Intellectually insulting commercials

Sports Junkie

Registered User
Forum Member
Sep 24, 2001
728
0
0
57
VA
Those ab-energizer ads get my vote. Also, I can count on 1 hand the number of times I have made a purchase based on a TV ad in my lifetime. It astounds me how much money is spent on advertising that has little influence on purchasing decisions.
 

gecko

Senior Lurker
Forum Member
Dec 7, 2001
2,469
0
0
parts unknown
Well, as someone who's worked in advertising for several yrs, I can tell ya that there really are TWO categories of ads.

One is for branding purposes. The ads for Budweiser probably the most obvious example. They create top-of-mind awareness. You won't purchase their product or service now, but down the road you'll remember them from the ads. In Bud's case, they're funny, imaginative, often times irreverent and are skewed to the younger demographic who watch sports and are immersed in today's popular culture. It's even more important for new companies who want to establish an identity. That's why last two years we've seen lots of ads for dot com's (many of which failed because of bad business models).

Then there are are those like the infommercials, or the :30 and :60 spots that tout a limited time promotion or sale, or a new product. They want us to act now or within a specific time frame.

With the exception of some ads which fit in the latter category, it is often times difficult to measure an ad's actual effectiveness.
 
Last edited:

Nolan Dalla

Registered User
Forum Member
Sep 7, 2000
1,201
2
0
Washington, DC/Las Vegas, NV
The funniest thing about this thread is that ALL of these commercials are shown during sporting events. Note that we see the car and beer commercials the most, so that takes up a majority of the spots. Here are my choices where I want to throw a brick through the TV set:

-- The cruise line commerical where the obnoxious chick with the raspy voice lectures, "SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GET OUT THERE!" over a background of banging drums that seem to be played by a throng of wild cannibals, featuring images of rollerbladers racing around an on-deck track. The goddamned thing looks more like boot camp than a vacation cruise.

-- Every Mitsubishi commerical. They're all the same -- shot near the Vegas Airport at night in the tunnel showing some morph-addict that a death row inmate wouldn't bang -- doing a break dance in the front seat. If you are over 22 and find this commerical appealing, mental help is suggested.

-- Anything with Sela Ward involved. Decent-looking 40-year old pitch woman, but when she started doing those Sprint commericals with the hip hop music background, I nearly went bezerk. It didn't help that a Sprint commercial appears every ten minutes (memo to ad executives -- at $350,00 a 30-second spot, you are turning viewers OFF!)

-- The new Cadillac Commericals with Led Zepplin's "Rock n' Roll" as the soundtrack. Don't get me wrong, I love Cadillac's name and it's my favorite car (I've been a Seden DeVille man since I was 30). But Caddy is a name synonymous with the old-style establishment. Trying to appeal to the Baby Boomers with Led Zepplin is about the dumbest gimmick ever thought of. Tony Bennet sells Caddys. Frank Sinatra sells Caddys. Ella Fistgerald sells Caddys. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant do NOT sell Caddys.

-- Tiger Woods' Buick commerical. If this man makes $50 million a year AND drives a $19,000 Buick, then I'll kiss Mike Warren's ass.

-- Garth Brooks (funny, that I've seen that horrendous commerical 300 times, and I don't seem to recall what product he was pimping).

-- Brittany Speers whoring Pepsi. Cum-dumpter using her tits and ass to sell soda pop. Shit, just hire a porno star and show a 15 second clip of a blow job to sell the product.

-- Bob Dole pumping Viagra. {sniffing inhalents as I type].....and we thought this man had good enough judgment to be PRESIDENT of the United States? Memo to Bob -- can't some things remain private?

-- Any pharmaceutical commerical....when they read the list of side effects at the end of the commerical (required by law), it's 10 times worse than the ailment. Example: Prescribed for allergies -- side effects include diharrea, vomitting, nausea, stomach pain, cramps, cancer and death.

