The Creepiest Collection of People you will ever see

SharGuidesMyHand

A promo for the Sizzler restaurant chain in the early '90s:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3YGtQ40Qvs

It boggles my mind that someone, somewhere actually thought this was a good idea.

Also, I love how it tries to turn the "freedom" of choosing food from a buffet into some kind of a patriotic theme - melodrama much?

procco

Hahahahahahahahahahhahahhahhhahahahaha. Holy shit! Thank you for sharing that!

Mortianna

Sizzler: 'Merica's buffet. Paradise, one plate-full at a time.

FinneousPJ

Jeez 4.5 minutes lol

Adso

Did anyone else notice Lando (Billy Dee Williams) on the carousel?

iKrivetko

Still not as creepy as your average walmart.

skinnydragon

And I thought we were having a forum (not re-)union . (Joking obviously except for me )

BelgarathMTH

Hmm. My closest friend, his mother, his sister, and I always go to a buffet restaurant whenever we get together, and we've been doing it since the 1970's, around 20 years before this commercial. We've watched the history of these restaurants from a first hand perspective for decades.

Our usual current choice is Golden Corral, which is very prevalent in the southeastern United States, and has the same business model as the Western Sizzler in the commercial.

I didn't find the commercial "creepy". I did find it...bemusing. It's far too long to run in prime time television, unless they bought entire commercial breaks from programs. I wonder if it was designed to run in movie theaters? Or perhaps it was meant to be edited apart into smaller segments that could run on television in some kind of phased series. Or perhaps it was for the Super Bowl that year?

I found it interesting to see them promoting a buffet restaurant model that is so familiar to me, and in which I've eaten a thousand and one times, as something new or innovative. But thinking back, I guess the combination table-service and buffet *was* fairly new in 1990, although I think Ryan's was doing it before Western Sizzler. There was also another company competing for the same market in the southeast states - Bonanza.

Trying to connect to American patriotism to market things was extremely prevalent in the 1990's, so I don't fault them for that. There was another resurgence of the same sort of thing after the attack on the World Trade Centers on 9/11/01.

I wonder if the difference in my reaction and that of the other posters has to do with my being a southerner? I believe this kind of restaurant is more popular in the south than in other regions of the country, and it may not even exist in Europe. So, it could have been targeted to Southern U.S. culture, which has some unique characteristics.

Pardon me, I'm suddenly hungry. I think I'll go out to the Golden Corral for lunch now.

Qbert

Sizzler was our go to restaurant for a period of time. I was sorry to see it go. I liked Golden Corral too, but i haven't been there in a long time. I would always leave uncomfortable from eating too much, i would have a weird fascination with "getting my money's worth" at buffets. I would also usually skip the starches and go straight for what i considered the more expensive fare so i wouldn't "waste my money". ah good times.

My brother in law is an ex nfl offensive lineman, and Corral is his favorite restaurant. I don't think they feel he is their favorite customer though with the amount of money they must lose on him!

Kamigoroshi

A thread with creepy people is nothing without a full bathtub!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QO6FW-JvRM

<_<

>_>

*runs for cover*

DreadKhan

...This isn't the Rocky Horror Picture Show thread?

*finds his Huff, unlocks it, enters it, and leaves in said Huff*

TJ_Hooker

@ 0:24
I know when I see an old man look down at a little girl while a slow grin spreads across his face, I think "let's eat at Sizzler".

Nimran

TJ_Hooker said:

@ 0:24
I know when I see an old man look down at a little girl while a slow grin spreads across his face, I think "let's eat at Sizzler".

Oh, he's sizzling alright.

SharGuidesMyHand

Sizzler - "A restaurant within a restaurant."

joluv

BelgarathMTH said:

I believe this kind of restaurant is more popular in the south than in other regions of the country, and it may not even exist in Europe. So, it could have been targeted to Southern U.S. culture, which has some unique characteristics.

Bingo.

Nimran

*actually watches the video* Oh, well, this isn't too bad. I guess if you look at it from an outside perspective, then it might seem creepy I guess, but since I am a southern USian (Oklahoma born and raised), it doesn't bother me. I think the scenes that had nothing to do with a restaurant were a bit silly, but it was the 90s. Everything from the 90s seems silly, hell I grew up in the 90s and I still think it's silly.

SharGuidesMyHand

Adso said:

Did anyone else notice Lando (Billy Dee Williams) on the carousel?

Followed immediately thereafter by Stephen Collins of 7th Heaven. ;-)

elminster

Well the first ten seconds makes it seem like its some really bad pill commercial. So its off to a good start there lol

dunbar

Sorry, hit wrong key (again).

dustbubsy

I just can't get over the fact that someone walked into a recording studio one day to sing the "Theme from Sizzler". That lyrics like those were most probably typed up and given to some choir who had to sing like it was the Star-Spangled Banner. "Sizzler is the choice of Americaaaaa! Sizzler gives you choices every dayyyyyy!"...

Though the creepiest thing for me was the way the voiceover said the restaurant's name at the very end. What an unsettling whisper.