Printed From: Commercials I Hate!
Category: Commercials You Hate!
Forum Name: Television / Streaming Ads
Forum Description: You hate them. Tell us why.
URL: http://www.commercialsihate.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=17567 Printed Date: 19 Mar 2024 at 12:34pm Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.04 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Swiffer 'The Rukavinas' (video)Posted By: PaWolf
Subject: Swiffer 'The Rukavinas' (video)
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2014 at 4:27pm
Something simply doesn't 'feel right' about this new Swiffer advertisement even though the message presented by a nice young family is really very good
Maybe it is using the 'Handicap Ploy' while we're still in recovery from 'Geezer Madness'...
I'm giving this commercial one thumb down
------------- X <sig.nature> "What we do for ourselves dies with us, What we do for others is and remains immortal." - Albert Pike
Replies: Posted By: Thor
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2014 at 4:38pm
Pa, I'm stumped as to why you don't think this commercial feels right.
Posted By: aka ron
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2014 at 4:46pm
Sheesh, I knew this one would come up.
He doesn't look like a veteran, I'm thinking he should stay away from that garbage disposal.
Posted By: PaWolf
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2014 at 5:07pm
Hopefully his real name isn't 'Chipper Wood' ("...let's look him up in the phone book...").
At least the commercial is short and blunt.
(this thread stands a chance of getting tasteless fast)
------------- X <sig.nature> "What we do for ourselves dies with us, What we do for others is and remains immortal." - Albert Pike
Posted By: Bena
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2014 at 10:59pm
This commercial falls over itself trying to be progressive. "Look! An interracial couple!" "Look! The guy is handicapped!" It's insulting how hard they're trying to pander to the viewers.
Posted By: Thor
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2014 at 11:18pm
Bena wrote:
This commercial falls over itself trying to be progressive. "Look! An interracial couple!" "Look! The guy is handicapped!" It's insulting how hard they're trying to pander to the viewers.
You forgot the gay element.
Oh wait---the daughter does have a short, kinda butch hairdo.
Posted By: PaWolf
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2014 at 11:31pm
Thor wrote:
Bena wrote:
This commercial falls over itself trying to be progressive. "Look! An interracial couple!" "Look! The guy is handicapped!" It's insulting how hard they're trying to pander to the viewers.
You forgot the gay element.
Oh wait---the daughter does have a short, kinda butch hairdo.
I think Gay-In- Elementary-School element (which I didn't notice)...isn't that a matter being discussed in Cali and Colorado, these days?
And yea - if they're going to mix handicapped and interracial, you damned well know it will be some strong wife attached to a 'handy-white'.
------------- X <sig.nature> "What we do for ourselves dies with us, What we do for others is and remains immortal." - Albert Pike
Posted By: Tiz
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2014 at 11:58pm
Why is sweeping "so hard"?
The 1 arm guy is making it look harder than it really is. Even if he had both arms, holding on to a ceiling fan blade is not an option - the blades spin. It's a 2 step step stool. Wow.
How many times does he dust the top of the ceiling fan blades anyway? Someone should drop a box of Schick razors at their door - he needs a shave.
Posted By: Chipster
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2014 at 12:03am
Just like the Suburu commercials, the 20/30-something guy has the obligatory stubble and greasy, unkempt hair. But at least they stopped the annoying singing mop ads.
Posted By: EMCEE
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2014 at 12:45am
I agree with the "unsettling" feeling, Pa. Political Correctness OVERLOAD.
------------- Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.
- Mark Twain
Posted By: Banderboy
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2014 at 5:20pm
Wasn't that same guy in a commercial for Toro snowblowers last year?
------------- Every day my mind grows keener- my good arm stronger--- my silly enemies more futile---
Posted By: PaWolf
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2014 at 6:12pm
Banderboy wrote:
Wasn't that same guy in a commercial for Toro snowblowers last year?
Don't recall that...maybe Toro Lawn Mowers, which, whenever I'm near one, I keep at an 'arm's-length' distance from. No, I'm not a fan of Toro products - they've always left me feeling 'short-changed'.
