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Don't touch that dial: Test Pattern tunes into television, movie, music and pop culture links, as well as gossip and idle chat from around the Web.

Every week, msnbc.com entertainment producers Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, Denise Hazlick, Paige Newman, Kurt Schlosser and Anna Chan weigh in on topics ranging from TV commercials to movie hype to the latest celebrity blunder. We're not ashamed to admit our love for bad TV or reveal what's on our iPods, and invite you to join the conversation via your comments.



Watch some of the worst commercials on-air

Posted: Thursday, August 23, 2007 12:05 PM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Filed Under:

On Tuesday, I offered up links to a batch of your favorite TV commercials (couldn't get to them all, but tried to find the most frequently mentioned ads). Now it's time to let the really bad ads have their due. Consider yourself warned: Watch these commercials at your own risk.

These aren't the only ads in contention, so feel free to mention other ads, or comment on these, in the comments. And then give thanks for TiVo and the blessed fast-forward button.

Sour Skittles: Joe from "Rhoda" gets milked. Ugh...

Viva Viagra: Doesn't every group of male friends sit around and sing this? Thankfully, no.

Pepto-Bismol:  Diarrhea danceline. The Rockettes have nothing to worry about.

Starburst: Little Lad who loves berries and cream. First Sour Skittles and now this -- didn't candy ads used to be fun? This is kind of the extended remix version. I'm sure there was an enormous call for it.

Wendy's: Kicking trees apparently has something to do with eating hamburgers. No one is really sure what.

Burger King: SpongeBob NoPants. Or, as we like to call it, SpongeBob NoBrain.

Cingular:  IDK, my BFF Jill? This commercial is equally loved and hated, it seems -- it also made our "best commercial video" list.

Sony Handycam: Parents bathe grown son in the sink. This one was mentioned frequently when we discussed uber-creepy ads.

Travelers Insurance:  Rabbits get lucky rabbits' feet reattached. Those feet weren't too lucky for the rabbits, now were they?

Orville Redenbacher: But...he's been dead SINCE 1995!

Viva paper towels: Kid sprays mom with orange soda, mom retaliates. I agree, the kid probably didn't mean to spray his mom in the first place, but this ad still bugs.

Stanley Steemer: Toby the dog does the butt-scooting boogie. It's pretty disgusting, yes, but then Mom screams like someone just skinned her alive.

I tried to find that Vagisil ad featuring porcupines and skunks (you kind of have to see it to believe it), but the YouTube videos I found have been removed.

And finally, this is NOT a real commercial, but it cracked me up. The Mucinex phlegm guy and Digger the dermatophyte move in together. Warning: Contains that horrible scene of a toenail opening like a door which makes me cover my eyes every time.

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Comments

Trying to find a great commercial that aired a few years ago for I think, Atlantic City or Caesars Palace. It featured a guy bringing in his client (a man dressed up as a furry dice)to audition for the Casino. It was hilarious. The manager would instruct the dice to "show him the six". Anyone remember or know what I'm talking about!!!

Maggie (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 5:14 PM)

Have you seen the Clear Blue Easy pregnancy test that has what seems to be a stream of urine running over the test strip. The first time I saw it I was so shocked that I totally missed the name of the commercial. And a man is doing the 'voice-over', which to me makes it really creepy. Some things should be kept behind closed doors.

Carol, South Texas (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 5:40 PM)

I completely agree with the Orville and the Stanley Steamer ads......Even when he was alive, Orville kinda freaked me out. But, dudes been sead for awhile. And Toby dragging his tush across the carpet, GROSS!!!

I can't believe no-one brought up the ad for gas relief....I'm not sure of the company. But the guy is sitting in the meeting and the woman is doing her presentation..." Sales have been flatulent this Quarter..." Kills me every time, though it's rather gross at the same time!

caineme, Quincy CA. (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 6:35 PM)

It is a close call with the grown son in the sink but
I still vote for Sour Skittles as the worst ad of the year.

Bill McGovern,Hoosick Falls,N.Y. (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 7:57 PM)

Anyone seen the ad for a brand of adult "diapers" designed exclusively for men?  Has a bunch of bikers riding along...is this product made for incontinent men or for guys who are just too lazy to pull over to pee?

