Celebrity endorsements - have they gone over the edge?

18 years ago

This morning I was over on Roadfood.com and a very bizarre

ad banner came up for Similac (isn't that formula for babies?) with an accompanying image of Ty Pennington from Extreme Makeover, Trading Spaces, the home remodeling "guru." I actually had to look more than once to be sure that I was seeing what I thought I was seeing! If anyone knows the connection between this guy and baby formula, I'd appreciate your explanation.

Have you seen other strange endorsements?

Teresa

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (11)

lakeguy35
18 years ago
I remember Joe Namath and the pantyhose back in the 70's. lol I don't know much about this guy or his shows so I have no clue.

David
kathleen_li
18 years ago
I remember that too, David..lol...My college roomie dated Joe, they both were from the same town in Pa..Beaver Falls??

I agree, Teresa, a celebrity would not sway me to buy a product or vote for their choice, probably the opposite..:)
I can still pic Ty's mug shot for DWI...so what does he have to do with infant formula...what a stretch...

Remember sweet June Allyson hawking Depends...lol
Related Discussions
Help - when have I gone far enough???
Q
Comments (12)
Ya, I look at his little face and I think he seems sad. He's so thin and his eyes are so big in his little head. He can still get around though I think it's difficult for him. He does go up and down stairs (not sure why now that the litterboxes are upstairs) but it's really hard for him. I have to pick him up very carefully or his back legs shudder - I think because it's painful for him. It's somewhat difficult for him to lie down or get up - he kind of plops down and kind of struggles to get up. I think the saddest thing is that he no longer sucks his tail. The whole time we've had him (over 12 years) he has always sucked his tail like a baby before he goes to sleep. It seemed like this was a huge comfort to him - and no he no longer has that. It's so sad when it gets to this stage. When my last cat died I thought no more. I had two left and I figured that would get me through most of the rest of my life. That lasted about two years and then I adopted one from a shelter. So I now have three - soon to be two I guess.
...See More
teenage stepkids driving me over the edge
Q
Comments (24)
It sounds like you are in a terrible situation. If the 17 and 19 year olds are behaving so badly, is the 14 year old soon to follow? And does your husband really think he is helping his kids by letting them get away with bad behavior? It has been a foundational belief of mine that to have real love you have to have respect. Your husband's kids don't respect him if they treat both of you the way you describe. Kids like to push their parents buttons and see what happens. They are obviously very unhappy or else they wouldn't act the way they do. Encourage your husband to try and view his kids as an outsider would. Then ask him what he sees. Maybe by doing this he can see that he isn't helping them by the way he handles the situation. Even if the kids break off some contact with him, he would be showing them that he doesn't accept the bad behavior, and he needs to gain their respect to have any influence over them in the future. Ask him if he would respect someone who he could walk all over and get away with it. I sure wouldn't! It sounds like you have invested substantial time and emotion into your relationship, and if you can stand it for a few more years, it would be worth it to try. Your husband has probably already lost the two middle kids if he keeps letting them get away with bad behavior. I think it is worth the risk for him to tell his kids to act right or he's not going to be around them. I would guess that their mom wouldn't want them around her all the time with their attitudes either, and they might get the message. You might also remind your husband that he has a 14 year old who is watching how everyone is acting and reacting, and that he has a chance to save his youngest from going down the wrong path like the 17 and 19 year olds. Good luck to you and your family.
...See More
Two-tone brown spots all over leaf and some edges gone
Q
Comments (2)
Danny Clark, I do not know the plant well enough to be specific; but the evidence (about 400 plants) suggests an intensive operation. It is easy for a fungus (my guess) to proliferate under such conditions. That you have had to cull 50 plants indicates an infection that has taken hold. My suggestion is to positively identify the causative organism; separate the remaining plants into 3 well defined areas. Space them adequately to facilitate air circulation. Classify them as "Good" "Going" and "Gone". Obtain a chemical (I cannot think of an alternative) which targets the pathogen/pest and,as a bonus, also lists the site (Boxwood) on the label. Apply to all three groups at the curative rate. Thereafter, apply at varying intervals to each group. The worst affected group can be treated at the shortest interval; and the "Good" group at the longest interval. Observe at weekly (at the very least) intervals; shift plants from one group to another as you see appropriate; and cull - ruthlessly! I wish you luck - sincerely! Because I know from experience, that you will need some of that also.
...See More
Where have all the birds gone?
Q
Comments (36)
I’m so glad to read all the conversation about everone’s thoughts and experiences in each of your own neck of the woods. In the several weeks since my last post, I have slowly noticed changes around my feeders. We now have about a dozen bluebirds who are daily visitors. They began coming even before the recent arctic weather we’ve been experiencing here in the NE lately. Same for the woodpeckers - downy, hairy, and red bellied, and cardinals. Before the cold blast, we had more chickadees than we do now. We had less than a handful of goldfinches, but now their numbers are ever so slowly creeping up. Not too many nuthatches or titmice, but a few that frequent daily. A couple of squirrels have returned. Interestingly, my husband has a friend who feeds squirrels exclusively and his friend said the population of those that are regulars at his house nearly all but disappeared! Also, last week we heard about a gentleman in his 90’s in our town who has fed the birds for over 40 years! He experienced the same mass feeding frenzy near summer’s end that I did, then the complete drop off of any birds to be seen at all. He says he’s never experienced this in all his years of bird feeding that he recalls. We were going through nearly 2x’s the amount of seed than normal, to all of a sudden having seed sit out and basically spoil because it was hardly even touched for weeks on end. With the frigid temperatures, I have noticed an increase in the hawks eyeing our feeder birds. They have been unable to find food in the woods and areas they normally frequent due to a tremendous amount of snow and have, unfortunately, captured some of our unsuspecting feathered friends. They are quite bold, and hard to scare off, which is also unusual. And yes, we also have some feeder birds that seem unbothered by my presence at the feeders while filling them, and don’t fly away til I’m nearly on top of them! This year has certainly been a very interesting year in the local bird world!
...See More
foodonastump
18 years ago
I would not be swayed by celebrity "endorcements" however I freely admit to being swayed by corporate sponsorship. For example as a NASCAR fan, if they were next to each other I would definitely go to Home Depot (Tony Stewart) before Lowes (Jimmie Johnson). Along those lines but more to the original question, I think it is somewhat funny that Subway, who loves to promote Jared and their healthy sandwiches, chooses to sponsor Tony, who is probably the fattest NASCAR driver out there.

