Strudel-Boy and Cawowine: Irritating Kids in Commercials

[St. Claire]

I just saw a commercial last night which was, I think, for a car with built in voice-to-text capabilities (or maybe it was for texting service that can be used in your car. Not sure). The boys were in the car while their dad went into the store or whatever, so they texted "Mom" and started leaving messages about how well behaved the boys were and how they deserved rewards. The reply text was "You decide; they're your kids." and Dad returned to ask "Why are you guys texting Grandma?"

 

First, any kid old enough to be left in the car unattended is old enough to know that the "Mom" entry in their father's contact list wouldn't be his wife. My kids used to try to get the voice call option in my car to respond to their voices by saying "Dial [Hubby's first name]" Also, those boys can stuff it, trying to finagle their way into being rewarded for...whatever.

[riley702]

I'm from a different generation or place, I guess. My Dad always referred to Mom as "Mom". 

[Bastet]

My parents will certainly refer to each other as Mom and Dad when talking to me about the other -- "Mom's talking about going away next weekend" rather than "Your mom is talking about going away next weekend" -- but that's it.  She's not "Mom" to him, she's [her name].  So he'd never program her in his phone as "Mom"; that's how his mother would be listed if she was still alive.  I haven't seen the commercial, but unless the kids are pretty young, I'll join those confused by them thinking the "Mom" in their dad's list of contacts is their mom rather than his.

[peacheslatour]

My husband doesn't get me Mothers Days gifts.  He gets them for his mother.

Edited January 11, 2016 by peacheslatour

[St. Claire]

I refer to my husband as "Dad" if I am speaking of him directly to our kids ("go tell Dad that dinner is ready"), just as I refer to my own father as "Grandy" when I speak to my kids (but I call him "Dad" if talking to my mom or my sister). The entry in my phone that says "Dad" is my father, though, because Dad is not my husband's name. 

[friendperidot]

this is kind of a mix, commercials with irritating kids, local commercials, irritating, irrational hate and favorite commercials - a couple of commercials all mixed together. I don't like the ads for Cancer Treatment Centers, but the one with the dad has the most adorable baby, but she doesn't speak on camera. This is not like local commercials that grandparents seem to think everyone wants to see their adorable grandchildren that cannot talk so that anyone outside the family can understand. I don't want to see those kids. 

So I don't really know where this goes.

[topanga]

On 1/11/2016 at 2:53 PM, St. Claire said:

I just saw a commercial last night which was, I think, for a car with built in voice-to-text capabilities (or maybe it was for texting service that can be used in your car. Not sure). The boys were in the car while their dad went into the store or whatever, so they texted "Mom" and started leaving messages about how well behaved the boys were and how they deserved rewards. The reply text was "You decide; they're your kids." and Dad returned to ask "Why are you guys texting Grandma?"

 

First, any kid old enough to be left in the car unattended is old enough to know that the "Mom" entry in their father's contact list wouldn't be his wife. My kids used to try to get the voice call option in my car to respond to their voices by saying "Dial [Hubby's first name]" Also, those boys can stuff it, trying to finagle their way into being rewarded for...whatever.

Aww, I find those kids adorable. Maybe it's because I have two boys myself. And it was a classic scenario of kids trying to play their parents. Using one parent to try to convince the other parent to do something. 

And you'd be surprised how many people (and adults) hear the word "Mom" and think you're talking about their own mother. I have older nieces and nephews, and when I'm talking to them about my mother (their grandmother), if I use "Mom" in the conversation instead of "Granny," it takes them a minute to figure out whom I'm discussing. 

Edited July 25, 2016 by topanga

[Sun-Bun]

That commercial with the little girl who's up late at night eating a snack and her dad discovers her up and whispers at her to go to bed, and she immediately whispers back that he can't tell her to go to bed because "he's not the boss, mommy is"??? Yeah, I kinda hate that little girl.

Quit sassing at your daddy and go the fuck go sleep already, you smug little brat!

Edited July 31, 2016 by Sun-Bun

[Prevailing Wind]

Quote

Quit sassing at your daddy and go the fuck go sleep already, you smug little brat!

Quit sassing at your daddy and go the fuck go sleep already, you smug little Yogurt-Bitch®-in Training.

There. I fixed it.

[janie jones]

I can't blame the kid if the dad doesn't do anything about it.  Obviously mom is the boss if mom told the kid she could have a midnight snack, the dad says no, and then both the kid and the dad end up eating a midnight snack.  She isn't sassing as much as calling it like she sees it.

