Advertisements / TV Commercials, -TV commercial with mouse

I am so sick and tired of the car commercials with the presidential theme (they play "hail to the chief" in the background) that I could vomit.

I don't watch tons of TV (or if it's on, it's only for company; I don't watch it per se), but when I do, that car commercial comes on.

I like the Taco Bell commercials with the talking lions, though :good:

About the car commercial. I found this by another guy on another board, and he and I feel the same way:

Chevy commercial with Hail to the chief song
* Author: WavesCrashing
* 2/24/07 11:35:01 PM

Anybody heard that Chevy commercial with the hip hop rendition of Hail to the Chief. I've been stuck at my mom's house convalescing from an injury, and I keep seeing the damn thing every five minutes. At first I thought it was a novel idea to update that song, but now I'm ready to shoot myself.

Actual Ads

I looked under their "Sexist Ads" category, and there's a ketchup ad of a woman holding a bottle of ketchup and the text reads, "You mean a woman can open it?"

Some of the ads in the "Just Morbid" category made me laugh - I should be ashamed of myself.

I don't think anyone likes erectile dysfunction ads, but I especially hate how the Viagara commercials took an Elvis song and changed it from "Viva Las Vegas" to "Viva Viagara."

And there's a Viagara site (viagara.com) - why???

And the commercials with the couples exchanging knowing glances, where the narrator drones on about how their medication can "let you choose the time you want." Annoying! Gross!

The Active-On or Head-On commercials, whatever they are. Totally annoying. At least they poke fun at their own commercials, though.

Series of tacky / stupid/ weird advertisments:
Badvertising

Has anyone else here seen the TV commercials for Versa Spa?

I cannot figure out what they were thinking.

For some reason, they are pitching their product using a cartoon character of a blond woman who sounds as though she's undergoing hormonal therapy to become a man:
she speaks in a very deep voice with an Arnold Schwarzenagger accent.

If you're tying to get people to use your spa or tanning equipment (I'm not even sure what it is they're selling), surely there has to be a better way than using a female cartoon with an awful voice.

Is there some demographic of blond women undergoing sex changes that like to tan or spa that I'm not aware of? I cannot figure out who they think would find their ad appealing.

I have seen this Versa Spa ad on the Food Network and one or two other cable channels.

You have to really pay attention and watch the screen to even see the words "Versa Spa" to figure out who is behind the ad.

They also end the spot with the words "At the beach" in big letters. I do not understand what the phrase "At the beach" has to do with anything, either.

In the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, I got really tired of the Wal-Mart commercial that showed a family singing Queen's "We Will Rock You."

The spot starts out with a little boy singing the song, then it goes to a little girl singing it, then their Mom, then the Dad, etc.

I never really cared for that song by Queen, but I just felt it was a dippy, stupid commercial.

Thank goodness that after today we won't have to see that Wal-Mart commercial again. (I hope they don't drag it out and show it next year; I hope they don't re-use it.)

This reminds me of the movie Minority Report:
When you watch these ads, the ads check you out - Wired

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Watch an advertisement on a video screen in a mall, health club or grocery store and there's a slim - but growing - chance the ad is watching you too.

Small cameras can now be embedded in the screen or hidden around it, tracking who looks at the screen and for how long. The makers of the tracking systems say the software can determine the viewer's gender, approximate age range and, in some cases, ethnicity - and can change the ads accordingly.

Article about commericals that ran during the 2009 Super Bowl (I didn't watch the Super Bowl myself, so I diidn't see most of these ads):

Ads That Pushed Our Usual (Well-Worn) Buttons

By STUART ELLIOTT
Published: February 1, 2009

In recent months, Americans have been disappointed and appalled by Wall Street, banks, the big-budget film “Australia,” investment counselors, Detroit, the governors of at least two states, hedge fund managers and even the geese at La Guardia, which used to know better than to interfere with those metal birds they fly among.

After Sunday, you could add Super Bowl advertising to that lengthening list of letdowns.

Few commercials that ran during Super Bowl XLIII on NBC offered viewers anything special. To paraphrase a line from the movie “Sabrina,” you could pick some ads out of a hat blindfolded and come up with better ones.