Laila Jenkins (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 8:49 PM)

The filthy guttural, mouth sucking sounds of
Stupid man who doesn’t know how to use an oven
and vocally slurps greasy melted cheese off of the
paper wrapper as some kind of sauce drips down his
shirt as a lethargic effeminate sounding guy tries to
make the whole view sound like it's something all
of us guys should partake in???? I don't think so..
As for the demolition of American classic Elvis song
to sell hard on pills..... What's up TV folk?

katara man (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 8:51 PM)

Some ads that make me cringe and jump for the mute button:

That stupid Snicker's commercial with the singing moron and his acoustic guitar. I will never eat another Snicker's again thanks to this commercial.

Scion ads. The cars aren't even real in the ads, and they are repeated WAY too many times. Adult Swim is inundated with Scion commercials.

Any ad that has the latest trendy Top 40 band in it. Rest assured, the commercials will be played non-stop so many times that your brain will hemorrhage.

Adam, Seattle, WA (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 9:03 PM)

as if we dont have enuf drug advertising already isnt  it great that the poor old drug companys are now using young kids to advertise their drugs....
(for shame america,for shame)

dorris spell deland fla (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 9:14 PM)

The WORST Pepto-Bismol ad is the one with the giant Japanese-style monsters & mutants.  Totally gross!!

Jena, Charlotte (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 9:31 PM)

My vote for worse, as in 'big fat lie' is Ditech's "People are Smart". If they think we're so smart, why do they find is necessary to tell us "an illusionist is just another word for magician". I guess they think we really ARE stoopid.

Mike, East Grand Forks, MN (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 9:35 PM)

Okay, see, I -like- the one with the rabbit's feet. It's cute! Only major problem is I can't remember what it's for. Insurance? Something?

Josie, Seattle, WA (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 9:50 PM)

Is it too late for a new entry:? Because I find the new Heineken Draught Keg ad disquieting.  A deathly buxom beer bot woman with extra arms, who can split into triplets... and the music is a little too reminiscent of Ross Geller (from Friends) "Sound".  It's way creepy.  Worse, I bet it appeals to the targeted demographic.

Shelley, NJ (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 10:09 PM)

I agree with Carol.  Clear Blue Easy - "the most sophisticated piece of technology you'll ever pee on!"  Gross! First of all, who thinks up this junk? Who would think this is intelligent? And secondly, what company CEO sits in a meeting to listen to this bilge and thinks, "Gee, this is a good representation of my company!"  Things that make you go hmmmmm!

Denise M, Seattle WA (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 10:18 PM)

Oh, please. The wife and I loved that Clear Blue ad. Maybe we're just degenerate coastal types, but what's wrong with a little potty humor when the topic is making babies? If the strip turns the right tint, chances are you're going to be up to your elbows in excrement pretty soon anyway.

Viva Viagra, on the other hand... Well, let's just say "Viva Tivo."

Matthew Arnold (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 10:32 PM)

I remember a Midas commercial about five years ago that had an elderly woman asking about the warranty on her newly replaced brake pads.  After the Midas guy gets done with his sales pitch, she sais, "What can you do about these?" and throws off her shirt!  You just see her back in the camera shot, of course, but the Midas guy just looks at her, looks down, looks away, etc.  I was dumbfounded when I saw it!

Travis, St. Paul, MN (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 11:01 PM)

I am sorry some of these ads do not only have bad scripts and presentation, mostly they lack discretion in the selection the time slots when airing these commercials. I had my fair share of teaching moments with a nine-year old, about "erectile dysfunction and its possible side effects," or the reasons why it now easier than ever for women to urinate on a stick. My kid running around at school or the neighbor’s house singing the Viagra jingle ...not so hot!
All the information about these products delivered to us during the prime hours of 5-6 PM when most people are preparing dinner and the TV is playing in the back drop. Some of these commercials should not be aired until a later time and get a better idea on how to present this "sensitive" material.

Nicole, Arroyo Grande, California (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 11:18 PM)

Geico has some commercials that make me want to shoot my tv. The laughing moron, the mattress fight, and the idiot juggling or whatever he's doing, have convinced me to never consider Geico for anything. It's an insult to my dogs' intelligence.

Jim, Myrtle Beach (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 11:27 PM)

I'm so sick of Viagra adds!  And they took cigarette adds off and still show these.  Please NO!!  Give the kids more ideas.  Sad.

