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    The Ad Council Commercials: Stupid or Super-Stupid? You Decide

    By Larry Jankens on Tue, 08/04/2009 - 10:52pm | Humor & Satire

    Oh, how I disdain the Ad Council and their stupid commercials. Just look at these. Few things boils my blood more than seeing our government piss away our tax dollars. Our hard earned capital is routinely spent on frivolous endeavors that benefit few while burdening the majority. While I think government spending in certain areas is absolutely necessary, spending money on stupid stuff is deplorable. An awesome example of horrible government spending is the Ad Council. While the organization itself is not a governmental agency, it accepts millions of dollars in public funds. Let’s review some of the ads tax payer money goes towards.

    Example #1: What Are Your Kids Learning on the Internet?

    That’s right America, if you don’t put parental blocks up on your computer, your kids will rape your pets. The internet is full of non-kid safe material, but I’m pretty sure that if your kid is twisted enough to try to roll over on Rover the internet is the least of your concerns.

    Example #2: Caring vs. Controlling

    You think it’s just a regular commercial for some wireless company introducing its “stalker plus” program that enables you to bother 5 people of your choice with no charge, then you think it’s a commercial selling big foam cell phone costumes, and just when you think it can’t get anymore weird comes “Nude pics, send me some.” This commercial was better when it was a movie staring Marky Mark and Reese Whitherspoon called Fear.

    Example #3: Extra Arms

    I’m not saying that having two extra arms would be a good thing, but shoot, the freak-of-nature angle has worked well for the Pregnant Man and Octo-crazy-mom. If growing extra arms is your penance for being an asshole, sign me up – my penance could be worse and a lot less practical. Plus, the girl tells the guy he should do something to change his karma, it's interesting that she didn't include "Buy back your grandpa's power tools, you tweaker prick." Maybe she doesn't like gramps either.

    Example #4: Father involvement

    If the Ad Council wanted to get across the importance of being involved with your daughter, they’d be better served showing a teenage girl acting like a slut. Because let’s face it, most teenage sluts are sluts because they have some daddy issues. This commercial should be something like “Don’t want your daughter to be a dirty teenage slut or a stripper? Get involved in her life so she doesn’t pierce her tongue and give BJ’s like they was going out of style.” Don’t get me wrong, a lot of the Ad Council commercials have good points to them. Of course you should make sure your young child isn’t surfing for porn on the net, you should avoid stalker-ish people, do good things, and pay attention to your children, but is it really necessary to spend our tax dollars telling people these obvious facts?

    Topics: 
    Humor & Satire

    Comments

    Interesting post.  I agree that some commercials are good and some seem stupid.  I understood that television stations must air a certain number of psa's to maintain their licenses but how does one document the tax dollars flowing to the ad council?   Not that I don't believe you but where is this confirmed?

    Thanks

    Cheers


    by David (not verified) on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 9:44am

    The Ad Council teams up with govnermental agencies to produce commercials on certain issues.  The DOJ and DOT along with other governmental bodies have poured millions of dollars into the Ad Council over the years. 

    http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ad_Council

    And yes, television and radio stations must air PSA's in order to keep their license, air time that could be sold to advertisers and revenue from those sales taxed by the government. 


    by Larry Jankens on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 10:57am

    But the PSAs can just as easily be from nonprofits and I'm guessing that the network's PSAs (like NBC's "The More You Know") is a way that they can meet their PSA obligations while promoting their own stars. The government does have an obligation to provide information that promotes public safety and well being. My guess is that Ad Council funding started out as a way to do that. Like anything that involves money, the agencies receiving the funding don't want it to dry up and the agencies sponsoring the ads don't want that money out of their budgets, so they come up with ridiculous ads that somehow still meet the threshold for government funding.

