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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

Professional Chefs at Taco Bell?

Here is another Taco Bell ad to make this blog:

Despite the flashy ad, there is some fine print to notice:

There are professional chefs working for Taco Bell? I doubt that. Throwing the food in the air and touching the food with bare hands is more believable though.

Turn the Hose off of Verizon's New Fake Emergency Ad

This week’s edition is another ad from Verizon:

There are two fine prints to notice in this one:

They say it is a test in the beginning of the ad, there’s no reason for the fine print. Who would really think it is an actual emergency? What would you do/call if you thought it was? My bigger concern is the “do not attempt” on the firehouse gag. The guy just stands there and is smiling as he gets wet. “Do not attempt” does not cover the blatant misleading portrayal of a fire hose in this ad. You do not see smiling or high-fiving among the riot police in this training video.

Do Not Attempt to Mimic Magnum Ice Cream and Ace Hardware

This week’s edition is a double feature, first from Ace Hardware:

Then from Magnum Ice Cream:

Notice the fine print on both?:

We shouldn’t walk on top of cars? Unfortunately, there is a time honored tradition in movies of this action. Whether it is tracking aliens, watching horse races, shooting aliens, or robbing cars, everyone seems to turn out fine. Oh, wait; maybe it’s a bad idea after all.

Thanks for reader David Marrin for the idea submission.

When Verizon Thunderbolt's Wall Charger Is Not Enough?

Here is a new ad from Verizon for their new Thunderbolt phone:

The fine print was very early in the ad:

While “Do not attempt” is one of the most common fine prints in ads, this one is strange because who would even attempt this? What is he even attempting? Harnessing lightning? I would only trust Doc from Back to the Future to do that. I am actually more concerned about walking across rooftops with a ladder. I do not think Verizon has to worry about lawsuits from people walking across rooftops with long power cords in order to power their phone.

Thanks to reader Michael Mills for the idea submission.