Why so serious?

You know...you can't say "ad-free" when you have consumers unions ads everywhere.

Love the videos however. :)

bloody eh Ben!! What kind of Skin Product are you using? i don't see ney 1 blemish, maybe a bit o' prep H under the eyes but smooth as baby's Bottom..nicely done.

Sorry ..i just couldn't help noticed seeing as it's ZOOMED :p

And i've already donated -

Have You Already DONATED TODAY??!

@GretaDandradeine: If i lived in NY, I would have flawless skin too!

Unfortunantly I don't. Here I can't go more then 2-3 weeks without a hair cut because my long man 'bangs' cause my forehead to get greasy and i break out. Sigh...

@idip:

I've never been to NY, so i'm not really sure what to expect..?! Tell me what i'm missing?! lol

Here i thought i was just buying the wrong products ..maybe it's time to Move!! :p

@GretaDandradeine: Justice juice.

roflmao!!!

For some reason, the video won't play. It's just in pause. :(

Ben, how about some Captain Duvall Money Cat? He works for oatmeal! If you put him in a video, and buy him some oatmeal, I will cover the cost of the oatmeal AND donate 5 extra dollars.

@Tim Henson Queers Me _GitEmSteveDave:

Tax Cat sez: This post is relevant to my interests.

lol. great video, ben. you should get a programmer to auto-respond this video to "what does this have to do with...?/slow news day/can't take you seriously when you post crap like this/don't you fact-check?" comments that weasel their way into the discussions.

I still think Meg is adorable.

@GretaDandradeine: I think its called "Photoshop for men".

I like the tipjar idea, i really do. But if every 3rd time i went to get coffee they waved the tipjar in my face, id start to resent it. just put the link over on the side, and hope for the best. Constantly begging for donations really classes this place down.

if finances are so dire, how about taking it at least like NPR does? beg for money like crazy for an entire week twice a year?

Suggestion: subscribers to consumerreports.org ought to be able to avoid these pleas without resorting to, say, carefully constructed consumerist.com URLs.

I don't think they are overdoing it. It took me this long to donate... Some of us need reminders.

Couldn't watch the video but I can see Ben's close-up. How could I say no to that face?!

@mac-phisto: Let's have it auto-respond to every "I hate these tipjar videos!" comments as well.

@Knippschild:

Yes. More Meg please. Not that Ben isn't great and all, but Meg > Ben.

@Tim Henson Queers Me _GitEmSteveDave: Yes! Mor Captain Duvall Money Cat plz!

I figured out who Ben reminds me of: [www.imdb.com] Anybody else see a resemblance?

@alternatestory: i always thought he looked like dave foley of kids in the hall/newsradio fame (before he doubled his weight, of course).

@Chantillian: Or, you know, they could just SCROLL PAST THE DAMN POST rather than clicking on it and taking the time to come in here and bitch.

@Con Seannery '09: Illegal in 1 Giz: Since the Consumerist is pretty much all about "bitching" rather then ignoring the bad service companies provide such comments are hypocrisy.

Okay, this one made me laugh. And I just got paid, so I'm off to donate!

You guys should have at least $3 as your default setting. If you want to keep it low, fine, but the more you ask for, the more you get.

But the 65.00 right next to the "other amount" is a smart move.

Psychology, people. Touchy-feely we're-do-gooders doesn't work nearly as well as manipulating people's emotions in drawing money out.

I konw where you're going with all these Donate-to-Consumerist videos though; it's been done before:

@dave_coder: I would also have to call the video itself an ad, seeing as the "please donate" screen was up longer then Ben himself.

Okay, well I tried to donate, entered all my info and hit "Complete Donation" and a little pop up box said "don't click anything, wait 30 seconds, etc., hit ok" but there was no OK button! I left it for about five minutes. So.. I don't know. Has anyone else had Firefox issues? I want to donate!

Can I just send in a check without filling paperwork? That means I have to hook up my printer and thats ALLLLLLL the way upstairs, and that just sounds like work. Do you accept blank checks? let me knwo so we can get this thing hashed out. I am totally dependant on this site for all my news, satire, information, and meeting hot woman wih a similar taste in consumer protection information. SO hot.

@dave_coder: But can you simply scroll past the bad service when your product fails without any ill effects?

@skizsrodt: Tell you what. I'll take the check and see about forwarding to them. I hear their accountant goes by "Con Seannery."

Ben looks like he's about to bust out crying in that picture. It's o.k. Ben....please don't cry - we'll donate!

@YouDidWhatNow?: mostly because I'm attracted to attractive females.

Ben rocks too.. just I don't swing that way.

@Con Seannery '09: Illegal in 1 Giz: You can but you can also walk past the Best Buy.

@dave_coder: But do you already have a product from this post that you MUST come back in here for after a regrettable decision to shop in this post?

@Tim Henson Queers Me _GitEmSteveDave: also, i find cats with cake to be an acceptable second choice

@alternatestory: With his picture above, Ben kinda looks like Jon Stewart:

@B-Dubs:

@Con Seannery '09: Illegal in 1 Giz: It's in the mail.

Like, zoinks, Ben!