wig is what she's always wanted to do, thank you very much. Come to think of it, maybe she's actually Camille from America's Next Top Model.

I'm pretty sure it was Joan Jett's "I Hate Myself for Loving You."

What stops a candidate from claiming, "oh, they just copied an audio clip of me endorsing another commercial and spliced it in there"?

Or am I really paranoid?...

Speaking of which, and I'm not sure if this is the right forum, why was there a slug on my TV all day telling me that sateilite TV is in danger of losing a bunch of stations and to call some phone number to keep them from being yanked, after seeing all these ads over the years from my cable company telling me how crappy satelite TV is?


Ha! Thanks for making me laugh out loud at work. I had noticed that but forgot about it.

I got these all weekend! Whew, I'm not the only one. I have Comcast, do you? Why on earth would I be getting crawls during shows, mind you, about Dish Network? Can they do that? And it came with the beep you get before a weather warning. Bastards.

ChinkyGirl, I hit info on this thing and apparently there is some kind of card that is in Dish Entertainment magazine or you call a toll-free # to get one. Uggh.

Ok, my take on this is that it's a play on words about the dog having a "bad mouth." So he's not being punished for bad breath, he's being punished for swearing. It's a joke, see? And when he turns around he looks so guilty. Hee!

This has been bugging me for a while, but it really got me, for some reason, over the weekend when I saw the Pur water filter commercial where it shows all the hands turning on/turning off the on-faucet water filter: when the hands turn on or off the water filter with the little switch on the filter itself, the water turns on or off regardless of whether or not the faucet handle is on.

Which, I dunno, maybe Pur has a filter that works that way, but to use my on-faucet filter, the water has to be running at the faucet first. When I turn on the filter with the switch on the filter, the water flow reduces as it's being filtered; when I turn OFF the switch on the filter, the water does not cut OFF, as it does on the commercial, but rather, comes from the spigot faster because whether water comes out or not isn't controlled by the filter switch. - it is controlled by the faucet handle

And I feel so incredibly anal retentive to have noticed this in the first place, and then to have pecked out two paragraphs about why the commercials misrepresent the product, and for this misrepresentation to bother me at all, but hey, if I'm to be anal retentive about a commerical anywhere, this is the place to do it.

Yes, I have Comcast too. I am guessing that Comcast owns, or is a sister company, or is part of a conglomerate that owns Dish Network.

You'll find answers to the Dish/Viacom questions here.

The latest anti-pot propaganda piece shows a mom and dad "practicing" their upcoming confrontation with their daughter over her marijuana use; they "role play" taking turns playing the daughter slamming her door, yelling, protesting, etc. etc. After awhile they say to each other "Ready to do this?" Then they, presumable, head off to contront their daughter, having prepared themselves so well.

What's hilarious is . . . where is the daughter during this rehearsal? Is show downstairs? Down the hall? Doesn't she hear the door slamming and the yelling? Won't she be more than ready for the upcoming confrontation? She must be laughing her ass off at her lame parents. Especially if she's stoned.

What I want to see is the follow-up where they actually confront the daughter, and she behaves in no way like they anticipated. Just sitting there like "Dude." "Chill." "Dude." "Not cool, dude."

Various comments from upthread (because I am a good TWoPer and did my 15 pages - you guys are prolific!):



Yes, much to my chagrin/dismay/torturation. I hate them with the heat of Miami in August. I want to harm the ad agency who came up with that campaign.



Can anyone feel the pain of the in-between sized woman? Can the cries of the 38C be heard? Lane Bryant bras are too big, regular sized bras are often too small...bra shopping bests any other shopping for making me feel lame. Victoria's Secret commercials inspire nothing but ire in me.

Also, re: the identity theft debate: ya'll are making my head spin. Frankly, I just like the maniacal laughs at the end of each tangent and never gave a thought to the finer details. But then my knuckles are currently bandaged from dragging the ground so who am I to comment?

Finally, has anyone seen a commercial for some type of male sexual enhancement drug that features a stupidly grinning white man in some sort of negotiations with a bunch of Japanese businessmen? The man just sits there with a stupid grin plastered on his face while the Japanese men throw out proposed figures and mutter to each other things like "he's a stiff negotiator" and "he is made of wood!" blahblahbahsexualinnuendocakes. I think the product promises growth and extra rigidity or something like that. Anyone seen it?

ETA: Thanks cal331. I think it's my Commercial Thread curse to pop in occasionally and bring up topics that have already been discussed to death. My bad.

It's Enzyte. For "male enhancement," which could mean anything, I suppose, from making men better at killing bugs to even less likely to hit the laundry basket when they take off their socks. Naw, really it's for increased sexual potential, apparently.

It gets brought up in this thread every, I don't know, 16 pages or so. : )

Those parents "practicing" to talk to their teen slay me. I assumed she was out getting high and they were waiting for her to come home. Question: How scary is your kid that you have to practice lecturing them on bad behavior? Where do these people live?

Word Fraulein! I wouldn't practice a damn thing other than forcing my hands to stay at my sides so as not to pop my errant teen upside the head.

The little plastic guy with no arms....

From the Tragically Overthinking the Ad Dept., the Wachovia ad with "Amanda Sable." She answers the phone as Sable and Assoc.s and puts the caller on hold, signs for a parcel, then answers the phone again and transfers that call to herself (she's pretening to be running a large company, see, but it's just her doing the receptionist and CEO). Well, fine, but what about the first caller! Who is still on hold! Arrrgghh!

Ahem. Perhaps I've spent too much time on hold to tech support folks lately...

has anyone seen the new Healthy Choice food ad? ther's nothing special about it, but the way the people are eating their food brings back bad memories of Carl's Jr.

and i just saw the dairy queen ad where the guy is feeding his girlfriend ice cream and then he gulps it down when her eyes are closed. Dairy queen ice cream is good, but come on now, my cookie dough blizzard has never caused me or my man to bust a nut in the middle of the restaraunt!!!!

Yeah, one of the foosball players who passes out cuz of the funk. I thought it looked more like a red-headed Andy Richter. Maybe Conan and Andy's love child?

The big black dude and the little balding white guy are lookalikes, too. It looks like a foosball game between Suge Knight and Moby.

Yes! AND, her voice doesn't sound really any different, so the second caller would totally know Amanda Sable was the same one who answered the phone in the first place.

Godammit...Dish Network always makes things so hard for you! Don't you get that impression? Ok, I'm dying to try out BingoTV - I should pencil this appointment in somewhere now ;)

Any of you guys seen the Burger King commercial for their Fairy Odd Parents toys with the "surfer" fairy ("Dude ... gnarly ... rock on ... sweet ... tooooootally")? My hate is too deep to put in words.

Thank you. I listened to a sample, and I'm not sure, but it could possibly be it.

Anyone seen the commercial for Dinty Moore stew where the two parents tell their kids that they're going to pursue becoming rock stars, so if the kids could get dinner for themselves - and for their parents - it'd be cool? The woman who plays the mom often does commentary for VH1s I Love the 80s series, but I can't remember name.

Anyway, the commercial makes me laugh every time.