Not to mention I don't consider "I'm the boss" a valid reason for telling her not to have a midnight snack.  "You'll get a tummyache," "You won't be hungry at breakfast," "You'll have to go to the bathroom," "You already brushed your teeth," these are all valid reasons.  It isn't like this is one of those situations where you don't have time to explain, or it's too complicated to explain.

Edited July 31, 2016 by janie jones

[callmebetty]

I've noticed they've changed the tone of the Halo ads. it's no longer little ass wipes using extortion to get Halos. Now It's kids making good decisions.  Would love to have been in the focus group that helped change that. 

[Moose135]

30 minutes ago, callmebetty said:

 Would love to have been in the focus group that helped change that. 

Maybe they check out PTV, and we all were part of the focus group...

[Haleth]

As we should be.

[Sun-Bun]

Okay, just saw a new little brat to hate on:

Has anyone seen that State Farm commercial with a dad and his son(who looks maybe 11 or 12) at a diner? Their waitress there is talking to another waitress nearby about how she's hurting for money and her daughter needs new glasses...the dad then puts down a 100 bill on his check for the waitress and quietly says, "Comon son, let's go."

But oh no! Bratling Doucheprince has to ruin the sweet moment and whine, "But dad, aren't you going to get your change?!" Dad then takes him outside and talks to him about how he's doing a good deed. But ohhhh no!! Doucheprince little shit still has to whine to him, "But I don't understand!" to which his all-too-patient dad simply says, "You will."

I dunno why that kid irks me so much, but I think his total and complete lack of empathy for anyone besides himself is what gets me. Like the little fucktard just got a nice big diner meal and therefore couldn't possibly imagine a poor waitress needing that extra tip when dad could've just spent more money on his darling son!! Typical spoiled, self-centered little bastard who's too blind to understand life lessons....frankly, I'd be pissed if I had a kid who was that stupid and blind to the struggles of others. But maybe because I was always begging my parents to tip waiters more when we went out to eat because even as a little kid I knew that most of those waiters worked very hard and therefore *needed* the extra cash!

Edited December 22, 2016 by Sun-Bun

[peacheslatour]

3 hours ago, Sun-Bun said:

Okay, just saw a new little brat to hate on:

Has anyone seen that State Farm commercial with a dad and his son(who looks maybe 11 or 12) at a diner? Their waitress there is talking to another waitress nearby about how she's hurting for money and her daughter needs new glasses...the dad then puts down a 100 bill on his check for the waitress and quietly says, "Comon son, let's go."

But oh no! Bratling Doucheprince has to ruin the sweet moment and whine, "But dad, aren't you going to get your change?!" Dad then takes him outside and talks to him about how he's doing a good deed. But ohhhh no!! Doucheprince little shit still has to whine to him, "But I don't understand!" to which his all-too-patient dad simply says, "You will."

I dunno why that kid irks me so much, but I think his total and complete lack of empathy for anyone besides himself is what gets me. Like the little fucktard just got a nice big diner meal and therefore couldn't possibly imagine a poor waitress needing that extra tip when dad could've just spent more money on his darling son!! Typical spoiled, self-centered little bastard who's too blind to understand life lessons....frankly, I'd be pissed if I had a kid who was that stupid and blind to the struggles of others. But maybe because I was always begging my parents to tip waiters more when we went out to eat because even as a little kid I knew that most of those waiters worked very hard and therefore *needed* the extra cash!

Sounds like serial killer material.

[Jamoche]

"Am I cute?"

Kid, simply by asking, you have eliminated any cuteness you may have possessed and replaced it with annoyingness.

[bmoore4026]

Alright, there was this commercial back in the 90s for Lunchables that involved an a mother giving her brat of a child lunch in a brown paper bag and getting met with the following:

Day one - "Ewwwww!  Egg salad!?"

Day two - "Is this what we had from last night!?"

Day three - "Are  you mad at me?"

Day four should have been that little shithead waking up in the Sudan

[Maverick]

 Am I the only one annoyed by the Swiffer commercial with the budding beauty shop owner?  I hate the mom just laughs when he starts cutting his kid sister's  hair and proceeds to clean up the huge mess of faux fur the kid has strewn all over the dining room and the opera just bugs.  Oh, Swiffer's don't work like that.  You make one pass where it picks up a couple of hairs and won't hold anything after that.  Traps dust my ass.

[Prevailing Wind]

I dunno...my Faux-Swiffer picks up a LOT of cat hair. And pushes the stray granules of litter into a little pile that's easier to suck up with the vacuum (just before I clean the room with the litter boxes - that gets vacuumed, not Swiffered.)

