# Best and worst commercials of the tour



## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

Since it's almost over, what were the best and worst commercials of the tour?

Worst: 
Izod Ads
Nissan Leaf "everything runs on gas" commercial
Ali Starnes RoadID commercial (a 5 year old can say those lines more believably.)

Best:
Traveller's Insurance (cat burglar commercial)
RoadID commercials (all except Ali Starnes mentioned above.)


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## asciibaron (Aug 11, 2006)

add to worst the SIDI chef ads (Eurosport).


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## dougydee (Feb 15, 2005)

I like this one


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Wish they'd show that TdF themed Stella Artois commercial, but it's an oldie. Love it though.


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## tystevens (Jul 10, 2008)

I've been fortunate enough to be able to watch the whole thing recorded on the DVR, so I haven't had to watch too many commercials. 

When my 6 yr old is watching with me, though, we have to stop for the Nissan one once or twice (he loves that one!), and I actually stop and watch the Skoda commercial from time to time -- I like that one, too.


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## Morison (Oct 31, 2005)

*Great thread Rob*

I personally have been considering a boycott of all products advertised (on Versus) during the Tour simply because of the excessive repetition of them. 

But, to add to the conversation, a friend of mine's response to the Izod adverts was "The world of Izod seems like a pretty cool place if you're stunningly good looking and earn $1,000,000 a year. Talk about a niche market. Good luck Izod..." I agreed, and found myself wishing out loud that I had enough money to be able to bring a few friends and my F1 car to the dessert for some unbridled vehicular enjoyment (let it be understood that if I had it, that is not at all what I would do with it)


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## troutmd (Sep 7, 2007)

Worst - Tie all the Bud Light & those IZOD beautiful people

Best - Scott (shortest)


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## Bullvine (Sep 9, 2009)

bla the commercials are out of control the tdf seems like a 50/50 split between coverage & commercials..

But its better than no coverage at all.. I don't like any of them..


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## mtnroadie (Jul 6, 2010)

"I personally have been considering a boycott of all products advertised (on Versus) during the Tour simply because of the excessive repetition of them"

Yes! total overkill, I hate them all now. Nice job Versus!

The Scott comercial is good though, i ride a Scott and am disapointed that there are not teams riding them this year.


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## krott5333 (Oct 2, 2009)

I actually like the Izod commercials. The women are hot and the song "Weezer - Brave New World" is catchy. And the camera shots are top notch. 

And yeah, the Ali Starnes "i'm going to the time trial bob!". I mean, C'mon, they could have at least done a few more takes, is that the best acting she can do? Bob's cool though. "Dohhhhhhh"

Nissan is getting pretty bad with the motorized appliances, and the "wouldn't it be cool... wouldn't it be cool..". You know what would be cool? Not having to watch the same crappy commercials over and over and over. 

I like the Trek "big deal" commercial when Chris Horner is trying to speak with a French accent. 

I can't stand the michelin tires commercial with "max and his son were homeward bound when mischievous rain fell down down down, they slipped and slid and couldnt get a grip". SLOW DOWN! If you're tires are so crappy that you can't drive fast on a wet road, slow the F down! The michelin marshmallow guy shouldnt have to save you by throwing new tires on your just before you almost hit a tree. Idiots.

I'm getting tired of the cat burglar song. "i just want to be okay be okay be okay". 

ARRGGHHHH I NEED DVR. 

Indy car racing... "I always race him clean, he always race me dirty". "He didn't give me room, he'll be coming hard"

I like the Range Rover commercial because the woman in the passenger seat is hot, and the music is pretty good. But not the LR4 commercial, it uses the same new advertising fad that the mich ultra commercials use, the "phone swipe the scenery away". 

Speaking of which, the mich ultra commercials are horrible. "So come on!" :mad2:


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## BAi9302010 (Mar 7, 2002)

The KFC commercials where they say that "real" cooks are now preparing the chicken. Oh yeah? A cook is a person who cooks food, so who the hell was preparing the food before? Notice they didn't say chefs.


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## krott5333 (Oct 2, 2009)

BAi9302010 said:


> The KFC commercials where they say that "real" cooks are now preparing the chicken. Oh yeah? A cook is a person who cooks food, so who the hell was preparing the food before? Notice they didn't say chefs.


Today is a KFC day. Today taste's so good.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

Someone pointed out that in the Michelin commercial "Why does the Michelin Man only put tires on the driver's side?"


