13 Times Commercials Lied to Us as Kids
These childhood ads promised magic, but reality hit way differently once the box was opened.
- Chris Graciano
- 3 min read
Growing up, TV commercials made everything look like the coolest thing ever. However, what showed up at your door didn’t match the hype. These 13 ad lies had us all fooled, and the disappointment still stings a little.
1. Moon Shoes
Crystal Calderon on Flickr
The commercials showed kids bouncing like astronauts. In real life, you barely left the ground and risked rolling an ankle.
2. Easy-Bake Oven
RBerteig on Flickr
The name said “easy,” but baking with a lightbulb took hours. The portions were tiny, the results underwhelming, and the cleanup was a pain.
3. Gushers Turning Your Head into Fruit
Willis Lam on Flickr
Every ad teased wild fruit-shaped transformations. Instead, you got gooey candy and maybe a sugar rush — zero morphing magic.
4. Sea Monkeys
Cathy on Flickr
The box showed a smiling aquatic family living their best life. What you got was cloudy water and barely visible brine shrimp.
5. Skip-It Counter Glory
Saskatoon Public Library on Wikimedia Commons
Ads made it look like an Olympic sport with dazzling tricks and high scores. However, the counter barely worked, and hitting your ankle was a guarantee.
6. Lunchables Making You the Cool Kid
Shelley on Flickr
The commercial kid had a crowd, confidence, and the best lunch table seat. In real life, you sat with your one friend and lukewarm cold cuts.
7. Hoverboards That Didn’t Hover
Ron Lach on Pexels
Those 2000s “hoverboards” promised futuristic gliding. They were really just wheeled platforms that caught fire if you were unlucky.
8. Creepy Crawlers Easy-Bake Style
Toho Scope on Flickr
You could “bake” plastic bugs just like the ad showed. The problem was that the machine barely worked, and the bugs stuck to everything.
9. Trix Yogurt’s Rainbow Swirls
Tiia Monto on Wikimedia Commons
The TV showed perfect neon swirls and vibrant colors. The real stuff looked more like weird-colored mush. The taste didn’t wow either.
10. Light-Up Shoes That Barely Flashed
DSC_6247 on Wikimedia Commons
In commercials, every step was a disco. However, once worn, the lights fizzled out within weeks — if they worked at all. You still wore them, though, just in case.
11. Stretch Armstrong’s Limitless Stretching
Wikimedia Commons
He was supposed to stretch for miles — until he tore or leaked goo everywhere. One overzealous pull, and it was game over.
12. Color-Changing Hot Wheels
Jason Thien on Flickr
They promised dramatic color flips with water. In reality, the change was subtle — and stopped working after a few tries.
13. Board Games with Commercial Chaos
2H Media on Unsplash
Ads for games like Mouse Trap or Crossfire made them look like intense competitions. However, the setup was tedious, and gameplay barely lived up to the hype.