-- Nolan Dalla
 

yak merchant

Registered User
Forum Member
Nov 13, 2000
966
4
18
Texas
Brown says "I am a fat ass and I don't need another piece of pie"

Brown says "I am a moron and I'm going to run my company into the ground"


Damn I thought the "We want to race the truck" commercials were bad. There are about 50 ad execs in America that if I could meet I would just flat out kick them square in the nuts.
 

Simply In The Red

is broke.
Forum Member
Oct 14, 2001
2,328
8
0
Lost in Texas
If Pepsi had a porno star pushing their product, I might drink it. If I wasn't so hooked on Dr. Pepper, those Garth Brooks commercials would turn me away.

Anytime I have to hear about hemorrhoid flare up or yeast infection in a commericial around dinner time. If I had the problem, I would be more than aware of the product.

Burker King commericials saying how great they are when it seems like a location is closing down every week around here.

During a weekend NBA triple play on TV, I saw a long Nike commericial showing different sports that ending with the logo and the slogan "Just do it." When of the images I saw during the commericial was a screen shot of a Golden Tee video golf game. :eek: Is that now a sport.
 

z2000

Registered User
Forum Member
Apr 7, 2000
149
0
0
54
Milwaukee,WI,USA
What about those stupid "what can I get for a buck" commercials. Usually Terry Bradshaw is in them.

They have to be some of the worst ones out there.
 

AR182

Registered User
Forum Member
Nov 9, 2000
18,654
87
0
Scottsdale,AZ
I had to pull this thread up again because there is a commercial that gets me sick everytime I see it.
This obnoxious kid that does the Dell Computer commercial really annoys me like no other commercial does or did.Everytime I see it I want to put my hands around his neck & choke the life out of him.
Am I the only one who can't stand this kid?
 

Felonious Monk

Site Owner
Forum Member
Oct 26, 2001
3,579
1
0
51
Austin, TX
you mean this guy?



thumb.asp
 

loungelizard

Registered User
Forum Member
Nov 3, 1999
537
0
0
65
Lebanon Missouri
The A & W, Mr. Dumas, (Dumb-Ass) commercial frosts my jimmies, funny ad but not during kids programming, (guess I'm getting old). Any Ron Popeil ad "set and forget it" but I do have a pocket fisherman, never used, and do you guys ever go into walmart and buy an "as seen on tv" product, tell me those ads don't work, I have an onion blossom thing a majig that is still in the box, never been used, I have a euro opener its in the city landfill, my wife bouth the kids one of those things that twist your hair out, its in police custody, geez the crap I bought and never used, they say in advertising "what you say, times how many times you say it is the only thing that works in advertising today" so we must get used to it, but on the bright side it does provide us with some free tv.

Peace
LL
 

yepitsme

Registered User
Forum Member
Oct 15, 2001
346
0
0
FINLAND
sometime ago CNN had live coverage about somebodys execution
( outside of the prison ) and only commercials were Ford and Chevy
pick-up trucks.....

:D
 

TheShrimp

Registered User
Forum Member
Jan 15, 2002
1,138
0
0
52
the informercial for "super blue stuff"

Modern day SNAKE OIL. Hilarious.

It's good on rashes, sore backs, joint pain, muscle pain, itches, carpal tunnel, sun burns, poison ivy. You got it? This'll cure it.

They have the testimonials from all the usual suspects, the old lady who hadn't left her house in 5 years ("Super blue stuff gave me my life back."), the unemployed guy hurt on the job, the weekend warrior, the person in the car accident, the people sore from typing too much.

The guy that invented it says, "I never went to school, but I have my Ph.D in common sense and the good lord above." (or something to that effect).

Some old ball player whose name escapes me shills for it. It worked on his arthiritis.

The most interesting thing about the informercial is trying to figure out just how dumb someone has to be to fall for the pitch.