Bee Shaft (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 11:31 PM)

"Kicking trees apparently has something to do with eating hamburgers. No one is really sure what."

I'm not sure either, but trying to think like some braindead advertiser . . .

If "tree huggers" are the kind of people who are vegans and don't eat Wendy's, then "tree kickers" would eat meat and go to Wendy's?

Amy, Oklahoma (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 11:32 PM)

Going along with the pg. test ads.  Not sure the maker, could even be the Clear Blue Easy one, but at the end of it, they say "the best stick you will ever pee on"...or something to that effect, what is up w/ that?

sandzma, Michigan (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 11:33 PM)

OH THANK GOD I am not the only FREAKED out by the Clear Blue Easy ad!!

M. Hill (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 11:50 PM)

Does anyone remember the ad campaign a few years back that Budget Rent-A-Car did? They had aroma therapy candles and chain letters, and the results were quite hilarious.

Andy, DeKalb, Il (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 12:24 AM)

Carol, the url for the Clear Blue Easy is this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqX7VxW3wL0

Agatha, California (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 1:19 AM)

Just saw a commercial today about some product that cleans the ear wax out of your ears with a very graphic demonstration. It was really gross. Does EVERY product need to be advertised?

YG, Elk Grove, Ca (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 1:39 AM)

That stupid viagra commercial is so bad I want to never watch television again. The ad company that made this lump of crud should never make another add again.  Ever.

John Tillman (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 1:43 AM)

Trojan Condom ad in India. Imagine this - 105 pound naked woman with a 400 pounds guy standing in a bath tub. Candles glowing all around them with soft music. Suddenly a skinny looking waiter approached with a silver platter with a single condom packet. I rolled on the floor in hysterics for an hour!!

SAMUEL RUSHDI (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 2:17 AM)

I remember a commercial i only saw once. It was for some kind of home pregnancy test. It went on to ambigously descride this piece of tehnological wonder, then in the end the creepy voice over guy was like, "it's the most advanced piece of technology you'll ever pee on." I was oddly weirded out and fascinated at the same time.

Josh, Palmdale, CA (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 2:49 AM)

My favorite worst commercial has to be a Valtrex commercial. Where her boyfriend is folding close in the back of the shot when half way into the commercial she mentions how she doesnt want to spread herpes (to her boyfriend in the background) he looks at the camera like "herpa what!?"

John G, ASU, TEMPE AZ (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 2:53 AM)

I'm surprised that the Enzyte commercial with "smilin' Bob" wsn't on the list.  It's not only incredibly stupid, it's also offensive.

Frank Carey (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 5:11 AM)

I know youtube.com would remove ads, but why, and why would ad executives give a crap after their ads have been around about a year or so. Hell, they dont use them anyway, why not make them public domain, and if they are public domain, make em easier to find!

Chris, Claremont, CA (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 5:30 AM)

That viagra ad makes me want to shoot myself. Serioulsy, it makes me ashamed to be an American man.
The funny thing is, every one of those morons in that disgusting viagra ad tells people they're "artists" or "actors" or "musicians".
It's this kind of mindless garbage (and the penis pill in general) that results in the rest of the world hating us.
How dumb do these big companies think we are. Based on the way the scumbags advertise to us, they must assume we're all using that viagra crap to play around with our cousins in various trailer parks across the country.

Joshua Danger (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 5:36 AM)

OMG! have you seent the All Bran commercial with the construction worker? too hilarious but also creepily uncomfortable. it's on youtube for sure: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwX8MzOKOzI

amber, charles town, wv (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 7:39 AM)

How about the one where the chocolate chip cookies are animated, and singing "Don't you want me baby" together in a convertible, and one by one are snatched away? Kind of makes you re-think the idea of eating a cookie.

Judy (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 8:00 AM)

What about the fiber cereal commercial where the pitch-man is a construction worker and in the background you see an I-beam being pulled through a window, then barrels roll off a truck (behind the man to appear as if rolling out of his backside) and then finally a "dump" truck dropping gravel?  Not even remotely subtle.  Just plain gross.

Chris, Philly (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 8:00 AM)

There are commericals by Columbus, Ohio-only businesses that use their children or their dogs (or both) to try to sell you stuff - cars, mortgages, etc.  I'm sure we're not the only city that does this.  I find these to be the most disturbing commercials of all.  Whoring your kids to sell stuff?!  If you're such an incompetant salesperson that you have to use your own kids to move your wares, you're probably in the wrong business.

