Top 5 - Worst Product Ads

I just saw the front page of Ad Age yesterday claiming the Snuggie marketing campaign to be a huge success. This forced me to have a minor rant in Twitter and Facebook about how our society has sunken to such lows as to fall for such a product--I mean c'mon!! It is promoted as 'the blanket with sleeves'.

Americans, wake up!! You probably have one already...it's called a bathrobe!

I will admit that I felt better after my friends and I mocked the Snuggie in our social networks yesterday (especially the idea of colleges everywhere having Snuggie Parties instead of Toga Parties...nice!), and it got me to thinking of other horrid examples of television advertising that are so bad that they become pop culture phenomenons. So, I present to you:

The Top 5 - Worst Infomercial Product Ads:

#5 - The Snuggie - 2008

"The Blanket with Sleeves": At first I thought only folks who wanted to pretend to be clergy or were just too fat and lazy to dress themselves would actually buy The Snuggie. But it has quickly become a pop culture sensation, doing the rounds on the Ellen Degeneres show, Tonight Show, and even a cameo appearance in the crowd at Barrack Obama's inauguration. Apparently young kids think they're cool... yet another reason to not give children any financial responsibilities.

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#4 - ShamWOW! - 2008

The stars of this low-budget commercial aren't "Vince" (the Jersey-esque pitchman), or his headset, but rather the two irritating ladies who emphasize 'WOW' in the product name. Makes me cringe every time. And, you know... he can't do 'this' all day, so act now! Puhhlease.


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#3 - Chia Pet - 1982

Ch-ch-ch-Chia, The Pottery that Grows! Nothing screams decorative chic more than having a cheap ceramic mold of a sheep with small sprouts growing out of it to resemble its wool coat. Amazingly, this product line continues today, as the Chia Obama is now available--but I get the feeling that it's purchased more as a gag gift than anything else... right? Right? Please tell me people don't still buy them because they want them. Right?

Here's the original Chia Pet commercial:
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#2 - LifeCall - 1989

Granted, I was not the target audience for this commercial back in the day... and I'm sure it actually has saved many a life for the elderly or those in assisted living situations. But nothing was so irritating while simultaneously being hilarious (keep in mind I was in high school) than the dramatization of poor Mrs. Fletcher using her LifeCall necklace and saying "I've fallen! And I can't get up!". Good times. Re-enactments of this commercial graced nearly every college party I attended--starring those who were well-marinated (perhaps myself a time or two?)

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#1 - Ginzu Knives - 1978

The grandfather of them all, this was the first use of the "but wait, there's more" sell-line in a television ad. It wasn't until that ad that I realized that I no longer had to slice a tomato with my karate chop! And couldn't the demonstrator bang a little harder with the hammer? Of course he's not going to damage the knife with those little baby taps...

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So, this is obviously a very subjective Top Five. What do you think I missed? Comment below.