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## bike981 (Sep 14, 2010)

I hate the Versus promo that shows all the crashes, including the media car one, and implies that those are what makes the tour "epic." What a callous way to promote the sport. It's hardly amusing, epic, etc. when someone crashes, especially when that;s a danger normal riders face as well.


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## godot (Feb 3, 2004)

The versus "carnage" commercial bugs me, a lot

The Golden Corral commercial makes me ill.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

If we're talking about bad acting, can we discuss Bob Minoske?


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## Mootsie (Feb 4, 2004)

krott5333 said:


> I actually like the Izod commercials. The women are hot and the song "Weezer - Brave New World" is catchy. And the camera shots are top notch.
> 
> And yeah, the Ali Starnes "i'm going to the time trial bob!". I mean, C'mon, they could have at least done a few more takes, is that the best acting she can do? Bob's cool though. "Dohhhhhhh"
> 
> ...


I think it's Levi with the fake French accent. Just watch it a few more times this weekend, you'll see


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## Nazz44 (Jun 26, 2003)

"Come on! Well Come on!" when I see that about to play I grab the remote and change channels just to keep from hearing it. Not even sure what they're selling. Just about as bad is the one with the spider on the I phone and the girl starts shreiking at the top of her lungs when she sees it. STFU!


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## krott5333 (Oct 2, 2009)

Nazz44 said:


> "Come on! Well Come on!" when I see that about to play I grab the remote and change channels just to keep from hearing it. Not even sure what they're selling. Just about as bad is the one with the spider on the I phone and the girl starts shreiking at the top of her lungs when she sees it. STFU!


Check these out! :thumbsup:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf_i4fgYWlQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsZgSJ8xgbA&NR=1


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## qatarbhoy (Aug 17, 2009)

Sidi's ads are laugh-out-loud bad. The Skoda ad is excellent - rare to see a car advertised by showing it being trashed.


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## mdaz1 (Dec 15, 2008)

Can't believe nobody has mentioned the furniture fixer commercial. I am getting one just so I can invite over two sumo wrestlers and watch them high five!

And I never knew there was anything called the couch pouch.


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## krott5333 (Oct 2, 2009)

mdaz1 said:


> Can't believe nobody has mentioned the furniture fixer commercial. I am getting one just so I can invite over two sumo wrestlers and watch them high five!
> 
> And I never knew there was anything called the couch pouch.


apparently you're watching a different channel than me


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

krott5333 said:


> I actually like the Izod commercials. The women are hot and the song "Weezer - Brave New World" is catchy. And the camera shots are top notch.
> 
> And yeah, the Ali Starnes "i'm going to the time trial bob!". I mean, C'mon, they could have at least done a few more takes, is that the best acting she can do? Bob's cool though. "Dohhhhhhh"
> 
> ...


Probably the reason I hate the Izod commercial is my opinion that Weezer is a bunch of dooshbags.

And the chicks aren't that hot.

Entirely sick of seeing Michelob Ultra commercials.


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## Wood Devil (Apr 30, 2011)

There is some deodorant ad with a ditzy blond. In it she is bragging about how she's dating a doctor, who she claims informed her she had a sweating problem. Oh brother ...  

Drives me nuts.

If the commercial plays in its entirety, it ends with her bubble gum voice saying, "Cool!"

Go back to the valley! rrr:


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## KenS (Jan 28, 2004)

The worst was the IZOD commercials. As I said in another post, there is something really creepy about watching a celebration of excessive consumerism among the beautiful people when Wheezer is singing about the dawn of a "Brave New World."

Second worse was the cat burglar commercial after someone told me that the music was taken from a song about someone contemplating suicide.


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## BGEPizza (Sep 28, 2009)

what commercials? i either leave the room, mute the tv or just zone out. if I hadn't seen this thread, I wouldn't have a clue who the spots were for. 

advertisers hate me.  which is okay - i ain't too fond of them either! hahaha


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## waldo425 (Sep 22, 2008)

At this point all the adds on Versus (good or bad) have been so overplayed that they are all getting bad.


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## marknelson (Oct 18, 2007)

After three weeks..... the only one I'll watch is Bobke.


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## flatsix911 (Jun 28, 2009)

Bobke rocks ... :thumbsup:

Get a TiVo and skip the Ads ...


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## asciibaron (Aug 11, 2006)

VS is horrible for commercials on the replay tonight - in the past 32 minutes there have been 23 minutes of ads.