    Our tax dollars at work. Yay, America. 


    by Orlando on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 11:07am

    Oh, it's better than that!  The Ad Council was originally created as the soft-propaganda arm of the the government during WWII.  I agree that ostensibly, it isn't a bad idea to have the government pay money for PSA's, but I can only assume that you are right that it has morphed into a money-hungry-tax-cow that has our tax money go to telling people that kids are raping poodles. 


    by Larry Jankens on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 11:22am

    You are wrong about one thing. The Federal government does not have an obligation to provide information about safety. Im not saying they cant legally do it. Im just saying they are not required to. The government does have an obligation to secure the boarders which they are not doing.


    by Gerry (not verified) on Sat, 03/31/2012 - 8:47am

    most excellent Gerry!   how much money should the federal government give

    the ad council???  simple,  Zero. 


    by joejoeswim (not verified) on Thu, 01/03/2013 - 11:55pm

    I've been tortured with these retarded commercials for years and years.  Talk about an insult to one's intelligence.  There's got to be a bunch of hacks and morons writing and producing these turds!  More of our tax dollars being pissed away by the federal government.  Not to mention the liberal propaganda that just oozes from these shit commercials!

    by Andrej (not verified) on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 6:25pm

    This is an excellent example of the #3 I just discussed. Andrej bemoans the liberal propaganda of these advertisements, despite the fact that it's usually Republicans who style themselves as the party of morality and family values.


    by Nebton on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 9:47am

    Look, Republicans frequently espouse family values, that is true (values like fiscal responsibility).  Democrates like education.  I just don't see how the public schools have failed our society in teaching family values that we need to spend so much tax money on these aptly coined "soft-propaganda" commercials.  What are we teaching in class?  What are we teaching with these commercials?  I submit we're teaching reckless spending with these commercials and the Ad Council, is EVERYWHERE.  Start looking for its logo and equate it with your tax withholding on your paycheck...I'm just saying.  Anyone (Rep or Dem) who runs a campaign that tries to cut these monstrosities will get a bunch of votes this Nov.


    by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 09/23/2012 - 1:15am

    Hello Andrej. The year 2017 is calling. I just read your post. I could not agree more. Seven years and It has only gotten worse.


    by Richard S (not verified) on Mon, 02/06/2017 - 12:46pm

    Nice collection. I like the 4-armed slacker and child-puppy-beastiality. I also think you're overlooking the value of these ads. In a few years, they will be retro gems on YouTube 34.0.


    by Michael Wolraich on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 11:10am

    Pee in the shower, ya'll.

    Now this is a PSA I can get behind.  Pee in the shower, ya'll.


    by Larry Jankens on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 12:02pm

    Check out Top 50 Stupid, Bad, Banned Ads and Commercials


    by MIchael Garmahis (not verified) on Sun, 09/20/2009 - 7:24pm

    Just as I suspected, We are paying to fund this left wing, agenda, and there Lib lip service propaganda, next we will be funding propaganda which is not as dumb, but but much more dangerous, to our society, like brain washing our children into believing that having a dictator would be a good thing!


    by David (not verified) on Wed, 02/24/2010 - 12:32pm

    My previous comment applies to you, as well. Not everything you think is stupid automatically qualifies as being "left wing". You really ought to invest in a dictionary.


    by Nebton on Wed, 02/24/2010 - 1:07pm

    But you have to admit that 99.9% of stupid is left wing.

     


    by madcow42 (not verified) on Sat, 04/02/2011 - 3:13pm

    A new Ad Council gem: Some unknown man gets a little boy excited about going to the State Fair, then tells him he can't go this year because his parents wasted energy. The kid is crushed. Better luck next year--if his parents change their ways. That's Big Brother creepy, vs. merely stupid.


    by Claire (not verified) on Sat, 10/29/2011 - 11:22pm

    YES. The Ad Council needs to be banned and everyone fired for this crap. SICK

    RE:  Losers at Ad Council fascist piece: Some unknown man gets a little boy excited about going to the State Fair, then tells him he can't go this year because his parents wasted energy. The kid is crushed. Better luck next year--if his parents change their ways. That's Big Brother creepy, vs. merely stupid.


    by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/03/2013 - 3:01pm

    definitely have to agree, especially with the good karma one. who are they targeting? the brainless? if you haven't already, check out their post-9/11 campaign. more ridiculousness.


    by Ashley (not verified) on Mon, 12/13/2010 - 8:58pm

    Ad Council = leftist propaganda.

     

      Why aren't they putting out commercials to make drug use look foolish the way they did with tobacco?  Or reinforcing our 2nd Amendment (and other) Constitutional rights?

