This Funny Super Bowl Spot Goes Overboard… With Disclaimers

Did you see the Uber Eats ad during the Super Bowl talking about how they deliver more than food? It had a ton of celebrity cameos with the celebrities eating the non-edible groceries you can get delivered by the company. It also prompted a warning from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Yes, the hilarious ad that showed Jennifer Coolidge stuffing her mouth with paper towels, Nicholas Braun of HBO's "Succession" chugging dish soap, and Gwyneth Paltrow taking a bite of a candle got a very serious, unfunny, tweet out of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Is a major government agency worried that the average television viewer doesn't get the joke? If so, that makes me wonder, how stupid a society do we live in? But it doesn't stop there either. Re-watch the commercial. Look at the bottom of the screen. There are disclaimers throughout:

"Prop food. Do not eat diapers."

"Prop food. Do not eat kitty litter."

"Prop food. Do not eat dish soap."

"Prop food. Do not eat anatomy candles." This one was a little funny based on the candle Gwyneth Paltrow was holding. Check out the screengrab below. Then when they come back to Paltrow, there's a disclaimer that says "Candle shown available in NYC and LA only."

The disclaimers continue as the ad continues.

"Prop food. Do not eat sponges."

"Prop food. Do not eat deodorant."

"Prop food. Do not eat sunscreen."

"Prop food. Do not eat lightbulbs."

"Do not attempt. Not a real light bulb", and then the ad wraps up with two more disclaimers. "Prop food. Do not eat not food." And, "Do not eat any of the items shown."

If anything, the use of the disclaimers in the ad bordering on the absurd, along with the extra nudge in the disclaimer about Paltrow's candle shows that at least Uber Eat's legal team and the creative team probably got together and found a way to protect themselves in a humorous way.

Should some things have a warning label? Sure. Cigarettes can kill you. Drinking while pregnant can harm a fetus. And if I drive my Kia Soul the wrong way, it can roll over and cause me serious injury or death. These are all probably good things to be aware of.

Yet, a silly Super Bowl commercial that's obviously using comedy to get its point across? We shouldn't have to tell people not to eat diapers, kitty litter, dish soap, sponges, deodorant, sunscreen, or lightbulbs. That should be expected. It bothers me that it's not.