Dave - Columbus, Ohio (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 8:04 AM)

I am getting very tired of those cavemen and stupid ghekko.  Its time for a new ad campaign GEICO.

Anonymous (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 8:19 AM)

I have to agree about the "Viva Viagra" ad. The first time I saw it I was in disbelief. It is totally embarrassing for weekend jammers, and besmirches one of Presley's better movie songs, too. This, alas, is the world we live in where once-great music that had different associations in our collective memory banks is now used to hawk products and cheapen the art.

Mike Trainor, Kansas City, MO (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 8:31 AM)

Anyone seen that Subaru commercial with all the animals saying "Ricky"? My question is, who the hell is Ricky?

Jake Nelson, Clayton, NC (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 8:32 AM)

what about the construction worker who is hawking All-Bran and as he leans over it appears wrecking balls come out his bottom. Ugh, they did not just do that. Then the dump truck with sludge at the end. Oh, my stars, yes they did just do that. Disgusting.

carolee (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 8:33 AM)

Cialis - Why does  ever couple have to end up in the bathtub at the end of each commercial?   What is this product trying to say  "you are such dirty pigs you have to take a bath".    Stupid, stupid commercials.

Carol (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 8:50 AM)

You should see the "Affordable Furniture" commercial on NBC, Channel 2, Utica, New York. An obese woman dancing in front on their door....obnoxious....

Fran Canan (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 8:53 AM)

The sour skittles commercial is by far the worst ever. I truly believe the marketing director at Mars Inc. was on vacation when the idea for this confusing and equally disturbing advertisement was conjured up.

Ramsey, Connecticut (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 8:54 AM)

I know it's too early for next year's worst commercials but if I have to see the Staples commercial with the cheerleading parents one more time, I'm going to be institutionalized.  I am boycotting Staples because I HATE that annoying commercial so much.  And, they show it 10 times a day.

Amy, Voorhees, NJ (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 8:56 AM)

I can't stand the Clear Blue Easy pregnancy test commercial! When I first saw it I thought maybe I channel surfed into a joke, but no it's real! Whoever the man is that thought up "pee on a stick" as an add campaign should be fired. If I do ever need to purchase one, I will make sure it's not Clear Blue.

Alexa, Huntington,NY (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 9:27 AM)

Ok worst commercial...I agree with the Starburst one...joe from Rhoda attached to a milking machine...I don't even know where they are going with that. The only thing I think that would be worse would be if it was Rhoda and not Joe! That is a disgusting commercial and he looks like heck.

But I must admit that the toenail fungus guy makes want to hurl whenever it appears!

Angel, MA (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 9:31 AM)

Being a dog owner, I happen to love the Stanley Steemer ad. My reaction would be the same if I saw our Rudy do that.

John, Beverly Hills, MI (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 9:46 AM)

Carol... yes, a friend and I fell over laughing the first time I saw the Clear Blue Easy commercial.  We had to rewind the Tivo to see it again.  Oddly enough, there are two versions, a "clean" version that runs on over the air channels and the explicit version that runs in women's cable networks like Lifetime, We and Oxygen!.  

I first saw the explicit version on Lifetime (yes, we were watching Golden Girls reruns!).  When the infamous stream of... er.. urine?.. hits the strip.. the voice over says: "It's the most sophisticated piece of technology you'll ever pee on"  That's when I lost it.
I later saw the same commercial on NBC, but instead of saying "pee" the announcer scratches his throat.  Anyway... it definitely should have made this list.

Lou, NYC (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 9:58 AM)

I find the "Viva Viagara" ad extremely stupid and insulting.  How does one explain this one to their 5-year old?  The promoters of these ads obviously have no children - or any brains for that matter.  

Kay Bradley (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 10:01 AM)

The singing viagra commercial is disgusting. I can't hit my remote button quick enought to get those creeps off my TV. I'm in advertising and want to know what nut job approved this "creepy" ad. I'm in that age range and that ad creeps me out.

Robert, Charlotte, NC (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 10:04 AM)

One of the creepiest I've seen lately is the carpet stain fighting family in the Woolite Pods commercial. Something about this one bothers me more than any other that shows the product being taken way too seriously.

trying to quit (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 10:13 AM)



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