TheShrimp

sidenote on snake oil: if you ever saw "Josey Wales" there's a snake oil salesman with some magic ointment that will cure all your ails. Josey says to him, "How's it work on stains?" as he spits a great big blob of tobacco juice on the guy's white coat. If you notice a while later, the guy is rubbing his suit with the stuff, and then a few scenes later, his suit is clean again. One small detail that makes this non-sergio leone clint oaters one of his best.
 

Patternseeker

Registered User
Forum Member
Oct 15, 2001
339
0
0
yea, shrimp, the super blue stuff is a hoot.

has anyone ever seen those info mercials where this dude is sitting at a talk show like desk interviewing this other guy with a head of hair and beard that looks like he just colored it in shoe polish? dam. i think he's selling pills that absorb fat or something like that.

and i'm also wondering, how much does ron popeil have to pay someone to sit in his studio audience and act amazed that heat actually does cook a chicken??
 

Heater

Registered User
Forum Member
Apr 8, 2002
31
0
0
TheShrimp,

I know, I know - the infomercials are hardly a source of truth, but my dad ordered it and swears by the stuff.

My niece used some on her sore shoulder and it worked.

I asked a few physical therapists and they said it did help some people they knew that used the stuff.

Kinda like Glucosamine Condroidant - worlks for some people, but not for all people.

Anyway I found a cheaper product with all the same ingredients, called "blue relief" I think. Haven't tried it yet.

Think about accupuncture - some people think it's fakery, but others derive a benefit from it, so who's to say it doesn't work on some people?
 

Statman02

Registered User
Forum Member
Jan 29, 2000
1,063
8
38
The video professor.......and Ameridebt......it's hard to believe these people are making enough money to pay for their advertising budget.......it seems like these commercials run five times per hour......I change the station when I see them come on
 

Valuist

Registered User
Forum Member
Aug 21, 2001
2,314
0
0
62
Mt. Prospect, IL
How about the Dodge commercials w/the dippy girl who uses car products to get ready for a date . In Chicago, Fox Sports Net will sometimes have games where this f-ing ad runs every half inning. Last Saturday, I needed to muster all the self control I could to avoid smashing my TV set.
 

TheShrimp

Registered User
Forum Member
Jan 15, 2002
1,138
0
0
52
Heater said:
TheShrimp,

I know, I know - the infomercials are hardly a source of truth, but my dad ordered it and swears by the stuff.

My niece used some on her sore shoulder and it worked.

I asked a few physical therapists and they said it did help some people they knew that used the stuff.

Kinda like Glucosamine Condroidant - worlks for some people, but not for all people.

Anyway I found a cheaper product with all the same ingredients, called "blue relief" I think. Haven't tried it yet.

Think about accupuncture - some people think it's fakery, but others derive a benefit from it, so who's to say it doesn't work on some people?

I do believe that it makes some people feel better, which is really the bottom line. I also believe that's completely attributable to the placebo effect. Yes, much the same as acupuncture, crystal healing, aromatherapy and everything else I believe is a crock of shit.

If you saw last week there was a big study where an actual surgical procedure was written off as nothing more than the placebo effect (an arthoscopic knee surgery for people with arthritis). 300,000 of them are done per year by people with MDs.

Some of those asthma sprays used to contain water and some medicine-like flavoring with no active ingredient. Made the kid feel better, though. There are hundreds of examples of this kind of thing.

A lot of people have made a lot of money because people are susceptible to the phenomenon of "I'm feeling better because I'm suppose to feel better" -- including surgeons, shysters, and salesmen.
 

JT

Degenerate
Forum Member
Mar 28, 2000
3,592
81
48
60
Ventura, Ca.
Ditto on the Dell guy. Very annoying. Those Carrot Top phone commercials are pretty bad also.
 

yyz

Under .500
Forum Member
Mar 16, 2000
41,984
1,600
113
On the course!
Why do they call him "Carrot Top"? Isn't the top of a carrot green?

"Save your friends and family, every time you call!"

Here's and idea:

Pay for the call, you fuhking bum! That would save friends and family even more!
 
Bet on MyBookie
Top