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## cerec (Oct 8, 2009)

Love the Polara golf ball "projectile dysfunction" commercials! Hey, they are all better than the Lincoln Mercury Tour de France commercials from 5 or 6 years ago.


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## HillBillies (May 16, 2007)

The Skoda ad just cracks me up...

Especially the leg massage on the bonnet!

Love it.


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## nims (Jul 7, 2009)

Commercials? I don't own a TV been watching online on the tour tracker and I think it's worth the money when it works right ;p


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## RichieRichRK (Apr 15, 2010)

I like the Bobke commercials...pretty funny...Poor guy nobody wants to ride with him! Haha! I also like the SRAM commercials...how the music plays out in the end and it shows the lever....I like it straight and to the point great commercial for SRAM components!


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## carbonLORD (Aug 2, 2004)

The Travelers commercial is by far the worst. Annoying song and yes, we get it, the dog and his bone, you did that one already.

But while I'm here and we're poking fun at commercials, Mazda and Zoom Zoom..... Let it die already.


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## nailknot (Jul 14, 2010)

The Sidi commercial sucks! I am so tired of seeing Basso preparing a shoe to eat for dinner. I have noticed that they break away from the broadcast with the Sidi commercial and when they come back to live coverage they end the commercial break with the Sidi ad. I hate that ad and I own a pair of Sidi!

Skoda ad kicks ass!


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## Buzzard (Sep 7, 2004)

Anyone else think that kid wrecking shop on the tricycle looks a lot like a young Cadel Evans?


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

I mostly fast forward through the ads, but I do I like the Nissan Leaf ad. They create a clever parallel world. They effectively communicate the idea that everything else is electric, so why can't a car be electric, too? The mood is refreshingly contemplative. It's not wiz, bang, crash. It isn't "hey, aren't we cool?" flashy. It isn't in your face.


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## superjesus (Jul 26, 2010)

robdamanii said:


> Worst:
> Nissan Leaf "everything runs on gas" commercial





Mapei said:


> I mostly fast forward through the ads, but I do I like the Nissan Leaf ad. They create a clever parallel world. They effectively communicate the idea that everything else is electric, so why can't a car be electric, too? The mood is refreshingly contemplative. It's not wiz, bang, crash. It isn't "hey, aren't we cool?" flashy. It isn't in your face.


Where does Nissan think electricity comes from?

I'm no expert in America's energy production, but isn't a good percentage of our electricity generated by burning fossil fuels at power plants? The Nissan "parallel world" really isn't a parallel world at all; it's our world. They just put the smoke in people's faces instead of the atmosphere. Maybe next time they can show the electricity for the Leaf being generated by a coal-burning plant. :thumbsup:


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## hawker12 (Oct 19, 2003)

I have a Tivo and just blast through all the commercials...best piece of electronic equipment I've ever purchased.

Like the Bobke commercials and I do like the one with Ali Starnes. More Ali please.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

superjesus said:


> Where does Nissan think electricity comes from?
> 
> I'm no expert in America's energy production, but isn't a good percentage of our electricity generated by burning fossil fuels at power plants? The Nissan "parallel world" really isn't a parallel world at all; it's our world. They just put the smoke in people's faces instead of the atmosphere. Maybe next time they can show the electricity for the Leaf being generated by a coal-burning plant. :thumbsup:


Exactly why it annoys me.

The Traveller's commercial is about more than the bone; his other toys are a car and boat, and he's protecting his home. It's nicely symbolic. Plus the dog is a cute little mutt.


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## usernametaken (Jul 26, 2010)

Worst: Festina easily.

Best: Skoda


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## gregario (Nov 19, 2001)

Best: Cadillac with the kid on the tricycle and Nissan Leaf what if everything ran on gas.

Worst: Michelob Ultra with Lance Pharmstrong


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## qatarbhoy (Aug 17, 2009)

nailknot said:


> The Sidi commercial sucks! I am so tired of seeing Basso preparing a shoe to eat for dinner.


After this year's Tour, Basso might be tempted to eat his shoes. He missed the Giro to do what exactly?


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## moabbiker (Sep 11, 2002)

Commercials? What's that? I watched it all commercial free.


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## terry b (Jan 29, 2004)

robdamanii said:


> Since it's almost over, what were the best and worst commercials of the tour?


The dog is cute but the commercial is horrible.

And all the others are worse. I thought the Nissan spot was clever the first time only.

Biggest problem I had was the repetition. It's bad enough when they're bad but it's worse when you see them 100 times a day. Apparently advertisers were not lining up to buy those spots so those purchasers got a lot of airtime for whatever they bought.