Although the country’s circumstances are far different than in previous years, many of the more than 50 spots shown on Sunday would not have seemed out of place in any Super Bowl of the last decade or two. All the elements that are supposed to make for successful big-game commercials were displayed, over and over again, as if bonuses were being awarded on Madison Avenue for the least creative briefs.

Slapstick violence? Check. Celebrities? Check. Sex, and occasional sexism? Ditto. Nostalgia? Sure. Using opera as background music? Uh-huh. Babies, animals, baby animals — check, check, check.

Even some approaches billed as new — like a pair of commercials in 3-D, for the animated film “Monsters vs. Aliens” and SoBe Lifewater — were not so; the Coca-Cola Company ran a spot in 3-D for Diet Coke in 1989.

It was regrettable, a missed opportunity, that so few of the two dozen sponsors dared to be different on Sunday. Perhaps they were afraid they had to play it safe because of the economy and the national mood.

As a result, commercials for many brands — among them Bud Light, Coke Zero, Doritos and Pepsi Max — channeled the Three Stooges with broad physical comedy.

If you enjoy watching men tossed out a window, struck by a bus, slammed face-first into the bars of a zoo cage, hit by a golf club, tackled by a football player or laid low by a snow globe to the crotch, then this Super Bowl was for you.

Animal lovers had a night to remember as advertisers like Budweiser, Castrol, Cheetos, Monster.com and Pedigree brought out a menagerie of birds, bulls, chimpanzees, dogs, horses, lizards, monkeys, moose and warthogs.

A particularly worn device for Super Bowl ads — an overreliance on familiar faces — got a real workout. A lifetime subscription to People was not necessary to spot, in more than a dozen spots, stars who included Muhammad Ali, Alec Baldwin, Bob Dylan, MC Hammer, Derek Jeter, Michael Jordan, Ray Lewis, Ed McMahon, Conan O’Brien, Danica Patrick, Troy Polamalu, Will.i.am, Serena Williams and Tiger Woods.

Thankfully, some sponsors recalled the advice Franklin D. Roosevelt gave about fear and produced commercials that tried to speak to consumers the way they are today rather than V, X or XX Super Bowls ago.

For instance, Careerbuilder.com, owned by a consortium of media companies like Gannett and McClatchy, offered support to workers worried about changing jobs in a wretched economy.

The commercial, by Wieden & Kennedy, used exaggerated humor to suggest that “even if you make loads of money” — symbolized by a man drinking gold bars liquefied in a blender — “it may be time” to look around.

Spots for Frosted Flakes, sold by Kellogg, and Pedigree dog food, sold by Mars, struck the type of altruistic note that resonates in tough times. The Frosted Flakes commercial, by the Leo Burnett unit of the Publicis Groupe, promoted a program to rebuild children’s fields and playgrounds. The Pedigree spot promoted an adoption drive (who could resist the words “Help us help dogs”?). The Pedigree agency is TBWA/Chiat/Day, part of the TBWA Worldwide division of the Omnicom Group.

The E*Trade Group put the babies in its commercial to good use, allaying concerns about the economy by telling viewers, “It’s times like these E*Trade can re-plan your investments.” The spot was created by the Grey unit of the Grey Group, part of WPP.

And who enduring a recession does not like something for nothing? Denny’s ended its commercial, by the Goodby, Silverstein & Partners division of Omnicom, with an offer of a free Grand Slam breakfast at participating restaurants for eight hours on Tuesday.

Also, the Universal theme park in Orlando, Fla. — part of the NBC Universal unit of General Electric — concluded its commercial with a giveaway on a Web site (universalheroes.com) of 100,000 free seven-day tickets.

What follows is an assessment of some of the other high and low points among the commercials shown nationally on NBC during the Super Bowl. The spots are among more than 40 provided to reporters before the game.

ANHEUSER-BUSCH A decision by the Anheuser-Busch division of Anheuser-Busch InBev to play up its famous Budweiser Clydesdales paid off in an example of animal acts that actually worked.