     

    instead you get blurbs like (young child's voice) "to be an American you have to be NICE (and not deport me and my family's illegal alien asses)". 


    by Alnonymous (not verified) on Thu, 05/17/2012 - 12:42pm

    I completely agree, I just sent ad council a long letter telling them how I feel about this foolish and biased crap.

    i asked them if they would be willing to work with the NRA to produce a public service ad promoting firearm proficiency and training. I also asked if they would work with a particular govt agency if called upon to do so..."The Director Of Civilian Marksmanship Program". I made the suggestions of let's promote ...speaking English, learn and understand the Constitution and The Bill Of Rights, or how about a nice ad warning of the dangers associated with migrant relocation in this country!  They will ignore me of course, but I won't stop and neither should you, write them, tell others, explain it, make it a question for candidates, bring it up all over the damn place!

    Ad Council...it stupid, expensive and worst of all its progressive govt propaganda being shoved into our homes and the kicker is.....we get to pay for it!

    Speak Out!!!!!


    by George Bennett (not verified) on Mon, 02/08/2016 - 6:06pm

    I've always wondered... WHO ARE the people behind the Ad Council??  Most of their ads sound like authoritarian, ultraconservative fearmongering about this or that TRENDY TOPIC to worry about.  Of course, they DO have their 'liberal' moments, so I guess they're a little bipartisan, like when they complain about cyberbullying (albeit largely a phony, made-up term that DENIES the reality of the Internet and things one CAN ACTUALLY DO to fight stalkers and harassers, like blocking and defriending) or get all PC about "That's so gay" (do more than 5% of gay people GIVE TWO SH*TS about some folks saying that?). 

    Do the Ad Council leaders REALLY think this crap is EFFECTIVE?  The vast majority of their ads seem to rely on propaganda and fear, rather than ACTUALLY INFORMING people about the TRUE RISKS of certain behaviors.  I mean, wasn't that silly "This is what happens to your brain on drugs" ad with that hot actress from the Ad Council?  Or the whole "guy snorting a piece of his brain" nonsense

    Or maybe that was from the ONDCP...  It's hard to tell WHICH IS WHICH sometimes.  Esp. when THEY'VE OPENLY ADMITTED OR BEEN EXPOSED AS HAVING GOTTEN DONATIONS FROM THE BEER, CIGARETTE AND PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES!  So they're OK with LEGAL drugs but ILLEGAL ones are "soooo bad."  Sounds more like a trust or cartel that's AFRAID OF REAL COMPETITION than "folks who are concerned about children and society's welfare."


    by Jack (not verified) on Sat, 11/24/2012 - 12:52pm

    I am so tired of being verbally assaulted by these snarky, depressing, offensive and denigrating ads as I listen to Internet radio every day. Someone needs to launch a campaign to get rid of the ad council, or at least to do some kind of quality control. How about a Twitter hash tag? I usually mute the sound when one of their insidious ads comes on, then forget to turn it back up, and miss part of my selected program. To what agency can I complain?


    by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/25/2013 - 8:41pm

    Let's wake this up as a tax money waste issue for the 2014 elections, and get some petitions and protests organized.   From PBS and NPR to Ad Council to the EPA,  US Forest Service, USDA, FDA, DHS, HUD..... I'd rather have my loal radio station sell that ad space to businesses, businesses that can inform me of their offers and products and services, while they PAY for the radio time, and not jack up the cost of radio ads by depleting available time slot inventories with this government propaganda..   I can not stand those billboards and radio ads about "We Can". MO's stupid hip-hop "can we do it, do it, do it"  noise.....  and the one about doing toe touches while I pump my gas  .....   Stalin would be proud of such a waste of workers' money!!!!!!!!!!!


    by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 12/26/2013 - 10:11pm

    i agree, over and over, insulting our intelligence with our money, they make me sick to my stomach. their ads have ruined many a mood/day, i actually turned off an nfl post game broadcast this evening for all the ad council crap.


    by sam spade (not verified) on Sun, 09/21/2014 - 7:07pm

    the surge in gov't advertising began when nancy pelosi and harry reid became majority leaders in 2007.   they're using our money to irritate us with a barrage of inane advertisements.   you can't watch or listen to a football game these days without the off putting barrage of crap courtesy of our unlimited gov't.  i also noted the advertisements must have been deemed critical to the operation of our fed gov't as they continued during the all too brief gov't shutdown.


    by Sam Spade (not verified) on Sun, 09/21/2014 - 6:54pm

    What bothers me is not so much the money (which is scandalous too) but the fact that such morons work there. Or they think we're stupid. Or both. 


    by Davi Lynn (not verified) on Tue, 03/29/2016 - 7:12pm