------------- X <sig.nature> "What we do for ourselves dies with us, What we do for others is and remains immortal." - Albert Pike
Posted By: Banderboy
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2014 at 6:51pm
PaWolf wrote:
Banderboy wrote:
Wasn't that same guy in a commercial for Toro snowblowers last year?
Don't recall that...maybe Toro Lawn Mowers, which, whenever I'm near one, I keep at an 'arm's-length' distance from. No, I'm not a fan of Toro products - they've always left me feeling 'short-changed'.
It was a joke. A very, very bad joke
------------- Every day my mind grows keener- my good arm stronger--- my silly enemies more futile---
Posted By: bwestfall
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2014 at 7:57pm
As with the other recent Swiffer ads, this is a real family. The husband had his arm amputated because of cancer. Supposedly, he really did do all of the cleaning and outdoor work before he lost his hand/part of arm. They live in South Dakota. Adweek and several others mention he has had a couple of bit parts in Switched at Birth and some reality show.
------------- A new study finds that people who are chipper & happy live longer. Which is surprising because people who aren't chipper & happy want to kill people who are always chipper & happy. David Letterman
Posted By: PaWolf
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2014 at 9:22pm
^No doubt about that, BW.
For one, I really feel Swiffer 'rode the fence', here.
Think everyone has an idea of what their products can do - they just latched onto an amazing amount of eyebrow-raising subject matter and crammed it into 30 seconds, just to promote their product. *I* find it a little offensive and about as tasteless as my own innuendos - but Swiffer - NOT the family - earned it.
God bless the family, screw the Swiffer commercial experts for setting them up.
------------- X <sig.nature> "What we do for ourselves dies with us, What we do for others is and remains immortal." - Albert Pike
Posted By: bwestfall
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2014 at 10:37pm
My post was purely informational since some were speculating on how he lost his hand and I knew the others in this series of ads were "real" people.
I didn't look up the daughter/mother/grandmother one and it may have a good backstory but I think it is the least "noticed" of the 3 that I have seen. Just kind of like, "so what?"
------------- A new study finds that people who are chipper & happy live longer. Which is surprising because people who aren't chipper & happy want to kill people who are always chipper & happy. David Letterman
Posted By: EMCEE
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2014 at 11:32pm
PaWolf wrote:
^No doubt about that, BW.
For one, I really feel Swiffer 'rode the fence', here.
Think everyone has an idea of what their products can do - they just latched onto an amazing amount of eyebrow-raising subject matter and crammed it into 30 seconds, just to promote their product. *I* find it a little offensive and about as tasteless as my own innuendos - but Swiffer - NOT the family - earned it.
God bless the family, screw the Swiffer commercial experts for setting them up.
Good post, Pa. Pretty much sums up every feeling I have about this commercial.
------------- Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.
- Mark Twain
Posted By: Tiz
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2014 at 12:39am
Banderboy wrote:
Wasn't that same guy in a commercial for Toro snowblowers last year?
Real family or not. Dusting and sweeping the kitchen floor is not that difficult.
Posted By: Thor
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2014 at 12:43am
Tiz wrote:
Real family or not. Dusting and sweeping the kitchen floor is not that difficult.
Well, if you have only one arm, you might be able to sweep, but then what? What do you do with the pile of crumbs?
Posted By: Tiz
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2014 at 1:13am
^^ So that's why the wife(with 2 arms) is having such a hard time sweeping? Right. He couldn't hold the dustpan still with a foot. They have kids, none could help?
Posted By: Thor
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2014 at 2:01am
Tiz wrote:
^^ So that's why the wife(with 2 arms) is having such a hard time sweeping? Right. He couldn't hold the dustpan still with a foot. They have kids, none could help?
Okay, sweeping is no problem when you only have one arm.
Posted By: Chipster
Date Posted: 29 Jan 2014 at 1:17am
What twisted f*ck is responsible for this creepy ad? Exploiting disabled people and minorities to show the company's "sensitivity" and "hip diversity" is appalling.
Seriously disturbing.
Posted By: Christine
Date Posted: 29 Jan 2014 at 1:25am
Haven't watched the video, but if it's a real family, guess that's cool. True about having a whole bunch of PC stuff thrown at people all at once, though- the immediate reaction is, WTF seriously??