A spot about a love affair between a Clydesdale and a circus horse, by the DDB Worldwide unit of Omnicom, tugged at the heartstrings. And a commercial providing a fanciful version of how the Clydesdales came to America, by Waylon Advertising, deftly blended humor, schmaltz and patriotism.

Another smart move was to capitalize on the dry wit of Conan O’Brien for a Bud Light spot, by DDB, that spoofed the penchant among money-mad celebrities to endorse products overseas. The make-believe catch phrase in the commercial, “Vroom, vroom, party starter,” may well become an actual one.

CASH4GOLD Years from now, if the world dodges another Depression, viewers will smile when they recall that a company paying money for scrap gold ran a spot on the vaunted Super Bowl. Yet unlike advertisers that seemingly selected celebrities at random, Cash4Gold, part of Albar Precious Metal Refining, picked its stars — Mr. McMahon and MC Hammer — carefully: their financial difficulties have been widely chronicled.

And if the world does not dodge another Depression? Look for Super Bowl XLIV to feature a commercial for Cash4Blood. The Cash4Gold agencies are Arnold Worldwide and Euro RSCG Edge, units of Havas.

HULU Another shrewd choice of a celebrity, in this instance Mr. Baldwin, echoing the character he portrays so hilariously on the sitcom “30 Rock” — which is, not coincidentally, among the TV shows computer users can watch on hulu.com, a joint venture of NBC Universal and the News Corporation. The commercial, by Crispin Porter & Bogusky, a unit of MDC Partners, had the best (and most warped) sense of humor of any Super Bowl spot.

PEPSICO A commercial by TBWA/Chiat/Day, featuring Mr. Dylan and Will.i.am, rewrites history by presenting Pepsi-Cola as the choice of peaceniks, hippies and other youthful rebels. In reality, the Pepsi-Cola parent, PepsiCo, was led at the time by Donald Kendall, a friend of Richard M. Nixon’s, and the soft drink was considered the Republican soda.

SOBE LIFEWATER The premise of the spot in 3-D for SoBe Lifewater, sold by a unit of PepsiCo, was that it is inherently funny to watch football players dance ballet. The Super Bowls of the 1960s are calling: They want their stereotype back. The outdated concept, alas, undercut the appeal of a catchy song, “SoBelieve,” written for the commercial. Agency: the Arnell Group unit of Omnicom.

This would also be at home in the "Gross" thread...

I don't like commercials for Extenze (making men's penises bigger), tampons, maxi pads, jock itch creams, stool softners (spelling?), Ex Lax, and Activa.

I just now saw, for the 100th time, the TV commercial with Jamie Lee Curtis for "Activa," where she's having a conversation with some lady about the lady being "irregular."

Sorry to be uncouth and crass here, but...
If you can't take a dump, I don't want to hear about it.

That is something for you to keep between you and your doctor, not to yak about on a TV commercial.

I don't think this is the same exact Activa commerical I saw a moment ago, but it will give you an idea of what I'm talking about:

YouTube - Jamie Lee Curtis and Activia Yogurt

AdFreak: Jamie Lee Curtis goes to bat for Activia

How oddly appropriate that Jamie Lee Curtis, the aging "scream queen" who helped upset the stomachs of a generation in gory horror hits from the ’70s, is starring in a new campaign for Dannon’s Activia that “encourages Americans to think, talk and care about digestive health.”

In the past, the brand’s commercials have been downright bizarre.

This new spot is almost shockingly sedate (Curtis talks right into the camera), though it does maintain the penchant for oddly off-kilter elements with the ugly green sofa and that slap-happy “Ac-TIV-i-AHH!” jingle.

(Look out, Jamie Lee! The killer’s hiding under the couch! And he’s constipated!) Activia was last spotted on the receiving end of a deceptive advertising lawsuit.

The complaint contends that Activia and DanActive are “ordinary yogurt” and asks Dannon to issue $300 million in refunds.

Hopefully Curtis got paid upfront. Remember the last scene in Halloween, when Donald Pleasance looks outside for Michael Myers, only to find … BAM! It’s still cool 30 years later.

The commercials for Apple's iPhone are getting tiresome, since they play them almost every single commercial break, and they use the same pop song.

