Consumerist
tributes
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infomercials
Can Billy Mays Move Product From Beyond The Grave?
Next week, direct-response marketing juggernaut Telebrands will roll out a new ad campaign for Jupiter Jack, a tiny gadget intended to turn your car radio into a giant cell phone speakerphone. The star of the spot is recently deceased pitchman Billy Mays.
Why run the spot? For starters, both Telebrands and the Mays family know that Billy would have wanted it that way. More »
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infomercials
Ten Stupid Infomercials Will Shake Your Faith In Capitalism
The best thing about YouTube is that it lets us see wacky commercials and insipid infomercials without the inconvenience of watching TV. Where would the Comfort Wipe be without it? More » -
funny
Jake Hunts For A Good Laptop
Funny or Die has a pretty funny, nsfw parody of the current Microsoft "You find it, you keep it" commercials. Jake's in the market for a decent laptop that can meet his needs, which include a big screen, the ability to go online, and enough cash left over for some subscriptions to certain adult websites. It's basically what the real commercial would look like in a world without TV censors. More » -
badvertising
Hate Loud Commercials? Well, They May Be Outlawed Soon
Good news for those of you who hate loud commercials — a bill currently bouncing around in Congress would force the FCC to "preclude commercials from being broadcast at louder volumes than the program material they accompany." More » -
strange
Bear Grylls Loves Post Trail Mix, When He Can't Grab A Handful Of Goat Balls And Spiders
-Let's get a real rough and tumble adventure guy to push our trail mix!
-Yeah, trail mix is all about roughing it! And being green! And nature!
-How about Bear Grylls?
-...isn't he the guy who eats bugs and testicles and rotten zebras on TV?
-That's why you're a junior account manager, Chuck. You don't think outside the box. More » -
videos
Slap Chop Remix Will Awe You (Although It Doesn't Erase The Memory Of That Hooker)
We'll probably never be able to get those mug shots out of our minds when we see crazy old Vince hawking things on TV, but this amazing remix comes in a close second at searing itself into the brain. "You're gonna love my nuts" is particularly well done. More » -
funny
Fans Beg The Cubs To Stop Playing Annoying Commercial Jingle At Wrigley
If one had a few hours free to try to list all the of the annoying commercial jingles from Chicagoland, one would be remiss not to include the locally-infamous "Luna" tune. If you're not from Chicago, you do not understand the pain, but after the jump you will. Yes, you will. More » -
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infomercials
Smart Mop Holds Up To 20 Times The Crazy Of A ShamWow
The people behind the new Smart Mop infomercial have clearly studied the success of the ShamWow guy, and they've taken the infomercial genre to a new level of silliness. Their new ad is so ridiculous that it seems designed more for YouTube than primetime, but since it's funny and entertaining (for an infomercial) we'll take the bait and post it. More » -
badvertising
FTC To Require Advertisers Using Testimonials To Show Typical Results
Subway spokesman and occasional thin guy Jared Fogle may soon be out of work thanks to a new FTC rule banning commercial testimonials that warn "results not typical" or "individual results may vary." Under the new rule, marketers using, say, body builders to advertise weight loss pills are also going to have to show an average lardass whose results might be more typical. You can guess how advertisers are reacting to the change... More » -
junk
8 Pieces Of Junk Fitness Equipment
The world of late night TV (and now prime time too) has never had a shortage of stupid exercise machines guaranteed to make you look like a dehydrated, sauced-up infomercial model. ObsessionFitness has put together a quick list of 8 of the worst offenders, including our favorite, the hula-inducing Hawaii Chair.
"Faux Fitness – 8 Inane & Pointless Pieces of Exercise Equipment" [ObsessionFitness]
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parodies
Dan Hesse, You Can Keep Making Commercials Forever
Tonya emailed us a video clip of a cute little piggy with a robot voice complaining about being trapped on hold. We appreciated the rant, but were even more fascinated with the technology that allowed her friend to turn a long, written diatribe into an instant cartoon. You know who needs this? Dan Hesse, shunned pitchman and CEO for Sprint! You'll never have to stop making commercials now. Also, we've decided to make you British.
See Dan's new public-access-style ad below. More »
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credit reports
FTC Launches Own Singing Credit Report Commercials
As we've said repeatedly, AnnualCreditReport.com is the good website to go to when you need to pull a credit report, because it's actually free. The others, including freecreditreport.com, use the promise of free the way an angler fish uses its forehead-worm-thing to trap dumb little fish. The FTC has decided to fight fire with fire by releasing its own jingles. To be honest, we're not 100% sold on them—they have kind of a squaresville, PBS vibe, which is gonna really hamper their viral power. Check them out below. More » -
great moments in commercial history
Cheers To You! Motivational CD Offers Eight Creepy, Life-Affirming Tracks
If you're down in the dumps and have nowhere else to turn, consider this collection of congratulatory remarks dubbed over applause. Only $24.95! But wait, if you order right now, you'll also get some, uh, pewter puzzle pieces? More » -
funny
Microsoft Attempts To Kill Music Forever With Songsmith Commercial
My ears are shooting streams of blood
As I watch this demo play
But thanks to Songsmith's magic touch
I'll write like Bruce Springsteen More » -
Billy Mays
Please Enjoy This Complimentary Billy Mays Remix Video, Our Gift To You With Each Order
What's better than Billy Mays? Remixes of Billy Mays? We agree. And guess what? We're tripling the offer inside. Yes. That's right.* *These are all probably NSFW. More » -
great moments in commercial history
Behold The Wunder Boner
Let us share with you this horrifying, but comically named, fish deboning device.
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toyota
Yes, It's Official: That Stupid "Saved By Zero" Commercial Isn't Working
You, dear consumer, have abruptly stopped purchasing automobiles. GM's sales are down 45%. Ford has sunk by 30% and Toyota, yes, that Toyota is down 23%. More »
