No Infinite Fun in Infinity’s Ad?

This edition is from Infiniti:

This slick ad has plenty of fine print, but I noticed a particular one:

Well that ruins the fun, and the whole point of the commercial. What is the point of driving the car if you cannot race it like a formula 1 car in a grand prix? If they are actually only driving 70 mph in the earlier fine print, then why can’t they drive similarly at those speeds? What a letdown. I was really looking forward to seeing someone take their four door sedan out for a spin in the middle of an Indy car race. On a side note, I have watched the ad about ten times, and still have no idea what she is asking for. Maybe they should work on clear sound editing instead of gimmicks.

Thanks to reader Erryn Gallasch for the idea submission.

Toshiba’s Over the Top Laptop Lab Ad

This week’s installment is from Toshiba:

At the end of the list of fine print is the one to notice:

Considering there is no such thing as a professional medical test subject, Toshiba does not have to worry about lawsuits over this commercial. The FTC is not going to crack down on a deceptive use of a so called expert, when experts in the field obviously do not exist. Even the fine print is so small you can barely read it. Maybe they should have used the time and effort on better makeup and graphics.

Ford Taurus is No Longer a Tortoise

Here is the latest ad from Ford:

The fine print is fairly obvious and actually helps with the ad:

While “closed course” and “professional drivers” are very common in car commercials, this instance is rare and emphasized. The ad mentions the famous NASCAR driver and engineer passenger in the beginning, therefore the fine print serves to drive the message home. It adds a sense of realism and humor instead of the normal lawsuit protection. What I am more amazed about is that the new 2013 Taurus has 365 horsepower? Maybe it is time to trade in my sweet 2000 version.

Verizon is Skating on Thin Ice With Latest NHL Ad

Now that it is NHL playoff time, I noticed this hockey related ad from Verizon:

The fine print is hard to notice:

While it is funny to add the long johns part to the fine print, it could invite idiot hockey fans to attempt to bury themselves in ice wearing long johns, despite the obvious computer generated effect. This is Verizon’s third appearance in this blog for do not attempt related ads. Maybe they should choose less risky or dangerous gimmicks in their ads. However, choosing the #8 seed Los Angeles Kings and #5 seed Philadelphia Fylers as the two teams in the ad was a risky choice that paid off for them since both teams pulled off first round upsets.

Subway's Incorrect February FebruANY Ad

Here is the latest installment of Subway’s $5 foot long ads:



This version is not an interesting fine print but a visual error. Among all the cliché things associated with February, one stood out:

There are three things wrong with Benjamin Franklin's appearance in this ad. First, Presidents Day only celebrates Lincoln and Washington. Second, Franklin was born in January. Third, and probably the most common misconception, Benjamin Franklin was NEVER PRESIDENT! You could have easily switched roles in the ad with Washington to hide him or even used February 6^th born Ronald Reagan instead. Apparently they have enough quality control to account for Leap Day when showing the calendar of February later in the ad, but not a grade school knowledge of American history. Maybe that is why comments are disabled on the YouTube page.

Chevy Sonic’s Super Pointless Ad

Here is an ad from Chevy that aired during the Super Bowl:

Even though there is fine print that was very obvious and deliberate in the beginning, the smaller one later caught my eye:

The car in the ad is not even the car you can buy, but modified for the ridiculous stunts. While it is refreshing to see real stunts instead of computer generated graphics, the fact that the stunts are real does not detract from the pointlessness of the ad. No one is going to take their new Chevy kick-flipping, bungee-jumping, or sky-diving, so why even bother? You can throw any car out of a plane with a parachute to show it can fall with style. While over the top Super Bowl Ads that do not sell the product are nothing new, this one probably cost millions to show no capabilities over a Ford Fiesta or Honda Fit.

Taking Trucks to the Next Frontier?

This week’s edition is from Nissan:

This is a double fine print edition:

This one can be put into the very obvious category. Clearly there are computer generated graphics to show the truck doing absurd stunts, but I’m sure there are idiots out there who would try to imitate it. Now if there were videos of people attempting it, I would be impressed.

Velveeta's Creepy not Cheesy Ad

This week’s edition is a recurring character from Velveeta:

The fine print is smaller and near the end:

They clearly explain how to make the macaroni and cheese meal earlier, so the small fine print is not necessary. They use it to further the creepy blacksmith mentor character on unsuspecting apprentices. If a four handed costumed guy showed up at my house with a severed drive thru order speaker box I would be adding a restraining order instead of ground beef.

Thanks to reader Erryn Gallasch for the idea submission.

Lebron James’s Waste of Energy

This fine print actually came from movie previews:

A 3 pointer of fine prints?

There is no need for the first fine print since most TV commercials are actors, but still kind of funny. For the second one, I am disappointed he does not actually appear, but once again who actually thinks the spokesperson shows up with the product? A better fine print might say not to use during the 4^th quarter because Lebron would not actually appear either. The last one is great too since you could say he spent more time writing and directing this ad than planning his “decision” tv special or concentrated more on this film than game film.