I saw a commercial today for a vacuum cleaner, and the announcer for the spot said that the vacuum cleaner is "aerodynamic."

Why would you need or want an "aerodynamic" vacuum cleaner? How is that a feature someone would care about in a vacuum, how is that a selling point?

I can see how you might want an aerodynamic car, bicycle, air plane - but a vacuum cleaner?

What is the advantage in having an aerodynamic vacuum cleaner, unless you're going to be vacuuming outside, uphill, and on a windy day?

There are several commercials I am absolutely sick of seeing:

'Freecreditreport.com' - these feature some annoying guy and his back up band singing about the website. He is so annoying, he isn't really playing that guitar and I'm sure he's lip syncing, and he's not very good at it. Plus, the songs themselves are really irritating. I mute the TV every time I see it.

'AT&T rollover minutes' - these are the commercials featuring this highly irritating woman freaking out over her family wasting these orange little clocks, which are supposed to represent AT&T's rollover minutes for family plans. I don't have AT&T but I am sure you can't get rid of rollover minutes, so these commercials are especially stupid and nonsensical. And that woman is so annoying....I really cannot stand her and I mute the TV every time I see her throw a hissy fit over those stupid orange clocks.

'esurance' - these commercials feature some animated pink-haired superheroine named Erin, who destroys evil creatures that have a negative impact on the environment while extolling the virtues of the esurance service, of which you can quote, buy and print online (their tagline). The people at esurance really buy into the whole 'save the environment' thing, stressing that printing your insurance or whatever will save a gazillion trees. Lately, I've noticed esurance commercials promoting that stupid 'Earth Hour' stunt scheduled for March 28. I fully plan on turning on every single light in the house for that hour.

The iPhone commercials are tiresome to me too. I mean, Apple does have other products, and I am sure the iPhone doesn't need any help in getting sold, so why these commercials are on for their App Store is just beyond me. The iPod touch can also utilize Apps, though, which is good. At least I haven't seen those truly obnoxious Mac vs PC commercials in a while. I love my Mac and all, but I also like my Windows PC. Besides, there's more games for the PC then there are for the Mac.

For whatever reason, most of the commercials you mentioned don't bother me as much as they do you, except for the jingles in the newer "Free Credit Report.com" ones.

I actually liked one of the original Free Credit spots, the one where the guy is a waiter in a sea food restaurant where he sings, 'Why am I dressed as a pirate serving customers chowder and iced tea?'

I thought it was a cute, amusing commercial, the song was catchy, but the ones that came after that? Not so much...

The "rock star" spot, with the rock star jingle (where the guy was working as a waiter/butler at a rock star party) was annoying, and so too is the newer one where he's at a "Ren Fair" wearing Robin Hood tights.

Then there was one super-annoying one where he and a bunch of other people were riding bikes around, singing some song - I mean the song was annoying, the bike- riding part didn't bother me.

Any commercial for ExtenZe (aired late night), the penis pump (forget what the brand name is, but that's what they're selling), Viagra or Cialis needs to go bye-bye.

I really, really don't want to hear about men who can't get an erection, or who want a larger wang. Really. I can live without it.

In Ads, 1 Out of 5 Stats Is Bogus*
**Actually, It's Misleading, Incomplete or Obscured in Fine Print That Few People Read

A downward-spiraling economy means less spending money, so food makers increasingly are running ads aimed at grabbing the other guy's share of the (pizza) pie -- or burger, or soup can. And their advertising arsenal includes numbers -- based on their market research, often controversial and sometimes top-secret.

Domino's Pizza Inc. said its sandwiches were preferred two-to-one over Subway's; the resulting lawyer's letter from its competitor was burned on-screen by Domino's president in a follow-up ad.

Campbell Soup Co. and General Mills' Progresso traded barbs about the number of soups the other makes with MSG.

And Burger King Holdings Inc. staged a taste test that the company says showed a preference over McDonald's sandwiches. But Burger King won't release any of the supporting data.

