Op-Ed: New Little Baby's Ice Cream commercial will give you nightmares

A new ad for Philadelphia's Little Baby's Ice Cream isn't the kind of spot you'd expect from such an innocently-named company. The video will make you scream for ice cream for all the wrong reasons.

The video, uploaded to YouTube, shows a man's upper body slathered in what looks like vanilla ice cream. A voice, presumably from the ice cream-covered man, intones, "There's good reason for my glistening skin and how I shine and how my pores are so clean and clear." The man then uses a spoon to scoop some ice cream from his head to taste it. The voice continues, "I eat Little Baby's Ice Cream. It keeps me young, it keeps me light on my feet." As eerie music plays in the background, the wide-eyed man chews the ice cream enthusiastically as the ad continues, "When you eat Little Baby's Ice Cream, you'll wink and nod and high-five each other with great enthusiasm. This is a special time." The logo then appears in the video and the voiceover concludes, "Ice cream is a feeling." Well, that feeling is horror for this viewer. I couldn't help but wonder what message Little Baby's was trying to convey with this creepy ad. That feeling line sounds like the dessert is trying to flirt with viewers, but not in a romantic way. More like it's trying too hard. What marketing strategy is there in outfitting a guy with an ice cream body suit? Is that supposed to inspire me to do the same? I doubt ice cream can clean my pores, and can you imagine the sticky-skin feeling you'd have to endure after? At the very least, Little Baby is smart enough to know this ad will win media coverage for its quirky approach, even if it may become the butt of jokes. After all, its first brick-and-mortar location is opening today. I guess the company would prefer an ad people talk about, instead of a commercial as bland as, well, vanilla ice cream.