Taco Bell Rings McDonalds' Breakfast Bell

This week’s edition is an ad from Taco Bell that has been getting a lot of press recently:



But did you happen to see the fine print:

How you do get a bunch of random people who happen to have the same name together to eat Taco Bell? Pay them of course. Who wouldn't say you love a Sausage AM Crunchwrap with 710 calories and 46 grams of fat if you gave them a pile of cash? While paid endorsements and actors playing “doctors” is nothing new, this clever one certainly created a lot of buzz online and in the marketplace.

Nissan Goes Rouge in New Ad

The latest edition from Nissan has been airing non-stop recently:

Here are the two main fine prints:

The fine print is so large and lasts so long that it is fairly noticeable and takes away from what the car is actually doing. Of course what the car is actually doing would be ridiculous even for a James Bond movie. There are also two smaller fine prints, bringing the total fine print airtime to 20 seconds in the 30 second commercial. Instead of spending money on airing a commercial every 15 minutes with an impossible stunt littered with fine prints, why couldn’t Nissan just tell you want the car actually does? 

What Happens in a Vegas Ad, Stays in a Vegas Ad

This week's edition is from LasVegas.com:


The fine print is near the beginning during Penn and Teller's trick:

Do not attempt? But it is a magic show. They are trained professionals. Do not worry, I am sure Teller told the participant he will be fine. What ever happened to "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas"? Maybe that should be in the fine print instead.

Thanks to reader Erryn Neckel for the suggestion.

Mio Water's Cat-astrophic Ad

This week’s edition is a 15 second ad from Mio water:

The fine print was quick at the end:

While you can barely even tell that there are cats being shot out of cannons, the fine print is necessary because it is still Tracy Morgan.  At least the fake cats have helmets on.  Safety first of course. 

5 Hour Energy's Ad Changing More Than Just Focus

This week is from 5 Hour Energy:

Despite all the medical warning fine print, another one caught my attention:

Darn, I really wanted a magical shirt color changing drink. I love the orange shirt/blue tie combo and bright yellow shirt. Imagine my sweet new wardrobe. I wonder if Violet Beauregarde from Willy Wonka drinks Red Bull now or has she learned her lesson about reading the fine print.

Epiduo Needs a Home Remedy for This Ad

Here is this week’s edition from Epiduo:

The fine print appeared throughout the ad:

Vacuum, magnets, lent remover, kelp, toothpaste, hair dryer, aluminum foil, and glow sticks are bad ideas? At least the actors appeared to be fine with it, so it cannot be that bad. They forgot lemon juice, honey, cucumber, orange peel, tomato, potato, and clay.  How about soap?

http://www.crunchybetty.com/27-quick-and-crunchy-home-remedies-for-pimples

http://www.top10homeremedies.com/home-remedies/home-remedies-for-acne.html

BMW Sticking Sense Outside the Window

This week's edition is another car ad, this time from BMW:

The fine print is small at the end:

While this fine print is necessary and somewhat serious, it begs to question why did BMW even film it that way. The child could have easily been listening to headphones or sleeping instead of sticking his hands out the window. I am sure there are instances of passengers injuring their hands that warranted a disclaimer, but why film it and annoy the lawyers in the first place? I'm more concerned about the kid's haircut, over-sized white collar, and that there does not appear to be a driver. Scary!

Ford’s Flying Car Con-Fusion

This week's edition is from Ford:

The fine print is small, but obvious:

Whew, I was getting worried Ford was on to something. In this ad, they cleverly put the subject matter of the fine print in the main message of the Fusion commercial. While it hints at the fine print in the narration, it still requires the disclaimer to cover their bases. At least they tout the features of the car instead of focusing solely on what it clearly cannot do. Unfortunately, I do not think Thelma and Louise saw the fine print. Oops. 

Chevy Sonic Skates Around the Issue

This week's ad is another car commercial, this time from Chevy:

Here is the fine print:

The ad is so long and obviously misleading, it needs two disclaimers:

I thought after the long ad the car turned it a skateboard, but the clarification helps. Instead of showing what it clearly cannot do for 60 seconds, why couldn't the ad show its actual capabilities? Does it have good gas mileage? Great handling? Or just that the seatbelts work on a milk carton?

Nissan Sign and Not Test Drive Ad

This week's ad is from Nissan:


The fine print is at the beginning:

While the fine print in this is clever, I am not sure it is even necessary. The ad does not portray the action as a test drive until the end of the commercial, and even then, its not clear that the earlier desert scene is a test drive. But I always wanted to test drive a car by doing donuts in the desert with other cars in the way. Bummer. 

Pitbull’s Fiat Ad is For the Dogs

Here is this week's edition from Fiat:


The fine print was at the end:

What should we not attempt in this ad? Drive in the sand? Dance on the beach in a tux? Wear a tight European speedo/briefs thing? Listen to Pitbull? Oh, drive on water. Gotcha.

Oscar Mayer Trying to Hot Dog It

This week’s edition comes from Oscar Mayer hot dogs:



Here is the clever fine print:

The main joke of the fine print is not even necessary, but there is a hidden gem when I took a second look.

You would think Oscar Mayer would be better at spelling considering their original classic commercial focused on spelling.

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.