From nothingness to nothing but a wholesome ambiance, the commercial opens to a setting no sweeter than home sweet home itself. Taking up a lot of the shot are the carpeted floors whose light tones of beige are as approachable as their soft surface fit for babies bustling about. Occupying another part of the living room’s view is an even softer surface where kids and their caregivers can take it easy, be it for cuddles or cartoons, none other than the iconic couch. Settled on its comforts of blue cushions are a pair of parent skunks whose smiles further the shot’s soothing vibe while they watch their son.
Finally, finishing off the commercial’s starting composition is the kid whose cuteness demands the center of the shot. Donning a plain white diaper, so too does the suckling of a red pacifier suit the child’s innocent charm while slow and wobbly steps show a skunk showing off his recently acquired title of toddler.
“Hehehehe!”
The gleeful giggles of the bushy-tailed baby then add the cutesy cherry on top, all while the beats of music boxes and xylophones amplify that unabashedly babyish vibe. A few moments later, a narrator chips in to cement that infantile focus.
“Being a baby means a whole lot of firsts! Baby’s first steps, baby’s first words, baby’s first solid foods, you name it!” says a feminine sounding voice as the boy waddles closer to the camera and adds happy babbles to his blissful laughter.
But suddenly, the camera once capturing the kid’s cute face up close cuts to the sight of his backside, putting his parents out of view while setting up a shot that now demands the most attention from his diapered bottom and bushy tail. Amidst the baby skunk being the shot’s sole subject so suddenly, suddenness has even more up its sleeve as the tyke’s toddling adventures stop after two more steps and the abrupt loss of lively giggles and babbles leaves solely softer sounds of the background music’s beats and the boy’s sucking of his binky. Those viewing this the first time on their TV’s may find themselves confused by these swift scenic shifts and sudden stops in movement, but as the narrator will soon suggest, it’s to set up certain other shifts and movements.
“But, when it comes to baby skunks, there’s even more firsts to fulfill! What am I talking about, you may ask?” they say with a slightly stifled giggle.
Those more perceptive will already know the answer from that specific mention of species, but if anyone’s left guessing, then the skunks on screen won’t be the only one’s getting surprised!
GUUUUUUUURGLE!!!
The one year old is the first one to feel such surprise, and from a feeling most familiar of all things. Although old enough to know the pressure below means poo poo, the toddler now ponders why the need to poopy has never felt so potent than it does right now, why it feels like his bowels have baggage beyond comprehension. Unbeknownst to the baby who can’t tell time, much less talk for that matter, he’s been eating solid foods for a solid six months, been fed fruits, veggies, and much more beyond milk and mush that the stinky tendencies of skunks like himself now have what’s needed to solidify themselves. But, not one to think about this pooping peculiarity for more than a couple moments, having used his two seconds of holding it in, bodily instinct takes hold.
“Mmmmmmmmmph!”
The playful background music comes to a stop as the skunk pops a squat, as though to make room for the little one’s loud grunts and let him poop in peace. But for the audience now hearing nothing but strained sounds, the lack of song is anything but peaceful, bringing about an air of awkwardness around the foul smell soon to fill the air on air, or for those finding diaper filling even fouler, a sense of impending doom around what the boy’s bound to push in his pants.
BRAAAAAAAAP!!! SLUMP!
The baby’s boom booms making cacophonies the closest thing to music, a sizable solid dumps into his diaper following a loud fart, causing it to slump past his knees while his stinky mass makes a big bulge in the back. For a few moments, the shot stays on the skunk’s sagging diaper, and so for some of those first time viewers, that silence may now symbolize serenity suiting the boy’s blissful relief and a dirty deed now done.
“Grrrmmmmmph! Nnnnnnnnnnngh!”
However, a quick cut kills such claims just as quickly as the camera briefly flips back to a frontside view and captures a face feeling anything but relief, the stinky skunk still squatting and grunting while his cheeks redden like the color of his pacifier. So too are his parents briefly back in view as they still sit on the couch, only now their soft smiles are replaced by slightly shocked faces upon seeing their son still has more to unload.
BLOOOOORT!! PBLAAAAAAART!!! SLUUUUUUMP!!!
Boisterous bowels continue their role as background noise while the shot flips back to its previous focus and the kid keeps filling his diaper, causing it to slump onto the carpeted floor while several more mounds give it an even lumpier look. Once all the solids are out, the music boxes and xylophones make their comeback not only to capture the toddler’s innocence, but to assure whimsical tones accompany the poopy punchline the narrator’s had to hold in.