Oh and to keep it "cooking" I will say I minimize my use of Teflon becaus of my dislike for Du Pont's Jeff Gordon. (Ok, that was a stretch. I just prefer SS and cast iron!)
teresa_nc7
Original Author
18 years ago
Foodonastump, this is the conversation area, so anything goes!

I saw the ad with Ty Pennington again this afternoon, but the page refreshed before I could click on the ad. His Wikipedia entry says he is single for goodness sake! What would he know about baby formula anyway? I just thought this ad associated with him was just way too big a stretch. And NO, I don't buy things because this person or that person endorses the product. Like most intelligent people, I can pretty much make up my mind about a product I plan to buy or....I can do lots of research or ask the fine folks here their opinions! ;o)
Terri_PacNW
18 years ago
Well here you go..I googled it..and found quite a few parenting forums..wondering what was up with it too...

So here's the reason..

Here is a link that might be useful: Ty and Similac team up for Nursey Design
teresa_nc7
Original Author
18 years ago
Yeah....right....uh huh....I get it now....sort of....

Thanks, Terri, for clearing up my "confusion."
Teresa
beanthere_dunthat
18 years ago
Boy, that's a convoluted endorsement.

I remember Joe and the panty hose. And what Robert Conrad had to do with batteries or why they were on his shoulder, I never figured out.

Marketing people would hate me (even though I once worked in marketing...ha!). I don't pay a bit of attention to celebrity endorsements, never read "testimonials", and don't give a fig about corporate endorsments. And I hate, hate, hate the trend of corporations buying the names of venues. Candlestick Park will ALWAYS be "The Stick" to me. Not 3COm, not PacBell, not ATT -- Candlestick.
teresa_nc7
Original Author
18 years ago
Bean, I know what you mean - the Greater Greensboro Open golf tournament will always be the GGO even though it's been the Chrysler Whatever, this year it was the Wyndham I Don't know What? But to many longtime residents of the area, it still is and always will be the GGO!
triciae
18 years ago
Oh, let's not forget how the names of our most favorite games have changed...the Fiesta Bowl, as example. What's next? Maybe, the Cheetos Bowl? Give me a break.