Edited May 21, 2017 by Prevailing Wind

[InDueTime]

Everytime I see this, I mentally yell at this kid, "Oh, for God's sake. Just put on a different shirt!" I'm sure that shirt not his only one.

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/wgA5/oxiclean-little-brother

[SCS]

On December 22, 2016 at 9:09 AM, Sun-Bun said:

Okay, just saw a new little brat to hate on:

Has anyone seen that State Farm commercial with a dad and his son(who looks maybe 11 or 12) at a diner? Their waitress there is talking to another waitress nearby about how she's hurting for money and her daughter needs new glasses...the dad then puts down a 100 bill on his check for the waitress and quietly says, "Comon son, let's go."

But oh no! Bratling Doucheprince has to ruin the sweet moment and whine, "But dad, aren't you going to get your change?!" Dad then takes him outside and talks to him about how he's doing a good deed. But ohhhh no!! Doucheprince little shit still has to whine to him, "But I don't understand!" to which his all-too-patient dad simply says, "You will."

I dunno why that kid irks me so much, but I think his total and complete lack of empathy for anyone besides himself is what gets me. Like the little fucktard just got a nice big diner meal and therefore couldn't possibly imagine a poor waitress needing that extra tip when dad could've just spent more money on his darling son!! Typical spoiled, self-centered little bastard who's too blind to understand life lessons....frankly, I'd be pissed if I had a kid who was that stupid and blind to the struggles of others. But maybe because I was always begging my parents to tip waiters more when we went out to eat because even as a little kid I knew that most of those waiters worked very hard and therefore *needed* the extra cash!

 

Aww, I kind of like this one. It reminds me of a country song from a few years back ( note: don't watch if you're feeling weepy or if you hate music with a twang ?):

 

[EighteenTwelve]

Toyota has apparently learned nothing from the last time it had an utter brat in one of its commercials (the kid who badgered his parents into buying a new minivan, or something like that).  Now they've got another utter brat who isn't even old enough to drive yet, who says the van isn't her parents', it's HERS.  HERS, HERS, HERS.  Gah!

[smittykins]

Actually, I think only the 3rd row seating is “MINE! MINE! MINE!”  But she’s still a brat who will soon have to share it with her new baby sister.

[Mumbles]

Can’t stand the iPad commercial where the kid is asked what she’s doing on her computer by some nice adult and the kid smirks back, what’s a computer?

[funky-rat]

Tardy to the party again, but I'm still catching up on this forum that I didn't know existed until recently.

On ‎8‎/‎6‎/‎2014 at 10:33 PM, RubyWoo72 said:

Not a commercial (yet), but can I hop on the *Apparently* Kid Backlash Train when it passes by? It won't be long, now. Somehow, cute turns to annoying with lightning speed these days. This kid's cuteness is about to expire in 3...2...

 

 

On ‎8‎/‎6‎/‎2014 at 10:56 PM, xls said:

i don't see WTH was so special about this kid ether, I couldn't even understand what he was saying! Geeze, hand a mike  to any kid you get the exact same thing.

This kid is from my area, so I can explain.
1)  This is a slow news day type area, hence they are hanging out at a local fair.

2)  This channel is extremely popular with the older population, who think this kind of thing is adorable.  Some old people I went to church with a long time ago liked the way this one little kid said "chicken" so they'd give him chicken to eat at functions, and repeatedly ask him what he was eating, so he'd say "Chic-ken" over and over and over.......and over.......until one of the kids that was sitting with us once finally said "IT'S CHICKEN!!!!  WE KNOW!!!".  But never got old with the older crowd, and when that kid got older, they'd remind him about it.  Over....and over.....and over......

3)  This channel has had things go viral before (most recently, a talkback segment - which we refer to as "Old People Bitching" - about the train that runs in the backyard where they do forecasts and some incredibly minor thing that someone made a huge deal about - that made it to Kimmel or one of those shows and caused said show to build some spectacular train set), and this kid ended up on Ellen.  For this area, that's akin to being asked to attend a royal wedding or something similar.  And again, old people think it's a huge deal.  Not only that, but because he got on Ellen, the TV Station wanted to take credit, and have the kid back on, and the cycle continues.

4)  Nowadays, everyone wants their 15 minutes of being viral, and this kid just happened to get it.  He's annoying, but I didn't find him as annoying as Chewbacca Mom, who I believe happened to be around the same time.

