Commercial rant time...

[charlietheowl]

I think they're trying to follow the template of the Old Spice commercials where lots of different things happen (like the Ray Lewis one where he flies off into the sun on a giant raven), but without the eye-catching visuals. It's just throwing things against the wall and hoping something sticks.

 

[Drtooth]

The Old Spice ones have some sort of structure, not to mention they're by the Tim and Eric guys. They're completely off the wall and crazy, but they have a coherence to them. Like a Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo cut scene. As a result, they're funny, at least if you're into that sort of thing.

But the Burger King ones feel completely lazy. They're not so much Refuge in Audacity as they are a jumbled mess... sort of like a really bad, sloppy collage a failing art student pulls off 3 minutes before class and then tries to claim "Dadaism" to sound like he was paying attention. Except here, not claiming Dadaism. If they're going for Old Spice insanity, they clearly don't understand how it works or why it does. I almost have a suspicion they took the Bialistok and Bloom method and made the worst possible commercials ever and see if they can get away with it.

It almost reminds me of some funny thing I saw that I can't remember much of and I don't know the name of where this guy had these weird businesses and had a commercial for a grody little deep fryer restaurant and at one point, is outside pointing to a guy in a dinosaur costume saying "He[ck]! This is a Dinosaur!"

Only not funny, of course. But seriously... if anyone has seen that web video or whatever about the He77 This is a Dinosaur... please help me identify it. Best I could come up with is a YTP about Barney named after that.

 

[D'Snowth]

Okay, what in sea shell is up with this electric razor commercials, featuring socially awkward dudes shaving off all their chest hair, all their pubic hair (not exactly seen on camera of course), and only part of their facial hair, all the while talking about how they would have sex with themselves?

 

[Sgt Floyd]

I think the question is why are they marketing electric razors to women as if they are some kind of sex object to please their men...and then as a side note they casually mention that they can be used to trim your kid's hair. Uh...what?

 

[Teheheman]

Ok, I can't be the only one annoyed by those kids on the fricken AT&T commercials. A couple of em are cute, but there are others that are getting annoying like the Werewolf one and the 'We want more' one. I just wish they'd come up with better ones or at least not show the same ones 84 times a day.

Daniel

 

[Drtooth]

I feel sorry for the girl in the Werewolf one. I mean, not so much that she doesn't even understand the basics of what a werewolf is... she looks like Fred Armisand.

I noticed they run that Windows phone one with the wedding and everyone beating the crap out of each other an exorbitant amount of times. Like 3 times per commercial break per show. And I mean ANY show. I like the commercial and all, but I'm really tired of seeing it every single time. though I still like the "Wheeeeee!"

 

[Teheheman]

I feel sorry for the girl in the Werewolf one. I mean, not so much that she doesn't even understand the basics of what a werewolf is... she looks like Fred Armisand.

I'm SO glad that I'm not the only one who noticed that. Maybe that's his kid or something.

Daniel

 

[Drtooth]

I really shouldn't complain about this commercial's message... but I HATE the No Text and Driving ad with that annoying teenage kid who keeps saying how he made a pledge to "all his fans" and he keeps talking about "all his fans" and how successful he is because he doesn't text and drive. And he's just some annoying little brat no one has heard of. I guess it's supposed to be a "I'll thank you in the future when I'm a success" message, but it comes across more as a snotty egotistical Youtube video "star" with like less than 1000 views combined. or like that Sonichu guy.

And it was in front of every freaking movie I've seen this summer. I sat through that so many times, I WANT him to freaking text and drive.

 

[D'Snowth]

Texting and driving ads have gotten REALLY graphic lately.

Well, okay, not "really graphic", but they are quite heavy anymore, like the one where a teen is driving down a residential street, suddenly gets a text on his/her phone, we see in the teen's eyes and facial expressions the debate over whether or not to look at it, all the while we keep cutting to a father and his kids unloading groceries or something from the wayback of their minivan. The teen finally gives in, reads the text, and starts to respond. Next, we see the teen look up, freak out, slam on the breaks, then cut to a wide shot of the teen's car about to strike the father and his kids before it immediately just cuts to black.

There's other similar commercials, like there's one where a teen driver has a bunch of buddies in the car with him, and a text comes in, once again, leaving him to debate on whether or not to look at it, until he finally does, just as he's getting ready to blow through a red light at an intersection and oncoming traffic is about to strike the car, when we cut to black.

It seems like they're trying to use scare tactics, but frankly, I can't even really complain about the commercials: again, they're heavy, dark, and quite unsettling, but they have to find SOME way of getting their message across. How many years ago has it been since Oprah started that whole no use of phones while drive movement? And how many years texting and driving or similar been made illegal? Yet, I STILL see people messing around with their phones while drive to this day... it's REALLY scary when you see OLD PEOPLE are doing it too!

 

[Drtooth]

Somehow, I couldn't find the disturbing commercial thread, but...

Anyone else think the Pillsbury Toaster Strudel commercial with the creepy Yodel Land kid in leiderhosen is unsettling?

You have that little white dough mascot everyone loves, and you go for a lame stereotype... and make him even creepier than the King from burger King ever was.