Advertorture

Rhode Island Monthly reported in April 1991 on a recent Blue Cross/Blue Shield television commercial:

A professor asks if anyone knows where Rhode Island is. His dimwitted students mumble a few stupid guesses and then a voice-over explains that, while it's true not everyone knows the location of the littlest state, everyone around the country is familiar with the Blue Cross line of coverage.

But the final frame holds an unintentional gaffe. The teacher, clearly exasperated, throws up his hands, then turns to a map and points to...

Delaware.

"Well," said one member of the Blue Cross public relations staff, "they're both small states."