On ‎4‎/‎12‎/‎2014 at 8:46 AM, Haleth said:

It's hard to top some of these kids, but Cawowine is syptomatic of a true advertising nightmare... business owners who use their own kids (or grandkids) in ads, especially local ads where the kids cannot act to save their lives.  Monotone reading of lines is not going to bring in business.  People, your kids (or grandkids) are not nearly as adorable as you think they are.

I forgot all about her.  She was annoying as crap.  I had a cousin who had that same speech impediment - it took a long time and years of speech therapy before he finally broke it.  We have a local independent pharmacy where for years, the pharmacist used his grandkids in print ads.  It was always "Jimmy and Johnny want you to know....." with a picture of the kids looking so disinterested.  I saw the kids in real life, and they were cute, but they didn't photograph well, so I really hated those ads.

[Eliot]

I wonder whatever happened to Cawowine.

[QuinnInND]

9 hours ago, Eliot said:

I wonder whatever happened to Cawowine.

The aliens took her back. 

[peacheslatour]

UGH! That stupid brat on the Xfinity Mobile ad.

[Eliot]

On 2/7/2018 at 7:10 PM, QuinnInND said:

The aliens took her back. 

I think you mean “awiewens.”

[Kimmmmmm]

On January 16, 2018 at 10:48 AM, EighteenTwelve said:

Toyota has apparently learned nothing from the last time it had an utter brat in one of its commercials (the kid who badgered his parents into buying a new minivan, or something like that).  Now they've got another utter brat who isn't even old enough to drive yet, who says the van isn't her parents', it's HERS.  HERS, HERS, HERS.  Gah!

I think she's a doll!

On April 24, 2018 at 4:40 PM, peacheslatour said:

UGH! That stupid brat on the Xfinity Mobile ad.

Yes, yes, yes x a billion!!!!!

[Eliot]

I have quickly grown to loathe the cloying urchin in the latest Holiday Inn commercial who simpers "Thank you!" and scampers out the door with a balloon that the desk clerk somehow magically procured for her.

I've stayed in Holiday Inns and never once have I seen some brat get a balloon. How does that even work? Do they have a helium tank or something in the back office? Or is there a whole room dedicated to balloons and they run back there to get one every time they see a little kid? How do they keep them all inflated?

[funky-rat]

On ‎5‎/‎31‎/‎2018 at 9:48 AM, Eliot said:

I have quickly grown to loathe the cloying urchin in the latest Holiday Inn commercial who simpers "Thank you!" and scampers out the door with a balloon that the desk clerk somehow magically procured for her.

I've stayed in Holiday Inns and never once have I seen some brat get a balloon. How does that even work? Do they have a helium tank or something in the back office? Or is there a whole room dedicated to balloons and they run back there to get one every time they see a little kid? How do they keep them all inflated?

Yeah,  I have an unreasonable annoyance with her too.  Has she been in other commercials?  She looks so familiar.

And I too want to know where my balloon is.  :(

[LoneHaranguer]

On 5/31/2018 at 9:48 AM, Eliot said:

I've stayed in Holiday Inns and never once have I seen some brat get a balloon. How does that even work?

I presume the balloon is from some sort of event they're cleaning up after. Why trash them if you can score a few points with customers by giving them away?

[peacheslatour]

When I had my flower shop I gave a balloon to every kid that came through the doors.

Edited June 8, 2018 by peacheslatour

[janie jones]

I've been at restaurants where they keep four or five balloons to give to kids.  They've got a tank at the hostess desk, but they only keep a few inflated at a time.  A hotel could do the same.  Or, if they give the balloon upon the guests' arrival, if the reservation says there's a kid, they could anticipate children's arrival and inflate balloons accordingly.

[LoneHaranguer]

On 6/9/2018 at 3:35 PM, janie jones said:

Or, if they give the balloon upon the guests' arrival, if the reservation says there's a kid, they could anticipate children's arrival and inflate balloons accordingly.

The ad shows them giving the kid a balloon when the family is leaving. Is that an attempt to leave them with a good final impression, or make sure that when a kid loses their balloon, they won't have to replace it?

[OpalNightstream]

I find that kid “Ava” in the eggo commercial obnoxious. “Ba-bam!” 

[riley702]

Her character on Disney's K. C. Undercover is even more obnoxious. She's a robot.

[Stella Rose]

Dear Cottonelle and "I feel as clean as a ....  "   FUCK OFF.

That is all.   

[CoderLady]

2 hours ago, Stella Rose said:

Dear Cottonelle and "I feel as clean as a ....  "   FUCK OFF.

