Thursday, August 19, 2004

Worst Commercial Ever?

What is the most repulsive commercial on television right now? It's not Viagra, Levitra, Cialis, or any other drug that treats erectile dysfunction. It's not those ads for feminine hygiene and bladder control. It's not Gas-X or the attractive women who admit they too suffer from constipation. Without doubt, the most disturbing advertisement on air is Digger the Dermatophyte. Resembling a demon from Hell, Digger (a computer animation) explains that he lives "deep under your infected nails." Don't believe him? Standing next to a big toe, Digger explains how he causes the nail to look so jaundiced, its edges so jagged. And yes, you get a good look at this probably while you are settling down, about to eat. But it gets worse.

Digger actually lifts off the toe nail, exposing the dark red interior. And then he magically jumps in. Next thing you know, he and his cohorts are whirling around, creating that fungus infection--that is, until a giant tablet of Lamisil comes rolling in, knocking Digger silly, until, at long last, the nail is looking healthy once again. A step-by-step demonstration of this can be seen on Lamisil's website if you dare.

Lifting off of toe nails or scenes from Girls Gone Wild? Which would you rather see at dinner?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's the lifting up of the nail that really gets me, personally. Having done that no small number of times unintentionally, and having said nail just fall off a number of times (cross country running is one of those things you wonder why you did when you were young, when you get older) -- it really just makes me cringe. Ugh.

-bek

Anonymous said...

Dear SubStandard:

You are wrong, so wrong. By far the worst commercial out there now is the Nike or some other sports commercial where a handsome tennis pro arrives to teach a bunch of 13-year-old girls tennis. While he is observing them practice, they give him the goo goo eyes, and then, to his astonishment, they each transform into Serena Williams as they serve, charge the net, dig out balls in the corners, slap balls down the line, etc. As they turn back as themselves, they give "Goran", as I shall call him, (I can't tell if he's really Goran Ivanisivic (sp) or just some random actor) a knowing look, like, "Make sure you give me good marks for that one." Finally, all the girls become Serena Williams, and stand there before him in a semi-coy posture because Serena is incapable of coming across as fully coy. The message of this commercial is clear: when infatuated with cute underage girls, just fantasize that they are a woman who is clearly not underage.

--AP

PS. I just read that the ad was pulled off Australian TV because a high profile tennis coach was revealed to be having sex with a teenage girl...
http://au.dailynews.yahoo.com/finance/20040816/reutersfinance/1092641360-1946763326.html

Erick Erickson said...

My wife and I fall out laughing everytime the disclaimer is announced in the Cialis commercial about erections lasting longer than four hours require immediate medical attention.

As one of my older friends at work commented, at his age (35), he gets worried if they last longer than ten minutes.

Anonymous said...

Check -- it's a 10 on the GrossOutOMeter. I thought commercials were supposed to inform and occasionally sell something. That one just makes you want to hurl.

Anonymous said...

You got that right. People tend to watch tv while eating. This is not something you want to see while you're eating. Plus, you can't apply it directly to the forehead.