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great moments in commercial history

great moments in commercial history

PedEgg Ads Scam, Suit Alleges

Who would have ever thought that a low-budget infomercial touting an egg-shaped device home pedicure device with "100 precision microfiles" might be deceptive in some way? Not, apparently, its actors, two of whom are suing the makers of "PedEgg." The thespians say they PedEgg told them the commercial would be internets-only. Instead, it's on the national airways. We don't care about that part. Rather, we chuckle over the suit's revelation that PedEgg hired a horror-makeup guy to apply "artificial bumps and discoloration" to their feet to increase the contrast between the "before" and "after" shots. Quelle horreru! Besides their dishonest advertising tactics, someone should also sue PedEgg for the gross-out shot when they dump all the foot shavings in the trash. See the full commercial inside. More »

badvertising

Great Moments In Commercial History: Fred And Sharon's Movies

Meet Fred and Sharon. They make movies. Video Movies. They could improve your life. More »

alzeimer's

Great Moments In Commercial History: "Al'z Place"

The Stay Free! daily blog was watching the telly and nearly spit out its wheatgrass juice when it noticed an ad for a senior care facility in Brooklyn that has blessed its Alzeimer's ward with a delightful moniker. They call it, "Al'z place." That marketing decisions strikes us as, shall we say, unfortunate. What's the message here? "He forgot his name and so did we so we just call him Al."

badvertising

Great Moments In Commercial History: Prime Cut Meat Market Restaurant

Here's a commercial for the Prime Cut Meat Market Restaurant, where:
"Bob Henry, winner of an award, proud owner of a plaque, will dazzle you."
We've never actually had chicken friend steak, and we won't... We're waiting for Bob to dazzle us. More »

badvertising

Great Moments In Commercial History: Kinoki Foot Pads

Meet the Kinoki foot pad, a simple patch that can remove "toxins" from your body while you sleep. More »

bad ideas

"Hand Shredder" #4 On List of Unfortunately Named Products

Say No to Crack has posted a list of five of the worst-named products to ever reach the market. Runner up for best worst name is that classic of early 80s television, AYDS diet chews (which we've covered in depth here). Our personal favorite, though, is the Hand Shredder. More »

badvertising

Great Moments In Commercial History: Hai Karate Aftershave

The ads for Axe body sprays have a cultural debt to be paid to the makers of Hai Karate aftershave, sold from the 60's to the 80's. Their whole marketing strategy hinged on the notion that the budget aftershave would turn women into wild maniacs who couldn't wait to put their hands on you. Uniquely, each bottle came with a self-defense instruction booklet, so you could learn moves to protect yourself from the inevitable onslaught of females. Spotted this ad over at Consumerama.net. Transcripts and more Hai Karate commercials, inside... More »

goodvertising

Great Moments In Commercial History: Johnson Automotive

A change of pace this week: If you've ever wished that a local car dealership would hire the same agency that does the ads for GEICO, your prayers have been answered by Johnson Automotive of Raleigh,NC. More »

badvertising

Great Moments In Commercial History: The Game Store

Here we see a commercial for "The Game Store" in Hazleton, PA, starring Stevie Richards. Mr. Richards is a professional wrestler of some kind. Wrestling must not pay very well, because Stevie is in dire need of a new shirt. More »

badvertising

Great Moments In Commercial History: Lincoln Insurance

There are many fine traditions in the city of Chicago, but our favorite has to be the escalating weirdness among "low cost" auto insurance companies. More »

badvertising

Great Moments In Commercial History: Good Old Tom

Reader Marissa writes:

As a criminal defense attorney, I must say, I am extremely suspect of where all these heaps of "scrap gold" Tom's customers have lying around came from.

Oh, wait, my suspicion appears to be well founded:

More »

badvertising

Great Moments In Commercial History: Norton Furniture

Reader Jacob says:
I'm from Cleveland and Norton Furniture commercials have perplexed late-night viewers for the past few years.
Perplexed is the perfect word to express what we are feeling right now.

If you'd like to nominate a commercial for our weekly series "Great Moments In Commercial History" send us an email at tips [at] consumerist [dot] com. Be sure to put "Great Moments In Commercial History" in the subject. To see other commercials that have been featured in the series, click here.

More »

badvertising

Great Moments In Commercial History: Jhoon Rhee

This Jhoon Rhee commercial was suggested by a number of readers, including Vicki, who writes:
Your "Great Moments in Commercial History" postings made me recall this commercial from my childhood, which ran on Washington DC stations in the days before cable. I remembered it as the "Nobody bothers me!" commercial, I couldn't even remember the company or product.
More »

badvertising

Great Moments In Commercial History: Linda Soundtrak

We'd never before considered what it was like to grow up in Oklahoma in the mid-1980s, but after seeing these "Linda Soundtrak" commercials we are now of the opinion that it would have required heavy use of the mute button. More »

badvertising

Great Moments In Commercial History: The Back Up

"It's the smartest money you'll spend in your life." A bed-mounted gun rack? Smart? At first we thought this was fake, but no. Here's the patent. More »

badvertising

Great Moments In Commercial History: Rejuvenique

This thing is just plain terrifying. That's all we have to say. More »

badvertising

Great Moments In Commercial History: John Orcutt

Reader Jeffrey says:
John Orcutt has been advertising in North Carolina for years. This most recent one made me laugh out loud.
How delightful! The scary bill collector sort of reminds us of the dramatic hamster. More »

badvertising

Great Moments In Commercial History: Rainier Beer

Reader Ian nominates these Rainier Beer commercials because they bring together "two great things that go great together: drinkin' beer and ridin' motorcycles," because the Budweiser frogs were a ripoff, and because Rainier was "bizarre before bizarre became de rigueur." More »