All of this is a matter of taste, which is easily dismissed by any viewer as subjective. Unless, of course, you begin to quantify subjectivity through the use of credible-sounding numbers even if the numbers actually obscure the truth instead of revealing it. Ads that use numbers are "extremely effective," says Priya Raghubir, professor of marketing at New York University's Stern School of Business.

There are recourses for aggrieved competitors who insist their burger or chicken-noodle soup is tastier. Federal agencies, the broadcast networks and the advertising industry itself all take steps to ensure any claims in advertising are well-founded.

But the government often won't step in unless the product in question is dangerous, rather than merely overhyped. Its actions and those of the industry's own regulation arm may come after a disputed campaign has run its course. And advertisers can skip the networks in favor of venues without rigorous ad-screening such as the Web or local TV stations.

In making numerical claims asserting superiority over their competitors, marketers court greater scrutiny, as did Coke and Pepsi when each cola maker's ads focused on taste-test results. And some do the bare minimum to avoid litigation. "I won't say they're trying to make honest ads," says Eric Zanot, who teaches advertising at the University of Maryland, "but they're at least trying to make ads that pass the legal test."

Campbell and Progresso traded blows outside the legal arena in a contest over which soup maker uses more monosodium glutamate. Campbell sponsored a study asking consumers to choose a chicken-noodle soup after perusing the ingredient label; two out of three with a preference chose the Campbell variety that lacked MSG. Progresso struck back by sending shoppers to grocery stores and counting 95 different Campbell soups with MSG, a number it touted in an ad.

Campbell spokesman Anthony Sanzio says the number is 87. But the number isn't a fair comparison because Campbell makes about three times more soup than Progresso; Mr. Sanzio says Campbell makes 124 varieties without MSG.

Nutrition experts responded mostly by yawning at a number that, for most people's health, is meaningless. An influential Food and Drug Administration-funded study concluded that MSG has no adverse health effects.

Taking on rivals head-on in such campaigns is being diagnosed as a symptom of an ailing economy by some advertising experts. "When the tide is running out, and there's less business, you have to take it from somewhere else," says Jack Trout, a marketing strategist in Old Greenwich, Conn.

Progresso was taking that approach long before the financial crisis, says vice president of marketing Jerry Lynch. Recently the company trumpeted its taste-test victory in the same chicken-noodle soups whose ingredient labels were perused for Campbell's ads: Seven out of 10 preferred the Progresso variety when they tasted both.

The victory among 70% of opinionated tasters sat somewhat awkwardly between two thirds and three quarters. "Simple numbers are always better -- I can relate to two out of three," says Mr. Lynch. "Three out of four is better -- me and my two brothers like it while my sister didn't. I start having trouble when you say 11 out of 15."

The Domino's ads took a two-out-of-three victory and ran with it. Rick Rosner, a writer for comedian Jimmy Kimmel and someone who is famously smart, is shown playing a board game against a child. Mr. Rosner then claims that his own IQ of 200 represents the people who prefer Domino's while the fifth-grader's IQ of 100 is equivalent to the outnumbered Subway fans. Cue an angry board-clearing by the young Subway stand-in.

The ad has a sub-genius flaw. It suggests that an adult with an IQ of 200 is twice as smart as a fifth-grader with one of 100. But IQ scores are directly comparable only between people of the same age. In its defense, Mr. Rosner points out, "it's a Domino's commercial," and not, say, a scientific paper.

Subway's angry letter wasn't about test scores but about the test undergirding the ad's premise. The company's beef reportedly included the failure to compare Domino's Philly cheese-steak sandwich to the equivalent Subway product, and the unfairness of loading up Subway's subs with all available veggies -- even though not everyone likes olives and spicy pickles. Domino's chairman and chief executive, David Brandon, got more mileage out of the letter, burning it in a follow-up spot. Now neither company will discuss the spat because it's a legal matter; they won't say if a suit has been filed.

DJ Jefferson, senior vice president of Lieberman Research, says all taste tests conducted by his firm are double-blind, and each product gets equal footing in freshness of preparation. Results from such tests must be significant with 95% confidence -- meaning there's no more than a one-in-20 chance that the triumphant food prevailed because of dumb luck rather than a real taste preference.