“Baby’s first big stinky!” they say with a hearty laugh while the shot still stays on the stinkier skunk. “But, there’s still another first that skunks can fulfill!”
“Mmmmph!”
SPLOOOOOOORTCH!!!
Before one can even guess, the tot some thought was all done does one more smelly surprise and makes a mushier mess, causing the music to be drowned out by the squelchy sounds of his spillage while his dirty diaper stains a dark brown. Blowing his previous personal best poop out the water, so too does that diaper get blown out as murky browns slightly leak onto the boy’s back and legs, a yucky sight only softened by the narrator’s tone.
“Tada! It’s baby’s first blowout!” they say with exaggerated elation.
The camera once again flips to a frontside view, showing the skunk’s face once so strained now sporting the dopiest smiles of relief, and so the toddler who didn’t even know he could make massive messes a minute ago already accepts his signature stink. But for the caregivers who now can’t afford to sit on the couch, for the parents faced with profusely pooped pampers, such stink is much harder to accept as the father skunk steps out the shot to prepare a bath for the boy and the other skunk scoops him up, the shot now more focused on the mother’s scrunched face.
“But, while your baby’s fine with these firsts, we know they’re not exactly worth celebrating…” the narrator says, their more neutral tone acknowledging the problems of this rancid reality and their need to be resolved. “Now, what if these parents had better diapers for their boy? What if they had…Sturdy Stinkers?”
As though creating an alternate scenario of said brand being brought beforehand, the scene shifts to that same opening of the little skunk toddling on the carpet, the only difference being the bigger and thicker diaper he dons. And yet, despite their size, the boy’s waddling doesn’t wane one bit.
“Although they’re a lot bigger than your average diaper, Sturdy Stinkers won’t stop even the wobbliest of waddlers with their snug fit around the waist!” says the narrator as the kid once again toddles closer to the camera. “But, now it’s time to show why these diapers more than deserve their name!”
The shot then makes that same switch and the skunk soon makes that same stop preceding poo poo, only now, the silence once prompting an unpleasant atmosphere now acts like an anticipatory drum roll for the audience set to watch his new diaper handle these dumps.
“Mmmmmmmmmph!”
BRAAAAAAAAP!!! SLUMP!
The first solid settles following the skunk’s squat, and although that boom boom’s as big as before, those Sturdy Stinkers certainly have room for the rest from his rump!
“Grrrmmmmmph! Nnnnnnnnnnngh!”
The toddler’s face is still as strained, but those of the parents have positively changed while their son pushes out more poopies, now sitting on the couch with relaxed smiles as though already believing in the brand they bought.
BLOOOOORT!! PBLAAAAAAART!!! SLUUUUUUMP!!!
Lumpier loads are compactly contained, and the saggier diaper once a sign of worse things to come is instead a stellar showcase of stability! Now, with solely the skunk’s sloppier mess left, the doo doo that doomed his previous diaper meets its match!
“Mmmmph!”
SPLOOOOOOORTCH!!!
The mess still stains his diaper dark brown, prominent protrusions still make his pampers slump to the floor, but none of those stinky sights foul the beauty of a diaper not even on the brink of blowing out despite such drastically dumpy deposits. The camera then flips back to the front, though not even the boy’s face dripping with dopey relief compares to the ecstasy of the caregivers clapping their hands while brass instruments briefly bring their fanfare, as though “baby’s first big stinky” is now a first worth celebrating.
To conclude the commercial, the little skunk now stands at the living room’s center wearing nothing but a happy face and his heavy duty diaper, all while his parents stand behind him and hold a red pack of Sturdy Stinkers by the sides.
“Sturdy Stinkers. The diaper that’s #1 for #2’s!” says the narrator as the brand name and the slogan appear at the top and bottom of the screen respectively, showing up in a teal colored font.
The bushy-tailed boy then turns around and starts shaking his padded posterior side to side, sharing that same celebratory sentiment caregivers will show now that blowouts are beside them. However, needing to poop before the program’s end, his shaking swiftly segues to squatting and his tail once swishing around now flicks straight up.
PBLOOOOOOORMPH!!!
The skunk’s diaper suddenly slumps to the ground as he drops what’s destined to be several more stink bombs throughout his time in toddlerhood, and you bet Sturdy Stinkers will be there to handle every single one. Ending on an optimistic note before the screen fades to black, playful laughter is heard from both parents and pamper packer alike now that a boy’s big messes are much more manageable.
End