It will NEVER be Invesco Field...always Mile High Stadium.

Corporate sponsorship irritates me far more often than it impresses me. I would never purchase a product because of advertisers but I have written many a letter to corporate CEOs telling them of my boycott of their products because of content the corporation chose to put their name behind. Violence is my signature pet peeve. If I happen to catch an advertisement for any product that remotely is connected to youth being aired during violent programming the CEO is sure to receive a a little note from me.

Another example is BudTV. When that venue was first announced I heard a Budweiser rep say that there would be "soft porn" available on the site. I was furious! While an alcoholic beverage Budweiser's advertising has always been tasteful & includes some of our family's favorite commercials featuring the clydesdale mascots. Never had I seen the Budweiser name associated with anything I would be ashamed to have my children witness. I was so furious I wrote a scathing letter to Bud alerting them that I was watching that BudTV site & the first time I saw anything inappropriate appear...their products would be banned from our home! There are far too many choices available for beer to have a single penny of my dollar go to supporting porn. Well, I wasn't the only American to complain & the website has never generated the income Bud was anticipating & the content is lousy. Basically, it's been a bust for Budweiser & I'm glad to see it as a loser to the corporation. Now, that Bud is no longer American owned...rarely does a Bud show up in our fridge! It's another of our protests.

I once considered purchasing stock in QVC so I went searching for the parent company...turned out to be Liberty Media. In researching Liberty I learned that they aired programming high on my list of inappropriate content. I had to dig deep into the company's financials because Libery also operates some good programming. But, buried in all of the sub-corporations are business decisions that I don't support (including Murdoch who I detest). So, I wrote a letter to Liberty's CEO & explained to them why I'd decided not to purchase their stock. I received a respectful reply expressing surprise that I'd dug deep enough to find that programming! Geesh.

/tricia
foodonastump
18 years ago
I have to say I am surprised at such negative feelings toward corporate sponsorship.

Instead of objecting to a stadium being temporarily renamed in exchange for millions of dollars that the company pumps into it, I think we should say thank you. Watching sports is a huge aspect of many people's lives, and it could never exist to the extent we enjoy today without corporate sponsorship.

Let alone fine arts. Too bad that doesn't attract enough corporate sponsorship to survive without forcing EVERYONE to subsidize it with our tax dollars. Rename the Met to The Cheerio Opera for a five year deal in order to enable it to survive? I say go for it, and yes, in exchange I will take a second look at General Mills products when I'm walking down the supermarket aisles.

As I see it, celebrity endorsements is a totally different deal. No, I'm not going to buy a product because they paid some already filthy rich celebrity a million bucks to act in a commercial.
phyllis_philodendron
18 years ago
I too was wondering what the heck was going on when I saw Ty Pennington endorsing baby formula. I did a quick doubletake and thought "WTH?!" But we don't use formula, so I guess I won't be buying "his" product. LOL

"Another example is BudTV. When that venue was first announced I heard a Budweiser rep say that there would be "soft porn" available on the site. I was furious!" Tricia, I find this very disturbing that an alcoholic beverage maker would be so irresponsible, considering the very obvious connection between alcohol and rape situations! Ugh.

Celebrity endorsements - have they gone over the edge?

Comments (11)

lakeguy35

kathleen_li

Related Discussions

foodonastump

teresa_nc7
Original Author

Terri_PacNW

teresa_nc7
Original Author

beanthere_dunthat

teresa_nc7
Original Author

triciae

foodonastump

phyllis_philodendron

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Celebrity endorsements - have they gone over the edge?

Comments (11)

Related Discussions

teresa_nc7Original Author

teresa_nc7Original Author

teresa_nc7Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

teresa_nc7
Original Author

teresa_nc7
Original Author

teresa_nc7
Original Author