Silly rabbit, I said 'bus ad'
April 19, 2009 11:50 AM   Subscribe

On MUNI and AcTransit buses here in the Bay Area, I've seen advertisements that had this wording:
Silly rabbit, I said 'bus ad'
What does that mean? Is it a reference to something? What are these ads even advertising?
posted by mulligan to Grab Bag (19 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
"Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids."
posted by bricoleur at 11:52 AM on April 19, 2009


The "silly rabbit" bit is probably a reference to the Trix rabbit, but I can't imagine what it has to do with bus ads.
posted by zamboni at 11:54 AM on April 19, 2009


so it's an oblique ad for Trix.
posted by scruss at 12:01 PM on April 19, 2009


Maybe advertising to sell advertising space on the sides of buses?
posted by dilettante at 12:06 PM on April 19, 2009


I've seen those too and was similarly baffled. I believe it was an ad for a billboard company. Can't explain what it means, though.
posted by crinklebat at 12:07 PM on April 19, 2009


From what I've heard, there is not a lot of advertising going on right now, and the bus ad market is in a slump. This is also why you are seeing a lot of PSA style ads on the sides of buses now.

I saw this one two, it's a meta-ad for bus advertising.
posted by bottlebrushtree at 12:09 PM on April 19, 2009


Have you seen those ads on benches that say something like 'You just proved it--bench signs work! You ought to buy a bench sign today!'? Same thing.
posted by box at 12:44 PM on April 19, 2009


I've seen those too and was completely baffled. We actually talked about it for 15 minutes trying figure it out. Perhaps that means it works but I still don't get it.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 1:56 PM on April 19, 2009


I have found myself over the years saying, "silly rabbit, .......x" for whatever self-evident thing I happen to notice. I am a baby boomer raised on t.v. and all the cartoons and commercials of my youth are imbedded into my grey matter at the sub atomic level. the Oscar Mayer weiner song, the owl biting the tootsie pop after three licks, it's all there, and I am not pround of it. I would guess the ad writer and the guy who gave the o.k. for the ad are my age or a tad younger and like the whole secret/retro feel to it. if you are too young or mentally resistant to this input for it to resonate for you, you probably find youself saying "where's the beef" for these ads
posted by Redhush at 3:20 PM on April 19, 2009


Noting that "Silly rabbit" is a reference to the old Trix commercials does not explain what "I said 'bus ad'" means.
posted by Dec One at 3:52 PM on April 19, 2009


My guess: it got you to look at a bus ad. Perhaps you'd then decide to advertise on the bus.
posted by Carol Anne at 4:44 PM on April 19, 2009


Logically, if the joke is "I said 'bus ad'" the joke should be about a comedy mis-hearing of "bus ad" by the silly rabbit.

So, what sounds like "bus ad"?

"Bust ad"? "Be sad"? "Mossad"?
posted by AmbroseChapel at 5:59 PM on April 19, 2009


A marketing consultant is sitting with an advertising exec somewhere googling this. He points out the hits from twitter, askme, and blogs and says 'Look at all the chatter about this nonsense phrase. See, bus ads work!'
He is questioned: 'Bust ad? Do you mean bus ad?'
posted by xorry at 7:13 PM on April 19, 2009


I saw a MUNI bus this afternoon with that nonsense slogan and a URL: http://www.wannabillboard.com/

They're trying to sell you a bus ad. "They" meaning "CBS Outdoors," that is.

I still don't know what "bus ad" could sound like that would make this a funny joke.
posted by purpleclover at 7:16 PM on April 19, 2009


Funny, I wondered about those ads too. No matter what they're selling, it's really annoying to have to guess the point of an ad - I say FAIL.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 9:05 PM on April 19, 2009


I have been wondering the same thing and came to the same conclusion.. Standing alone waiting for the 24 Divis. trying to figure out what part of the joke I didn't get until I realized it wasn't me. It was just really lame.
posted by missy_b at 9:32 PM on April 19, 2009


It's an ad for bus ads.

But clearly the company selling these ads need to find an ad agency and not have their PA throw them together in PowerPoint. Their "this ad space for rent" ads are universally awful to the point of near incoherency.
posted by Ookseer at 10:37 PM on April 19, 2009


Buzz ad? (Advertising business jargon for an ad that creates buzz?)
posted by pracowity at 12:16 AM on April 20, 2009 [1 favorite]


The Trix rabbit ad has nothing to do with the rabbit mishearing anything, so I think some of you may be on the wrong track. The rabbit tries to obtain a bowl of said cereal, and when he fails he's mocked mercilessly by some douchy kids for not being high enough on the food chain to merit high fructose corn syrup.
posted by Thoughtcrime at 12:55 PM on April 20, 2009


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