A commercial for Kellogg’s All-Bran seems to have gone back to the source and adopted the crazy butt-obsessed attitude of the company’s forefather, because as the actor talks in the foreground about how great his cereal makes him feel, in the background you can see several over-the-top metaphors for… well, let’s just say “pulling an I-beam out of my wall” is going to take on a whole new meaning. And in case it’s not explicit enough, wait for the tag line.
Slate asked the company what they were thinking: “According to the company, it’s an effort to charm constipated old people with a little frat-boy humor. All-Bran’s target demographic is grown-ups—those 45 and older—and the spot is a nod to the fact that such people can still appreciate potty humor, even at their advanced age.”
“Bran Identity” [Slate]
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All I can say is..
lolpottyhumor.
I can see what is trying to be funny, but the lol is just not there
Who knew how many poop metaphors existed on a construction site?
bran makes you shit, so what?
I like the barrels seemingly rolling out of his backside at the 15 second mark. It gave me a Donkey Kong flashback.
Oh come on, that’s just funny. Can’t silly/clever even if a little childish get a lol every now and then?
I love this so much. Even better than some commercial a few years back featuring the “happy shit dance”.
Oh, I forgot…loosen up. HA HA HA
man, I’ve seen that ad 40 times, and I never noticed that…
Wow… I guess I never paid attention to the commercial that closely (DVRs & FF buttons are beautiful things)…but wow.. that’s a lotta poo jokes there. I’d say clever, but not necessarily funny. It takes a little more to amuse me.
I’ll stick with my Colon Blow cereal, thank you.
All of that metaphor completely blew past me like a Taco Bell burrito. I guess I’m just not interested in bran flakes.
A few people here didn’t seem to get it until it was pointed out so obviously the company’s stated goals were not met. Yeah there was a whole lot of dumping going on and the dumptrunk at the end was sorta the climax of the session after a few random “stools” had been released.
I think the commercial should have ended with the construction guy sitting on the toilet eating his All Bran. EVERYBODY would notice that and make the coorelation. Plus, the American lifestyle is fast paced, we want in and out ASAP!
@BoraBora:
Colon Blow and you-oooo-ooo in the morning!
Damn I miss Phil Hartman …
Hilarious. A Great Moment In Advertising. Reminds me of the most recent South park episode – “More Crap“
How about when Bender dropped a brick?
When I saw that commercial on TV for the first time I noticed all those right off. Don’t leave too much to the imagination does it?
Speaking of “metaphors”, in the commercials for all those “ED” medications it is kind of funny to try and find how many subtle “phallic” symbols you can find in one commercial!
This is pretty good, but nothing beats Uncle Sam Cereal for did-I-just-see-that effect.
I’m not making this cereal up; it’s even billed as A Natural Laxative.
Uncle Sam cereal…A Natural Laxative. Amazing.
What’s funny is that, because of TiVo, I haven’t watched a commercial in a year.
But that commercial was funny because of doodie.
The first time I saw that commercial, I couldn’t stop laughing at it.
I stopped buying cereal when they started cutting the sugar out. Less sugar lowers cost, but price went straight up. Way too much profit in the box for me.
I am glad to see that someone still has a sense of humor. I am getting sick of the politcial correctness bullshit, people need to be able to laugh at themselves first and also at others.
OMG, if I hear another story about how a town can not put up a Christmas display and then other towns are offering foot baths for the Muslims, I am going to gag.
Oh, you say that someone is going to be offended? I say too fucking bad (TFB), someone will always be offended no matter what you do or say. It’s OK to offend me by “removing” Christmas displays? I think not…
ROFL!!!! That made my morning, especially the garbage truck DUMPING crap near the end. Not very subtle, but we all appreciate a humorous little return to our anal phases, eh?
@TheBigLewinski: “Oh, you say that someone is going to be offended? I say too fucking bad (TFP), someone will always be offended.”
Using your own logic then, isn’t it too fucking bad that you’re tired of “political correctness”?
I don’t want to see poo on television. Or sophomoric representations of poo. That’s not political correctness. That’s me not being into scat.
Yeah, my wife pointed this out to me when she saw the commercial the first time. Good for a laugh, and kind of unexpected from a stodgy old company like Kellogg’s.
Heh… I dunno, I liked it.
Getting way too serious here….
I remember the first time them pulling the I-beam out of the wall I laughed out loud. It was like I knew that feeling.
Looks like the ad company was brushing up on its old Mad TV sketches: [www.youtube.com]
That’s the most concentrated set of poop metaphors known to man.
I didn’t notice it when the commercial was new. It wasn’t until I wasn’t particularly paying attention, just mindless looking at the t.v. waiting for commercials to be over that it dawned on me what they were doing. Although it’s potty humor, I think they did it subtly enough that it makes it more funny. If they’d just thrown a guy on a toilet I wouldn’t be impressed. So what. You don’t have to think creative to come up with that OR notice that.
I think it works. If you don’t get the metaphors, they’re still relaying the “P.C.” message to you verbally.
If you do catch the metaphors, well it’s not vile enough to be much of an offense, but clever enough to make you crack a smile.
Unless you’re an uptight *******.
Nobody has mentioned Sprint’s Connectile Dysfunction series of commercials.
@Maude Buttons: It is TFB not “TFP” and hey, you can always change the channel.
@TheBigLewinski: Stop being offended.
@ElizabethD: There was a story in News of the Weird where a guy driving a truck carrying sewage saved someone’s live by dumping the sewage onto the car they were in:
*sigh* It’s always Georgia.
Okay, I’ll admit it, I thought that was pretty funny. I laugh at poop jokes, though. I found a link to the old Colon Blow sketch, too.
Ha! Poop!
@Maude Buttons: not being into scat, are you serious? I’m glad I don’t take life that seriously that I can’t see this commercial without being upset or disgusted. scat, come on.
also wanted to add, I noticed the first time I saw this ad. I had to make my wife watch it to make sure I wasn’t just seeing something funny when it wasn’t really there.
I guess that all those smiling asses in the Washlet ads have made me a little jaded; don’t see what the fuss is.
@BoraBora
@radleyas
@FitJulie: Don’t forget Super Colon Blow.
(Warning: May cause abdominal distention. Consult a physician.)
Ah, yes, a reminder of why I no longer watch television. ;o) Unlike a lot of TV content, at least that commercial was harmlessly stupid and good for a few mild chuckles.
And the dump truck reminded me of a supposedly true story about a poor zookeeper who was giving an enema to relieve a constipated elephant and ended up being suffocated by several hundred pounds of poop before his coworkers could dig him out.
An effluence of advertising genius.
oh come on! there’s nothing at all wrong with this commercial. it pales in comparison to the voiceover list of side effects that accompany any drug ad (..in a clinical trial, the most commonly reported side effects that occurred more frequently with PREMARIN were vaginitis due to yeast or other causes, vaginal bleeding, painful menstruation, and leg cramps…), or the visual metaphors used in the levitra & cialis commercials.
I love this commercial! Lol.
Ok. I *used* to eat Kellogg cereals. But after reading the Wikipedia entry about the original Mr. Kellogg……holy cow, never again. ewww.
I remember this commercial. I laughed and laughed and my husband just shook his head in befuddled shame. Yes, I’m the one who enjoys the toilet humor in THIS relationship.