I have spent the last week sick. Apparently there is a nasty cold going around that has been keeping some people sick for weeks. Looks like I am one of them.
Since last Thursday, I have been spending my days sleeping or laying on the couch watching some really bad daytime television. I watched some bad movies on HBO like What Happens in Vegas and Yes Man and got more sleep in the past six days than I probably did in the entire month of December.
While I was on the couch making my way through three (yes, three) boxes of Kleenex, I saw two commercials that made me say What the Fuck? out loud.
The first one looked like it was going to be an innocent cereal commercial but it tricked me big time. I thought it was weird that what I thought was a cereal commercial had a tag on the bottom of the screen that said it was paid for by a corn company. Everything was cleared up though when the people in the commercial started saying that high fructose corn syrup was good for you because it was made with corn.
Really?
With Americans being fatter than ever a corn company is actually telling people that high fructose corn syrup is good for us? As we all know, high fructose corn syrup is sugar. And the only thing sugar does for us is make us fat. So please Mr. Corn Company, please, please, please tell me how high fructose corn syrup can possibly be good for me. I am dying to know how you are going to spin this one.
The second commercial not only made me say What the fuck?, it also made me laugh out loud. I laughed so hard that boogers actually shot out of my nose and landed all over my shirt.
The second commercial was a Taco Bell commercial promoting their Taco Bell Drive-Thru Diet. That’s right, dear readers. Taco Bell is trying to convince people that their food is diet food. The woman in the commercial says that she replaced her usual fast food with the Taco Bell Drive-Thru Diet food.
Although I am not an expert on losing weight, I am going to take a stab in the dark here and proclaim that if you are trying to lose weight and be healthy, YOU SHOULD STAY AWAY FROM ALL FAST FOOD. Replacing it with Taco Bell does not seem like a smart idea. I don’t care that the drive-thru diet uses the Fresco menu, which takes off all cheese and sauces and replaces it with salsa. I don’t care that one taco may only be 150 calories. It’s still not good food and no one should be eating it.
I struggle with my weight every day, and every day I make decisions about what I am going to put in my body. I am glad that I am smart enough to know that high fructose corn syrup and Taco Bell does not make a healthy diet.
22 comments:
Now if you pour high fructose corn syrup on top of Taco Bell you've got a SUPER HEALTHY meal! ;)
Stopping by from SITS - hope you're feeling better!
I don't think I've seen the high fructose corn syrup commerical (or maybe I have and just haven't paid attention!), but I have seen the Taco Bell drive-thru diet commercial a million times and it gets me every time! I really can't believe they're trying to sell that idea, but I bet that it's working on some people!
I've seen those commercials too and always say WTF?! I am still trying to figure out if the Taco Bell diet is supposed to be a joke or if they're for real? And HFCS is like the worst thing ever.
Being Canadian, we don't have those Corn commercials, except on American Cable - which i totally have... and the first time i saw one i was like: What the fuck?? Seriously??
that's sad. Really Sad.
Anne literally took the words right out of my...fingers. Get it, because I was going to type it. No? Not funny? Okay.
Hope you feel better soon!
I agree!! That Taco Bell commercial is evil... nobody loses weight from fast food... grrr... xxxooo`
both of those commercial are crazy!
Hope you're feeling better soon!
Those HFCS commercials make me irate. Because, um, duh, sugar is not good for us. Yes, in moderation, it can be fine, especially when coming from natural sources, but it's really freaking hard to consume HFCS in "moderation" when it's in everything from my reduced fat Wheat Thins to so-called multi-grain bread. I've found it in english muffins (wtf, seriously), bbq sauce (try and find one w/o it - not as easy as you'd think), low/reduced fat salad dressing, and it's even in that Fiber One crap. So even if you are trying to make "healthy" food choices, they're still putting their damn over-processed sugar goo in it all. Totally misleading, and IMO the shit should be Banned.
Taco Hell as diet food just cracks me up. I guess if you are committed to eating the shit, at least it's fewer calories, but still...the sodium alone will bloat you up like a whale, so good luck buttoning your jeans on that "diet"...
If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food. It's some interesting stuff.
oh my god, the taco bell diet one left me rolling on the floor, too!
i like how the girl in the commercial says, "these results are not typical, but for me they were fabulous!" or something similarly ridicuous
I would love to see a spokesperson for the Taco Bell diet. Like a chubby Spanish immigrant trying to be like the Subway dude Jared. And he'd have his chiwawa dog next to him licking up high fructose corn syrup and beer, just for kicks. Oh man, that's good stuff - I am in the wrong field. I should be in advertising.
I've seen those commercials as well...I wonder if there will be a ton of complaints and then the commercials will get pulled.
Yup, but blame Jared for the Taco Bell woman - he started this nonesense - I can't stand the smug little dork!
Hope you feel better! Sounds like I have what you have. Want to go halsies on stock in Kleenex?
I had a WTF moment at that corn syrup commercial. Actually, my wife and I both laughed at it. I'm glad you confirmed that it actually happened because I thought it might have just been a fever and cold medicine fueled hallucination.
Yea, the commercials now a days are pretty hilarious.
That's so freaking funny because those were my words exactly when I saw both those commercials. Especially the Taco Bell drive thru diet....seriously?? hahaha WTF!!!
First of all, how can you call What Happens in Vegas a bad movie?! I loved it! lol. I hear you on the commercial thing. I saw a different version on high fructose corn syrup one, but it was with a popsicle. And speaking of commericals have you seen teh new Carl's Jr one with Kim Kardashian? It's for a salad and OMG. At least it made me want a salad! lol. I hope your feeling better! I'm catching a cold too and it's driving me crazy!
I hope you are feeling better today!
Seriously? A Taco Bell drive-thru diet??!? I got to read the fine print....
"Drive-Thru-Diet® is not a weight-loss program. For a healthier lifestyle, pay attention to total calorie and fat intake and regular exercise. Taco Bell's Fresco Menu can help with calorie reductions of 20 to 100 per item compared to corresponding products on our regular menu. Not a low calorie food."
Now that's enough to make you want to drink your high fructose corn syrup (after it has fermented, of course)...
Do me a favor and find the song Pour Some Sugar on Me by Def Leppard DONE BY Emm Gryner, this fellow Canadian chick. Seriously, you have to hear it. It will blow your pants off.
I sang it in my head the entire time I was reading this post. Glad you are on the mend!
I've seen that Taco Bell diet-- I talked about it briefly on my blog last week, and everybody seemed to feel the same way they do here-- WTF? There's no way anybody's going to lose weight unless they literally RUN for the border.
~Elizabeth
Confessions From A Working Mom
i saw both those commericals too and my reaction was gee, they really do think we're stupid..
I think Taco Bell is taking a page from the Subway ads where the guy lost like a 1000 pounds eating their sandwiches..
I hope you are feeling better
Wines Constantly totally nailed this one. When those HFCS commercials started airing, I would go on a tirade, but Gary didn't understand until I explained that HFCS is so pervasive in our food that cutting out known sources still wouldn't eliminate 50% of our consumption.
It made me remember when the Incredible Edible Egg commercials came out in the midst of the high cholesterol scare when I was a kid. Except that eggs are not quite so pervasive and easier to experience in moderation.
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