I love bad advertising. Like the Chinese restaurant near us that boasts, We promise you “good food.” Or our favorite pizza place with the motto: The pizza you can eat! (as opposed to what, exactly?). On the other hand, some adverts are questionable on purpose. Like the shop I visited in Canterbury, England, that featured my favorite all-time window ad: Sex aids for ferrets! In small print underneath, forcing me to draw near to what actually turned out to be a music store, it said, Not really, but we have some lovely deals on musical instruments. Here are some classic examples of questionable advertising, a few intentional, most just wonderfully clueless.
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Wonderful 😂🤣
Love the barber shop menu!
Thank you for my daily laughs!
There is a gas station up north with a sign on the pumps awning: “GAS for your Life!” Great, who’s gonna drive now? Norm
;>)
LOL! Some, not all, have come a long way, baby. 🤦 (I should be tunashamed for that.) What a riot, Mitch!
;>)
I enjoyed these, especially knife fight with Mark for free …
Sometimes, you wonder…
Somewhere I have a picture of the Shun Fat Supermarket in Edmonton, Alberta, CA.
https://shunfatsupermarket.com/ and if that site doesn’t work, try
https://www.yelp.com/biz/shun-fat-supermarket-garden-grove-2 😁
Wow! I love bad ads too
Some of these are funny, and some make me glad I didn’t grow up in the 1950s! Maggie
I get that, Maggie!
The martial arts one reminds me of when a local MMA fighter came to teach self defense to my (then-about 8yo) sons Scout troop self defense. My son accidentally kicked him where he should have been wearing protection. He can always tell people he almost knocked out a real MMA guy.
;>)
Okaaaay, Sabrina! Jeeez!!
“It’s A Grind” was my FAVE coffee chain. I think they’re all gone now.
I think my favorite was Soon Fatt
😅😂🤣
When I lived in Wy. there was a cafe’ called “Road Kill Cafe.'” gee I wonder why it was boarded up. 🙂
If only vultures could read, they’d have done a, ahem, roaring business.
Ah, if you’re missing a taste of the road, you can get your roadkill fix here: https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/florida/bizarre-restaurant-fl-swamp/. *smiles*
I don’t think I’ll eat there either even though the ice cream did look good. 🙂
Ugh, yeah, even though it’s not really roadkill, I’ve only been a few times back when I was growing up in Florida. It wasn’t very vegetarian friendly. LOL!
It’s a lovely spot though…I miss the swamps!
Years ago a friend and I awaited a new Chinese restaurant. Their OPEN SOON sign had been in the window for months. Eventually we had several delightful lunches in what we came to call “Open Soon.”
;>)
Wow, we have stupid, funny, clueless, AND offensive!!
Yep, all the important advertising categories, Liz.
Heh heh. 😀
LOL- One of my favorites!
Fun fact – Alcoa is a city near where I grew up, the name of which is an acronym for ALuminum Company Of America. We often took a shortcut through Alcoa to the “quiet side of the Smokies.” 🙂
As always, I love your stuff!
Thanks, Kellye!
Very amusing
Gotta love those clever barbers. I wonder if they give clever hair-cuts? Then again, that might be too much clever. I’ve lived long enough to see some outrageous hairstyles. (Remember bee hives and jellyrolls?)
I try not to, Nancy. ;>)
My mother once gave my dad a “reverse Mohawk.” He never did live that one down! https://joynealkidney.com/2022/03/24/dads-reverse-mohawk/
Oh my! Mom cut Dad’s and my brother’s hair, but I don’t remember any Mohawks–reverse or otherwise! Headed over to your blog to read the full account!
Wonderful
These are hilarious. And now, since it’s almost 1:00 A.M., I MUST go to bed. But I’ll fall asleep with a grin on my face. Thanks, Mitch.
Ahh, sleepy grins are the best.
How will be Orange Haircut Mitch😊
Do you mean “Organic Haircut,” Ramani?
OMG! Organic Hair Cut Mitch! It’s funny to hear 😊
I have heard about only Mushroom Haircut😃
Loved this, Mitch!
Hilarious!!
Good to see your comment was posted, Nancy! Are you having any more issues with that, or is it resolved?
No more issues! Everything seems to have worked itself out. Must be magic lol! That was an incredible post about Ronald Reagan. What a story!
Glad to hear it!
Bleach cereal 😳🤣
Some of these examples are ad-vertently hilarious (Spiderman especially)
I loved the barber’s price board (and his haircuts are gluten free, apparently even the “free” one. As a former Electrolux saleman, I wondered what was funny about their advertising. Obviously classic Electrolux cleaners had enough suction to sway the Tower of Pisa!
Yeah! ;>) But Dirt Devil has them beat: https://mitchteemley.com/2019/10/31/is-it-the-devil-3/
Some of these are a bit off color, I’d expect better from you Mitch
Sorry you were offended, Hetty.
They’re absolutely hilarious! Think the Barber shop and the homicide mug are my favourites.
I don’t know where you find these things, but I’m sure glad you do! And even happier that you share them.
;>)
My favorites are the ferrets, the ash tray, and Soon Fatt. 😂🤣
These are hysterical!! Thanks for the morning laugh, Mitch!
I’m a big fan of signs that put quotations around words that make no sense
I’m going to have to go to Seventh Avenue Barbers now. My current barber actually charges EXTRA for knife fights and has never confirmed whether his haircuts are gluten-free or not.
Wise choice, Michael.
Mitch, this post made me chuckle! <3 Thank you for posting these ridiculous ads.
My pleasure, Cheryl!
Some good ones there Mitch. I recall seeing a factory sign in Hong Kong – Wan-Hung-Loh brassiere company.
Seriously?!
The signs are hilarious! 😂