Mr. Jefferson also recommends to clients not to conduct lots of tests in the hope that one yields a positive result -- what he calls a "fishing expedition." Any unfavorable results could surface in a lawsuit.

Marketers are required to turn over their substantiating data to networks before they'll run an ad. One network broadcast standards executive said the requirements include a 95% confidence level, at least 200 tasters and a geographically dispersed trial.

Sometimes networks will require the use of "supers," the tiny disclaimer text at the bottom of the screen. These must exceed a minimum size, though "we all know people don't read supers because they go by too quickly," says someone who helps advertisers meet networks' standards.

The networks keep supporting details private, and it's up to advertisers to decide whether to publicize their results. Burger King didn't reveal the numbers from its Whopper Virgins campaign but it showed a few dozen of the testers give their verdict in one 30-second segment: 27 of them say they prefer the Whopper, while seven choose the Big Mac. But viewers can't tell from the campaign, which may not have included all the Big Mac lovers, whether Whoppers won by the big margin they implied or the slimmest of victories.

Burger King wouldn't disclose any details about the research -- including the last name of a woman identified in the video as "Marilyn, independent researcher." She said her role was "to really make sure that the taste-test portion adheres to strict claim-substantiation rules."

Rate the Ad: Carl's Jr.: Padma Lakshmi

Hardee's Adopts Carl's Jr.'s Steamy Ad Style

It has worked for Carl's Jr., and now sister CKE chain Hardee's is going for the erotic angle to sell burgers.

A new Hardee's TV commercial featuring "Top Chef" host Padma Lakshmi provocatively devouring a burger while flashing ample cleavage is highly reminiscent of the famous/infamous Carl's Jr. commercial featuring Paris Hilton soaping a car in clingy, barely-there attire.

No mystery here. The Hardee's commercial was created by Carl's Jr.'s longtime ad agency, Mendelsohn|Zien, and directed by Chris Applebaum, who also directed the Hilton commercial.

Sarah Haskins Says Carl's Jr. Turns Men Into DoucheBags

On her new Current show Target Women, Sarah Haskins wonders where men learned to treat women so badly. In a hilarious analysis of Carl's Jr. advertising, Haskins arrives at only logical conclusion; it's unequivocally the burger chain's fault.

Haskin's dubs Carl's Jr. advertising Douchebaggery 101: Embracing Your Inner Douche and proceeds to tear down the chain's ad campaign while explaining how it make men...well...douchebags.

Special bonus: Haskins tries to wash a car Paris Hilton-style with decidedly less grace provong the point all advertising is fake anyway.

The best line in the video comes when Haskins describes guys as, "Good natured DoucheBros who eat fries like they're at a DoucheBag party about to win the award for DoucheKing of the Douche-O-Trons." Wow.

Strong language in the reader comments on this page
Target Women: Carl’s Jr

See, I was so behind on posting Target Women videos that it’s time for another one already! We don’t have Carl Jr where I live, so I’d only ever seen the “steak dinner” ad before. And whoa. I agree, that is some supreme douchebaggery.

Going back to the erectile dysfunction things, anyone see those commercials for some pill that's supposed to make guys larger? There is a guy in the commercial with a big grin on his face and goofy music. I just saw one where the guy is in a Santa suit and women instead of kids are waiting in line to sit on his lap. THAT is really tacky. Especially since his "wife" in the commercial looks on like she approves.
Those Geico commercials with the money with two eyes. I don't understand those things at all.

Someone wrote about PepsiCo advertising themselves as the drink of hippies and other assorted youth debris, reminds me of the Tampax commercials, showing different eras with the line "Tampax Was There." One was of black and white footage of hippies at Woodstock. Please, I have to laugh. Did ANY of those girls at Woodstock even care about feminine hygiene while they were having sex with strangers in the mud?

That might be "Extenze."

I have seen the "Santa" commercial you're talking about, but I try to ignore it when it comes on, once I see what it's for.

I hate any and all commercials for these kinds of products, even if they're "tastefully" done.