Posted By: Snesgamer
Date Posted: 29 Jan 2014 at 9:40am
Christine wrote:
Haven't watched the video, but if it's a real family, guess that's cool. True about having a whole bunch of PC stuff thrown at people all at once, though- the immediate reaction is, WTF seriously??
It doesn't matter how real the families/people are, if you take any minority group/scenario and make a fad of showing them on TV more often than what you'd see day-to-day, it'll feel awkward and forced (which is why people take offense at all the gay-centric shows like Glee or Modern Family).
That being said, this ad doesn't feel that way to me. Just looks like a normal family that just happens to be interracial (not just "they're interracial because that's what the adtards want on TV") - they seem like nice people.
Posted By: Thor
Date Posted: 29 Jan 2014 at 1:20pm
Snesgamer wrote:
That being said, this ad doesn't feel that way to me. Just looks like a normal family that just happens to be interracial (not just "they're interracial because that's what the adtards want on TV") - they seem like nice people.
Maybe with the amputee thing to distract us, the advertisers found a way to make the interracial thing (specifically, the black-white coupling) less noticeable.
Posted By: PaWolf
Date Posted: 29 Jan 2014 at 5:50pm
Thor wrote:
Snesgamer wrote:
That being said, this ad doesn't feel that way to me. Just looks like a normal family that just happens to be interracial (not just "they're interracial because that's what the adtards want on TV") - they seem like nice people.
Maybe with the amputee thing to distract us, the advertisers found a way to make the interracial thing (specifically, the black-white coupling) less noticeable.
Heck - they had enough time to squeeze in a few faries too, didn't they? What's wrong with the SwifferKids? They're 'holding back' and 'playing favorites', doncha know!
Certainly there will bea cry for equal time and proper representation, doncha know...
------------- X <sig.nature> "What we do for ourselves dies with us, What we do for others is and remains immortal." - Albert Pike
Posted By: MrFlavor
Date Posted: 29 Jan 2014 at 7:06pm
We are going to be seeing a lot of limbless young men in society die to the on-going conflicts we employ them in, and this ad wants to capitalize on those individual tragedies.
Posted By: PaWolf
Date Posted: 29 Jan 2014 at 7:39pm
^Conflicts?
For all I know, his conflict was with cancer, or maybe he tripped and fell into a wood chipper.
------------- X <sig.nature> "What we do for ourselves dies with us, What we do for others is and remains immortal." - Albert Pike
Posted By: Thor
Date Posted: 29 Jan 2014 at 10:08pm
Here's his backstory, from a 2012 article:
Since Zack Rukavina lost his left forearm a year ago to a rare form of cancer, he’s been struggling to find a job. He’s gone back to school to study history and just got into the honor’s program. In order to make life a bit easier, he’s looking to get a prosthesis with fingers and family members are holding a fundraiser tomorrow to help with make this happen. According to his mother, Suzanne Squires, Rukavina burst out laughing when it was suggested that this fundraiser be called, “Let’s Give Zack a Hand.”
Rukavina, who was born and raised in Humboldt County, graduated from South Fork High School in 2003. He spent some years in Studio City trying to make it as an actor and a screen play writer. According to his mother, Rukavina and his fiance, Afi, have made 4-5 “shorts” with both of them acting in them while Zack writes them. He has also had bit parts in other productions.
He & Afi have an 18 month old daughter named Wayah Bo Rukavina. Her middle name comes from Zack’s brother, Bo, who was killed in a bicycle accident on Greenwood Heights in Kneeland, CA in 1996. At the time, Bo was 15 and Zack was 11.
Recently, Rukavina proposed to the mother of his child as part of “Ultimate Surprises,” a reality show.
Posted By: Tiz
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2014 at 12:52am
Hope the family never spills any cereal or cat food on the floor being how none of them can use a dustpan.
Posted By: bwestfall
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2014 at 1:14am
I still wouldn't buy the product just because they used an amputee or interracial couple if I didn't like the product, but I'll bet there are at least some amputees that might like to see other people with the same handicap finally being in ordinary commercials.
------------- A new study finds that people who are chipper & happy live longer. Which is surprising because people who aren't chipper & happy want to kill people who are always chipper & happy. David Letterman