Commercials that Fail

[Unicron]

The Chef Boyardee commercial that shows the can rolling down the street, into the house, and into the little girl's lap. Man, that commercial is wrong on just so many levels.

First, you've got the little girl nicknaming it "Chef", a cutesy and nauseating way for the company to pretend to be your buddy.

Second, you've got the unsubtle tag-line "Boy, this stuff is good!" Coupled with the depiction of the product rolling down the street and through the door, it sounds like they want to literally force their product into your home.

Third, the little girl having "Chef" for dinner every night and being distraught when she can't have it, combined with "Boy, this stuff is good!" heavily implies their product is addictive.

Fourth, you've got the mother who has already told the little girl that she can't have "Chef" again because she's already had it every night this week. Guess what we're having for dinner again? So much for parental authority! A child who sees this commercial might get the idea that anything justifies having "Chef" for dinner. Like stealing it.

Edit: Oh, yeah, and in-universe, what's the next thing that's likely to happen after the commercial ends? What will the mother think when she sees the girl with a product that she obviously didn't buy? It would look like she really did steal it! "It followed me home!" Yeah, right. Someone's going to bed without Chef for dinner, all right....

On the plus side, it could be worse:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1guJsD-au7I[/yt]

 

[shivkala]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I61n_kkRRHA[/yt]

This is the commercial that I mentioned earlier in the thread. It's horrifying, really. It makes me glad I'm married and not currently dating!

 

[Silvercrest]

On the plus side, it could be worse:

What did I just watch?

And why did I watch it?

 

[Brandonv]

What did I just watch?

And why did I watch it?

My thoughts exactly.

Here is another epic wtf.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO2OocOVcJo[/yt]

 

[Danny99]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I61n_kkRRHA

This is the commercial that I mentioned earlier in the thread. It's horrifying, really. It makes me glad I'm married and not currently dating!

Sad thing is I met my current girlfriend through a dating site and it's the best relationship I've ever been in. We must be the anomaly.

 

[Silvercrest]

What did I just watch?

And why did I watch it?

My thoughts exactly.

Here is another epic wtf.

The kids all breaking into laughter is fine, but the progressive dramatic zoom on the doll's face is something they usually reserve for demon-possessed dolls and things that are about to explode. And what was up with all the kids spinning around with that look of shock?

 

[Brandonv]

And what was up with all the kids spinning around with that look of shock?

The kids spinning around reminds me of the zombies spinning around in Thriller. So much so that I find myself wondering if the commercial is some kind of clever fake.

 

[Trekker4747]

What did I just watch?

And why did I watch it?

My thoughts exactly.

Here is another epic wtf.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO2OocOVcJo[/yt]

Oh my God! That think looks and sounds EVIL! It looks like something that'd make Chucky hide under the bed!

 

[shivkala]

This is the commercial that I mentioned earlier in the thread. It's horrifying, really. It makes me glad I'm married and not currently dating!

Sad thing is I met my current girlfriend through a dating site and it's the best relationship I've ever been in. We must be the anomaly.

Sorry, I did not mean to disbarage all on-line dating sites. A good friend of mine met her husband on eHarmony.

That being said, commercials like the one I posted above don't exactly do much to shake the stigma of on-line dating.

 

[Lindley]

There's one on TV now where one kid says to another "I'll race you home!", and then one of them goes and jumps in the back of a minivan.

I think they're trying to advertise the minivan, but I really have no idea what the narrative is supposed to be.

 

[Trekker4747]

We live in a different time with nearly 10% unemployment.

The minivan is their home.

 

[Owain Taggart]

I'm sure this is a legitimate issue, but I can't help but laugh at this commercial the same way we all laughed at "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up". Poor kid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMngZdFiBjY

There's also another commercial I'm seeing lately for Lotto 649. It's the one with the boat and the caller. I feel it to be completely anti-climatic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOamaimwe4I

 

[Turtletrekker]

Almost everything Geico, especially "The money you could be saving by switching to Geico" spots, but excepting the Gecko spots.

To this day, I've never tried a Menthos candy because of their stupid "Fresh Maker" spots.

And I like Flo as well.

 

[Danny99]

I guess this was before McNuggets got disgusting!

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSuDYrxzyI4&feature=sub[/yt]

 

[shivkala]

I recently stumbled on The Consumerist's Voting for the Worst Ad in America poll, open until Tuesday, September 28th. Seeing as how many of the ads on the ballots are ones that were mentioned here, I thought I'd share.

Hopefully the ad agencies will see this and take it into consideration in the future. Then again, I'm not going to hold my breath.

 

[Agent Richard07]

I hate this commercial. I hit the mute button and look away everytime it's on.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIdsVGJLES4[/yt]

 

[Danny99]

My girlfriend hates this one:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHIcyEg1za0[/yt]

And does this make you want to buy a sub?

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2aZWj5JadI[/yt]

 

[Owain Taggart]

I posted about an aweful chiropractic commercial earlier in the thread. Now they have a new one and that's damned annoying. It's about the dangers of picking up a box the wrong way. Sure, I get it. But do they really have to keep repeating "It's just a box?" over and over again? Makes me want to punch them. Unfortunately I can't find it on Youtube.

 

[Owain Taggart]

I have no idea why GAP commercials are so popular among advertisers, but it's enough for others to mimic them. This one is the Joe Fresh Spring 2011 commercial. The music? That's not music. It sounds like a bad midi file. The person they hired to do the music sounds like their failed at musical theory. Unfortunately not available on Youtube, and only on their website:

http://www.joefresh.com/en/fun_stuff/on_the_air/

I can sound discordant too. Anyone want to hire me?

 

[Agent Richard07]

^ I usually like those Joe Fresh commercials, or rather, the music. I even downloaded the song from one of their commercials, but that latest commercial isn't the best. On that, I agree.