There is one "male enhancement" commercial (again, probably for "Extenze") where they have a man, age 50+, with a 20- or 30- something year old hot babe female (long brown hair, model looks, skin tight dress) standing next to him through the whole sales pitch.

One reason I find that tacky is that it's a subtle message to older male viewers (guys age 50+, with grey hair, etc) that if they buy this product that hot women ages 20 - 39 will want them, or that they can have young, hot women.

Puh-leeze.

I'm in my 30s, and I can't stomach the thought of dating anyone over five years older than me, let alone someone 10+ years older than me.

Guys age 40+ tend to live in fantasy land: I don't know why they dream constantly about scoring with a 21 year old. They should learn to be happy with chicks in their own age group.

And as though most 20- or 30-something men would really be willing to date a 50+ age woman - you don't see them pulling that off in ads.

It's a double standard of sorts, another thing I don't like about these sorts of commercials:- our media toss out the idea that old men can get young hot babes, but not vice versa.

I might be getting my spots mixed up, there's one where there are novelty store/craft store "googly" eyes atop a stack of money, and there's a commercial with Cyclops people (one Cyclops guy has a wheel barrow filled with money) that I found stupid.

I do like the Geico spot where the old guy tells the lizard he wants to do a trust exercise, so he starts to fall backwarks so the lizard can catch him.

I love the lizard's accent!

I think those male enhancement ads are for Enzyte. I really hate those ads...the grinning guy (called 'Smilin Bob') is just creepy, and the sexual innuendo is cheesy.

Burger King yanks ad

The fast food giant apologizes for an ad campaign that drew complaints from Mexican officials.

---

Wed Apr 15, 2009

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Fast food giant Burger King apologized Tuesday for an advertisement featuring a squat Mexican draped in his country's flag next to a tall American cowboy and said it would change the campaign.

Mexico's ambassador to Spain said posters released in Europe for Burger King's new Tex-Mex style "Texican whopper," a cheeseburger with chile and spicy mayonnaise, inappropriately displayed the Mexican flag, whose image is protected under national law.

The ambassador wrote a letter complaining to Burger King and requested the ad campaign be discontinued.

Burger King said the ads were meant to show a mixture of influences from the southwestern United States and Mexico, not to poke fun at Mexican culture, but said it would replace them "as soon as commercially possible."

"Burger King Corporation has made the decision to revise the Texican Whopper advertising creative out of respect for the Mexican culture and its people," it said in a statement.

"The existing campaign falls fully within the legal parameters of the United Kingdom and Spain where the commercials are being aired and were not intended to offend anyone," the company added.

A TV version of the ad shows the strapping cowboy and the pint-sized Mexican wrestler -- nicknamed "Just a Little Bit" -- living together as roommates. At one point, the American lifts up the Mexican to help him put a trophy on a high shelf.

Mexico was involved in another controversial ad campaign last year when Absolut vodka posted billboard ads in Mexico with an early 19th century map showing chunks of the United States as part of Mexico.

The campaign angered many U.S. citizens and was later dropped.

It looks to be a blog devoted entirely to the subject:
Vintage Sexist Advertisements

The blog has scans of the magazine ads, and in some cases, they have typed up the ad's copy. Here's an example:

1970 bath oil ad featuring Veronica Hamel and outrageously sexist copy

The copy reads:

Sure. You live with him and take care of him and hang up his clothes. But just because you do the things a wife's supposed to do, don't forget you're still a woman.

One of the nicest things you can do for a man is take care of your skin. That means Sardo. No other bath oil or bead has Sardo's unique dry skin formula. It's pure bath oil. The richest. The best. 3 out of 4 women saw and felt and loved the difference after just one Sardo bath.

How about you? Why don't you do something soft and young and special for him. Feel wonderful all over with Sardo.

Here's another:

Vintage ad for Pitney-Bowes with creepy headline

click small image to view larger version:

direct link

TV commercial with hamsters driving a car:

New 2010 Kia Soul Hamster Commercial - Music Fort Knox by GoldFish

Kia Soul Hamsters Commercial- [Song: Do What You do] Front Back Side to Side

If the above videos get pulled, try this:
You Tube search for "kia soul hamster"