That is all.   

The kids in the Cottonelle ads appear to have been as heavily coached as the kids in that series of ads for a phone company a few years back where they sat around a table shouting out twee shit in response to questions from an adult. Once again, oh, so cutesy and precious and nauseating. Yeah, fuck off.

Edited June 14, 2018 by CoderLady

[Eliot]

I hate the Cascade Brat who snarks about how her mother has to wash the dishes before they go in the dishwasher. Instead of mouthing off, pick up a sponge and help, you little twit.

[chessiegal]

16 minutes ago, Eliot said:

I hate the Cascade Brat who snarks about how her mother has to wash the dishes before they go in the dishwasher. Instead of mouthing off, pick up a sponge and help, you little twit.

What I hate about that ad is it doesn't matter what dishwasher detergent you use - it depends on the dishwasher. We had a builder grade dishwasher, and it didn't matter what detergent I used. I had to rinse all the dishes before going into the dishwasher for them to come out clean. Last year we replaced the dishwasher with a top of the line Bosch dishwasher - no pre-rinsing/washing needed.

[mmecorday]

This kid needs to have his television privileges taken away. What a know-it-all brat he is. https://www.ispot.tv/ad/dO6D/xfinity-x1-voice-remote-child-expert-soccer

[scarletine]

6 hours ago, mmecorday said:

This kid needs to have his television privileges taken away. What a know-it-all brat he is. https://www.ispot.tv/ad/dO6D/xfinity-x1-voice-remote-child-expert-soccer

Oddly enough, he's one commercial kid that DOESN'T annoy the hell out of me. I think he's adorable. But THIS brat can't get off my T.V. fast enough. 
https://ispot.tv/a/wU1b

[Ashforth]

The animated Uncle Ben's commercial with the voiceover of the kid mournfully singing, "I want you to show me the way" is back in heavy rotation in my area. The ad itself isn't bad, but the singing! Arrgggghhhh. It's a dirge. If his Dad is doing such a great job, why does the kid sound like he wants to die?

[CoderLady]

31 minutes ago, Ashforth said:

The animated Uncle Ben's commercial with the voiceover of the kid mournfully singing, "I want you to show me the way" is back in heavy rotation in my area. The ad itself isn't bad, but the singing! Arrgggghhhh. It's a dirge. If his Dad is doing such a great job, why does the kid sound like he wants to die?

God, yeah. All I can think -- from my years at software companies that produced products aimed at or featuring children -- is that some manager forced the ad producers to use his/her no-talent kid in the ad. That shit used to drive me crazy but no one, including me, wanted to commit professional suicide by insisting on getting real voice talent or photogenic children. 

[funky-rat]

12 hours ago, Ashforth said:

The animated Uncle Ben's commercial with the voiceover of the kid mournfully singing, "I want you to show me the way" is back in heavy rotation in my area. The ad itself isn't bad, but the singing! Arrgggghhhh. It's a dirge. If his Dad is doing such a great job, why does the kid sound like he wants to die?

 

12 hours ago, CoderLady said:

God, yeah. All I can think -- from my years at software companies that produced products aimed at or featuring children -- is that some manager forced the ad producers to use his/her no-talent kid in the ad. That shit used to drive me crazy but no one, including me, wanted to commit professional suicide by insisting on getting real voice talent or photogenic children. 

Agreed.  He is so "flat" when he sings, and I don't mean tonally flat, but he has zero emotion or expression.

[mojoween]

“Am I cute?”

Well, kid, if you have to ask, the answer is generally no.

(unfortunately, she is cute.  Annoying, but cute.)

Edited July 28, 2018 by mojoween

[chessiegal]

2 minutes ago, mojoween said:

“Am I cute?”

Well, kid, if you have to ask, the answer is generally no.

(unfortunately, she is cute.  Annoying, but cute.”

Yes, she is cute, but the part that bugs me is when she says "Look at these dimples!" The kid doesn't have any dimples. If that's an important part of the ad, find a cute kid with dimples - can't be that hard.

[Tom Holmberg]

On ‎7‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 4:40 PM, chessiegal said:

unfortunately, she is cute.  Annoying, but cute.”

For kids in commercials, all they need is to be cute without being sickeningly so, and able to say their lines so you can understand what they just said.  The current trend in kids seems to be kids who basically act and sound like adults (as opposed to old people who act like kids, which is always annoying), which doesn't bother me. As for the content of the ad, they shouldn't be held responsible (really, neither should adult actors in ads).

Edited July 30, 2018 by Tom Holmberg