1. Hellmann’s Mayonnaise

As parents, we all struggle with what’s most important in our home and what we want to teach our children: kindness, respect for others, responsibility, compassion, honor, morality, etc. I never knew I was missing the biggest ethic of all–mayonnaise. All might look sugar-sweet in this commercial, but I swear I’ve never seen a baby so scared of his grandma. I also love the huge, beautiful banquet on the table and right in the center of it all: a jar of mayonnaise. Still, “It wouldn’t be home without Hellmann’s.”

2. Skippy Peanut Butter

We’ve all heard of subliminal advertising; this one is outright hypnosis. I’m not sure how this idea didn’t get shot down at the agency; to my naive way of thinking, creepy mind control might not be the best way to sell a product. Oh well, it’s 10:19, I’d better get to my grocer and buy 2 jars of Skippy.

3. Schaefer Beer

Oh the joys of drinking alone! Herbie is positively giddy listening to his beer bottle serenading him. Of course, the wife has to ruin all the fun. Maybe once your beer starts talking to you, it’s time to head to a meeting.

4. Stripe Toothpaste

The commercial opens with a congressional report stating that tooth decay is caused by germs (your tax dollars at work). But the real reason to buy Stripe is that because of the cool stripe, your children will be more willing to brush their teeth. Okay…

5. Camel Cigarettes

When you use the tagline, “More Doctors Smoke Camel Than Any Other Cigarette,” there really isn’t anything else to say.

Be sure to come back to this blog regularly to see future installments of Old Commercials to Make You Smile…and Cringe!

1. Folgers Coffee

Harvey is mad–and with good reason–his wife can’t make a decent cup of coffee! He can barely hold back his disgust as he tells her (the wife doesn’t have a name of course, she’s just “Honey”) that the girls at the office (hint hint) make better coffee with their hot plates. Can this marriage be saved.? Yes, thanks to a girlfriend telling her about Folgers. Whew!

2. Buick Riviera

This one starts off innocently enough. A man and a woman flirt by driving their cars along the road together to some very mod sixties music. Car looks nice and fun to drive too. Then at the very end, when all seems safe, a voice over tells you–no, I don’t want to spoil it, just be sure to watch it until the end.

3. Pepsi

The video and sound quality on this one are absolutely terrible (probably because Pepsi doesn’t want the original out there). Ladies, grab your notebook–this commercial will tell you everything you need to know about how to be happy in life.

4. Geritol

You know the old story: Man come homes from work, the house is a mess, so what else can he do but pull a gun on his wife?

5. Goodyear Tire

I never realized why good tires are so important–it’s because you never know when a woman is going to be driving. Apparently, you ladies have a thing for lots of confusing signs and off-road maneuvering while horror movie music plays in the background. The tagline: “When a woman is at the wheel, [these tires] mean more than mileage.”

1. Kool-Aid

This is a good example of the sugary (ha!) innocence in commercials that you just don’t see anymore. Best of all, Mom says priceless things like: 

“You know it’s pure and good.” An artificially-flavored drink mix? Of course it’s pure and good.

“You can give your youngsters a lot of pleasure with Kool-Aid.” Ok, I’m not touching that one.

“And it’s thrifty.” Really, tell me the last time you heard the word “thrifty!”

2. Bobbi Hair Care

No one knows less about women’s fashion or beauty than me, but it seems like the hair on this “smart girl” has been varnished and shellacked to a tornado-proof state. I think this is the first time I’ve seen a hairstyle that I could honestly say looks painful.

2. Fred Flinstone and Barney Rubble Light Up.

Some clips need no introduction. Oh, I could talk about the irony of cartoon characters selling cigarettes, the commercial’s overt misogyny and more, but it would only be filler. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Fred Flintstone selling cigarettes:

The second sign is now upon us: The Double Down.

Two pieces of cheese.
Two pieces of bacon.
Two pieces of chicken.

There’s no bun. Just two pieces of chicken instead of slices of doughnut bread. Bear witness:

‘hiya Chelsea its Elaine from work. Sorry to send u a message like this but bin tryin to ring u but gettin no joy. I had to tell the owner bout u losin that tenner cos obviously the till was down at the end of day. she wasn’t very pleased at all and despite me trying to persuade her otherwise she said I have to let u go. I’m really sorry.’

Well, there’s a job board for that. RealityWanted provides those who dare to dream that they too could very well be the next Snookie, Bachelor or Real Housewife the opportunity to apply directly to Reality TV, Game Show and Talk Show casting calls.

The PR firm behind the job board explains it like this: “It used to be that those with aspirations of being in the entertainment industry dreamed of singing or dancing or acting … today, those aspirations now fall into another category.” Another category indeed.

 Here’s hoping you find this video funny, but not in any way an accurate portrayal of your career!

Undercover Boss

Thanks to the PunkRockHR blog (where I first spotted this clip) for leading me to the hilarity I just shared with you. Saturday Night Live is officially DVR worthy.

“Paws” to write a caption for this photo (more points if it’s recruitment/HR related) and if we deem yours the best, you’ll WIN a $50 gift card to Starbucks.

Caffeine junkies unite – bring us your best.

Update: Congrats to Tonya Sanchez for her winning entry, selected on Tuesday, March 9th. A “Picture This” contest will be back to the blog in April, so keep coming back for more.

The video features several unemployed adults who carry signs with messages that read: “Flight attendant. 34 years experience. Furloughed,” “Good at my job,” and “Sent out 100 resumes … nothing.”

Star says, “When I started thinking of how to represent ‘Breathe,’ this idea made sense because unemployment is the common thread that I have been seeing everywhere I have been touring It just feels to me that people everywhere need to hear a positive message, that things will all be OK and that we are here for one another.”

Through the magic of Macy’s, let’s win Game 5 … and 6 and 7. Go Phils!

(Update: Although Game 5 was quite magical, Game 6 was a different story. Thanks for a great season Phillies!)

Many of us share a common thread with this disease. On Friday, October 2nd consider asking your coworkers to get casual for the cause.

Workforce Management compiled a list of the 30 highest-paid HR Leaders among publicly traded U.S. companies. Although the average compensation for executives on the list has dropped 20 percent since 2007, one of the most notable trends on this year’s list is that many hold multiple roles at their companies. Half the executives on the list hold at least one other title outside of HR.

Their 5 Steps to Kicking the Habit include:

1 – Admit you have a problem but don’t tweet about it.

2 – Accept that you don’t need upvotes to feel validated.

3 – Understand the risks of poking strangers.

4 – Repeat after me: “Twitter and alcohol don’t mix”.

5 – Don’t go cold turkey! Just delete one friend a day.

Want to tell the world you are in “recovery”, or just weary of all things social on the web? There are also a few inspired t-shirts available that could be the perfect fit for you.

The product description for these buttons reads: Got laid off? Not a problem! Who wants to spend days pouring over job listings? It’s time to have fun. This collection of round pins would make great gifts for people that still have sense of humor about the situation.

Place your orders  here.

However, the real fun is in Deloitte’s clever companion microsite for recruiting consultants. Check it out at  www.born2consult.com.

Is there such a thing as overuse of social networking tools? Opinions vary that is for sure – click here for some more on the debate.

Every recruiter has a wacky job interview tale or two – hopefully not this wacky.