Cosmetic surgery chain Lifestyle Lift promises clients it can remove wrinkles, frown lines and sagging skin in just a matter of an hour. But if you were planning to stop by one of the company’s centers on Monday you were likely met with locked doors and few answers. [More]
commercials
Cable Channels Speed Up TV Shows To Cram In More Ads
By 2.19.15
Anyone who’s watched a syndicated TV show on basic cable is already familiar with some methods of trimming the fat off of shows — shorter opening credits, sped-up closing credits that may overlap on-screen ads or the next show — but what you may not have noticed is that some cable networks are actually speeding up shows and movies to squeeze in more commercials. [More]
Dish’s “Reverse AutoHop” Will Cut Out Everything But The Commercials From The Super Bowl
By 1.29.15
Aside from the scrumptious gameday food, you could argue that for many people the best part about the Super Bowl is the commercials. But to get to those often funny, sometimes disappointing 30-second spots, you have to spend a majority of your time watching two teams you don’t really care about throw and kick a football down a long green field. To appease consumers who don’t care about the game but do care about the commercials, Dish Network is turning its commercial-skipping technology into game-skipping technology. [More]
Sprint’s “Framily,” NFL’s Family Of Disloyal Fans Lead List Of 2014’s Worst Ads
December 31, 2014
There has been a lot of discussion in recent years about what exactly constitutes a “family” in a time when people can have deeply felt connections with those they’ve never met while simultaneously having no meaningful relationships with their kin in the next room. But regardless of how they define familial relations, Consumerist readers have resoundingly let it be known that there were two advertising families that they wanted nothing to do with in 2014. [More]
‘The Daily Show’ Rewrites Koch Industries Commercial That Runs During Show
By 10.30.14
Observant viewers of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” may have noticed that the Comedy Central program has a new advertiser. No, not a video game or even a new flavor of Bud Light: a family-owned outfit out of Kansas is buying ad time during the influential comedy-news program. That company: Koch Industries. [More]
Comedian Accuses Burger King Of Stealing His Routine For New Commercial
By 10.13.14
Over the years Burger King has crafted some interesting concepts for commercials. Remember the King in bed with unsuspecting people? The fast food joint’s latest man-on-the-street ad, while decidedly less creepy, has one comedian calling foul. [More]
JCPenney Will Make You The Most Fashionable Family In 1986
By 10.8.14
The winter holidays are coming up, with family gatherings and parties that you don’t want to attend, but have to look nice for anyway. That means it’s time to go shopping for red sport coats and bow-bedecked blouses, to keep your family looking sharp! Because it’s always 1986 in my imagination, let’s go to…JCPenney. [More]
We’re Going To Be Humming The Awful/Genius Jingle From A Cheesy Mall Commercial All Day
By 8.18.14
Boots and pants… where can I buy some boots and pants? Or haircuts? What about haircuts? Denim! My needs to be addressed, simply and set to music. Good thing there’s an awkward/genius commercial for a mall in New Jersey to fulfill all my shopping and amusement needs. [More]
Get Through Your Friday With The Help Of This Laughably Bad Anti-Liquor-Privatization Ad
By 5.2.14
Here in Pennsylvania, there’s a heated debate going on about whether or not to ease the state’s byzantine laws on the sale of alcohol. Both sides of the issue have merit, but a new ad arguing against changing the law isn’t doing itself any favors. [More]
Group Calls On Parents To Tear Kids Away From TV, Computer Screens For A Week
By 5.2.14
Not so long ago, people would have laughed at the idea that elementary school kids would have smartphones, or that every member of a family would have a TV in his/her room, or that potty-training toilets would be designed to hold a computer screen to placate the defecating infant. In an effort to remind people that there is life outside of the LCD screens they hold in their hands, one group is asking parents to go screen-free next week. [More]
Frank Ocean’s Reply To Chipotle’s Lawsuit Over Undelivered Ad Song: F@&# Off, Here’s A Check
By 3.11.14
Things are heating up between Chipotle and musician Frank Ocean, after the Mexican food chain accused the singer in a lawsuit of failing to deliver a song for a commercial. Chipotle claims it paid him $212,500 in advance but then he failed to record the ad campaign’s song. His reply? Here’s your money back and oh yeah, f–k off. [More]
E-Mail Shows Big Corn Exec Wary Of Using “Natural” To Describe High-Fructose Corn Syrup
By 1.23.14
Though the FDA rejected the bid to relabel high-fructose corn syrup as “corn sugar” in 2012, the legal battle over ads about the sweetener is still ongoing. Newly uncovered e-mails from executives at huge agri-business firms reveal that not everyone was on board with all the messaging in the pro-HFCS ads. [More]
Save Santa: Buy This Hallmark Ornament
By 12.9.13
When we received an e-mail from reader Ryan entitled, “The most brilliantly evil Christmas commercial ever made,” well, our interest was piqued. Surely that bar is very high. There have been some great (terrible) moments in holiday commercial history. [More]
7 Reasons Wacky Used Car Salesman Cal Worthington Will Never Be Forgotten
By 9.10.13
For anyone growing up in California, it’s likely that you saw used-car impresario Cal Worthington and his dog Spot imploring shoppers to “Go see Cal.” And if you didn’t, your local salesman probably lifted a few tips from him. One of the most famous, wackiest of wacky car commercial salesmen, Worthington passed away on Sunday at age 92, prompting an outpouring of nostalgic tributes. Whether or not you ever went to see Cal, here are seven reasons never to forget him. [More]
Kia’s Viral Commercials Are All About The Hamsters, Not So Much The Cars
By 8.27.13
The original commercial for the Kia Soul wasn’t quite like anything else in car ads. While it was computer-animated and probably not cheap to produce, the full one-minute spot received millions of views on YouTube. Kia’s cute hamsters and clear storyline got everyone’s attention, and that was the company’s goal. [More]
What Is This “Football” You Speak Of? Survey Says 91% Of Consumers Excited For Super Bowl Ads
By 1.31.13
You’ve got your chicken wings ready, the remote has fresh batteries and the perfect spot is staked out on the couch. Does it even matter that there will be a football game airing during the Super Bowl, or are you just excited to see the ads? A new survey says 91% of consumers gearing up for the big day are also pumped about seeing the commercials. [More]
Hollywood Star Acer Commercials Push Ultrabooks, Challenge Gender Norms
By 10.31.12
Kiefer Sutherland seeks new, exciting, and flame-tastic ways to… bake cupcakes. Megan Fox walks away from a zero-g gig in her underwear to… create a computer program to communicate effectively with dolphins. In these extended ad spots designed to play in movie theaters, the stars follow their secret passions with the help of an Acer Ultrabook because, well, that’s who’s paying for the commercials. [More]
I Hate Progressive Insurance For Waking Me Up Over And Over
By 10.24.12
Tegan is mad at Flo from Progressive. Arguably, it’s her own fault: she leaves the TV on overnight as a sort of background noise. This leaves her and her fiancé at the mercy of whatever commercials run while they’re dozing. A new spot for Progressive insurance that advertises their mobile app features the loud, prominent sound of a vibrating phone. Most TV watchers might glance at their own phones in confusion, but Tegan was asleep, and was on call for work, so when she heard the vibrating sound, she woke up to check her phone. [More]