This is the first year I've been able to watch it real time in the US, and that was nice. But the coverage was sub-par - too many breaks for commercials and then those breaks were horribly repetitive.

Even with the commericals though, it was better than watching it on my laptop with Romanian commentary as I did in 2009 and 2010.


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## flatsix911 (Jun 28, 2009)

marknelson said:


> After three weeks..... the only one I'll watch is Bobke.


The truth ... :thumbsup:


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## ocean-ro (Nov 23, 2009)

I`m wondering why none of pharmaceutical companies were present in TdF commercials


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## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

robdamanii said:


> Since it's almost over, what were the best and worst commercials of the tour?
> 
> Worst:
> Izod Ads
> ...


What cyclist here can afford a Land Rover Range rover at $800/mnth. hahaha. totally wrong segment.


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## carbonLORD (Aug 2, 2004)

bas said:


> What cyclist here can afford a Land Rover Range rover at $800/mnth. hahaha. totally wrong segment.


Um.... Probably all the cyclists that own $5,000-$10K bicycles?

Just a guess... I prefer Audi myself.


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## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

robdamanii said:


> Exactly why it annoys me.
> 
> The Traveller's commercial is about more than the bone; his other toys are a car and boat, and he's protecting his home. It's nicely symbolic. Plus the dog is a cute little mutt.


It took me a while to pay attention to see who was advertising the commercial.


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## RRRoubaix (Aug 27, 2008)

terry b said:


> The dog is cute but the commercial is horrible.
> 
> And all the others are worse. I thought the Nissan spot was clever the first time only.
> 
> ...


This.
None of the ads were wretched the first time or two... but by the time you have it hammered into your eyeballs a bazillion times, they ALL suck!

That said, I think my faves were Mionske ads- I just wish they'd show those to the general public instead of just during the TdF (preaching to the choir)


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## smartyiak (Sep 28, 2005)

*Michelob Ultra*

Is it just me or do Lance and his friends appear to be the type of d-bags that, if you saw them at a bar, you'd want to punch them in the face. 

Without even talking about whether the beer is even good, if those are the people who drink it, I'll stick to Magic Hat. 

-Smarty


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

smartyiak said:


> Is it just me or do Lance and his friends appear to be the type of d-bags that, if you saw them at a bar, you'd want to punch them in the face.
> 
> Without even talking about whether the beer is even good, if those are the people who drink it, I'll stick to Magic Hat.
> 
> -Smarty


Good man. Please tell me you're a Vermonter?

Sad they were just bought out by Labatt (or whatever that parent company is...)

On topic:

The Minoskie commercials made me want to hurl my coffee mug through the TV.


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## krott5333 (Oct 2, 2009)

smartyiak said:


> Is it just me or do Lance and his friends appear to be the type of d-bags that, if you saw them at a bar, you'd want to punch them in the face.
> 
> Without even talking about whether the beer is even good, if those are the people who drink it, I'll stick to Magic Hat.
> 
> -Smarty


for a lighter beer, Mich Ultra is actually decent IMO.


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## nOOky (Mar 20, 2009)

Ever since the SAAB-Born from jets commercials I have dvr-ed the Tour and skipped through all the commercials.


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## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

carbonLORD said:


> Um.... Probably all the cyclists that own $5,000-$10K bicycles?
> 
> Just a guess... I prefer Audi myself.


Damn, I can't hang with that crowd.


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## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

robdamanii said:


> Since it's almost over, what were the best and worst commercials of the tour?
> 
> Worst:
> Izod Ads
> ...


At least RadioShack was no where to be seen... no Alberto either..


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## superjesus (Jul 26, 2010)

bas said:


> At least RadioShack was no where to be seen... no Alberto either..


Aw c'mon, who doesn't miss the Lance and Alphonse commercials?


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## oldcannondale (Jul 23, 2011)

The Nissan Leaf and Izod, followed closely by the michelob ultra, but I love Bob Roll, wanna ride? Oh Yeah!


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## KoroninK (Aug 9, 2010)

Best: Road ID

Worst: Izod. I'm sure it doesn't help that I also suffer through that same commercial during IRL races.


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## cheddarlove (Oct 17, 2005)

You guys may not have liked the Bob Minoskie commercials and I'll agree they were lame but I do wish they would show them during the Super Bowl or World Series. Getting the courtesy message across to even a couple of drivers or inconsiderate cyclists would be worth it in my book.


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