There is absolutely no explanation for this terrible 2006 ad for HeadOn. The video above shows two different version of the HeadOn ad (the only difference being the color of the background) as well as a commercial for a related product, ActivOn. When it was released, this advertisement became incredibly popular online and was even featured in the movie “Disaster Movie” in 2008.

Perhaps the most obvious flaw in HeadOn’s commercial is the continuous repetition of the phrase “HeadOn! Apply directly to the forehead!” During the ten second commercial, this quote is looped three times while the model rubs the HeadOn back and forth on her head. Plus, in case the repetition of the catchphrase didn’t make the instructions obvious enough for viewers, the creators of the commercial added a bright yellow arrow pointing to the model with the caption “apply directly to forehead” to make it a little bit clearer.

The production of the commercial is very low budget and makes the ad even more laughable. For example, the two variations of the commercial are exactly the same aside from the change in the weird green screen background’s color. The volume fades in and out throughout the advertisement; although the initial “HeadOn!” is loud, the “apply” directly afterwards is significantly quieter, making it feel disjointed and choppy.

Finally, the worst part of this commercial and the reason why it is completely ineffective is its total lack of information about the product’s purpose. Although viewers know that HeadOn should be applied directly to the forehead, they have absolutely no idea why. The commercial never states what the product does or why a consumer would want to use it. This is a terrible marketing strategy for the company! If a viewer is annoyed by a product’s commercial and is told nothing about that product’s purpose, why would they ever want to buy it?