TV ads that creep us out: Man as milking machine
Posted: Wednesday, July 11, 2007 9:46 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Filed Under:
TV commercials
Creepy can be good ... when you're talking about "The Addams Family," or watching a zombie movie. But is "creepy" really the sentiment major corporations want associated with their precious products? No? So why do so many of them spend millions on ads that make viewers shudder and change the channel?
You know the Creepy Commercial o' the Moment: It's been mentioned multiple times in Test Pattern's comments so far this summer. It's the Sour Skittles ad, with the older man (update: It's David Groh, who played Joe on "Rhoda") hooked up to a milking machine like a cow. It's just nasty all the way around, but if you must see it, you can watch it here.
I guess I get what Skittles was thinking. They're not going for the audience who will be grossed out by the ad. They're apparently aiming for their target audience, kids, mostly boys, who like sour candy and are entertained by gross ads. (And if you read some of the comments on that YouTube link, their target audience seems to think the ad is "awesome.") But regardless, this ad is still right in the front of the pack as a possible Worst Ad of the Year candidate, at least in our contest.
There's at least one ad I know of that's even creepier than Milking Man. You know it: It's Digger the Dermatophyte (I always want to type "Digger the Hermaphrodite"), the hideous toenail monster who opens up a cartoon toenail as if it's a door and jumps in and...aaugh, I can't even describe it anymore, and I'm sure not linking to a video of it. I'm just glad it can't win again this year due to the one-time-only rule.
Who else makes the Creepy List? The plastic-headed Burger King, for sure. Pretty much anything involving him qualifies as creepy in my book, but there was an older one where he ends up in bed with some poor person that really sticks out in my memory. What's worse, waking up with "The Godfather" horse head, or with the Burger King? The jury is still out. Fast food ads often reach for the "creepy" button instead of the "clever," it seems.
Also creepy? Plastic-smiled Bob with his erectile problems. Advertising this product is going to be difficult on the best day, but smarmy Bob and his stupid wife and friends don't make it any more tolerable.
"Creepy" is defined as "producing a nervous shivery apprehension," and also as "annoyingly unpleasant." Not all bad commercials are creepy...some are just stupid, or annoying, or dumb. But if you've got other creepy commercials in mind, please, share them in the not-so-creepy comments.
