If you thought that eating sugary cereal could be hazardous to your health, just try starring in a commercial for it. The star of this recent Frosties cereal ad (the name for Frosted Flakes in the UK), a 15-year old gymnast from Johannesburg, South Africa, has actually gotten death threats as a direct result of appearing in the ad. Apparently, people just find the jingle to be so irritating, that they have said things like "He's a revolting despicable child - he deserves to die." Kellogg's put a stop to just about all the interviews with the star, just to be on the safe side, but spokespeople say that the ad is actually quite popular with viewers.
Having seen the commercial in the video clip above, I have to say that the viewers of this ad must be a very lucky bunch because this is by no means the most irritating or disturbing ad on TV - Skittles and Burger King already have a head start in those departments, and the recent Folger's ad is in its own category of weirdness. Death threats? It's just breakfast.
9-11-2006 @3:35PM Kevin said... I love it! Keep em coming.
http://weird-news.blogspot.com
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9-11-2006 @4:33PM RWD fan said... I'm hooked on this one currently
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kooS8iTqo1w
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9-11-2006 @7:20PM ~Nikki~ said... I have to admit the kid is abnoxious, nothing to send death threats over though!
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9-11-2006 @10:15PM Dr. Electro said... I never make death threats before breakfast.
I also don't eat Frosties by any name. However, I like obnoxious TV commercials. That kid is really obnoxious enough to become a cult hero.
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9-12-2006 @3:51AM Constance said... I was really taken aback by the news. I never really thought that cereal ads can trigger death threats.
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9-12-2006 @3:49AM RCote said... I was in the UK while this ad was running. What made it uber annoying is that is was running two or more times per commercial break. He was on *all the time*. It went from being annoying to being psychotic.
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9-12-2006 @9:54PM David T said... Death threat over that? Maybe they've never heard the Empire Carpets jingle. That always makes me want to go postal in the company's marketing department.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spedi-e2_sk
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