Commercials That Annoy, Irritate or Outright Enrage

[Rick Kitchen]

Yeah, they raised their wages and then cut their hours.

[RCharter]

I've heard plenty of 20-somethings sneeringly reject Sam Adams for being another "big, corporate brewery." Honestly, I love microbrews as much as the next girl, but there is no reason to reject Sam Adams outright for being too big.

That sounds like a very hipster point of view

 

 

Yeah, they raised their wages and then cut their hours.

 

I remember watching a documentary about Wal-Mart and how they actively put brochures in their break room to encourage their workers to sign up for Medicaid because they knew they paid wages that put people in poverty.  

[OSM Mom]

Around here, Walmart is a good job. $8.50 an hour is good money here. Sad commentary.

[janie jones]

So I went out and found the Peter Pan Geico ad that people are talking about.  I hated Peter Pan automatically when I saw that he was played by the same kid that played that little asshole on the Wet Hot American Summer series.

[Prevailing Wind]

 

She could get her BFF's to go as an Incontinence Expert and the Statue of Liberty carrying a wrecked toy car labelled BRAD.

I saw a pic of a kid in a red shirt, khakis, and a headset with a name tag, "Hello. I'm Jake from State Farm."

[Maharincess]

I hate the Swiffer "deep couch sitting" commercial. The guy says his kid always has friends over and is always running around playing so he can't do any deep couch sitting. He gets the Swiffer and can now deep couch sit.

Does the kid not have friends over anymore? Does he not run and play now that they have a Swiffer?

Am I missing something?

[RCharter]

I hate the Swiffer "deep couch sitting" commercial. The guy says his kid always has friends over and is always running around playing so he can't do any deep couch sitting. He gets the Swiffer and can now deep couch sit.

Does the kid not have friends over anymore? Does he not run and play now that they have a Swiffer?

Am I missing something?

That guy didn't need a Swiffer, he needed a tarp.  I feel like when I was a kid we didn't get too far in the house with shoes on, but that kid was nearly doing backflips in the house in mud encrusted boots...confusing.

 

Maybe the kid respects the Swiffer so much, he has given up his life of play.

[RCharter]

I saw a pic of a kid in a red shirt, khakis, and a headset with a name tag, "Hello. I'm Jake from State Farm."

That kid would have gotten at least 2 full size bars and 4 handfuls of candy from me.

[Haleth]

I saw a pic of a kid in a red shirt, khakis, and a headset with a name tag, "Hello. I'm Jake from State Farm."

I saw that on FB too.  Adorable!  

[editorgrrl]

Ok, there is a commercial for Jublia, the dreaded toe fungus fighter.

A woman dressed in a gown emerges from a limo and the announcer says something like, "Eww, toenail fungus". But the lady in question has shoes that have the toes covered, so how could he tell?

The shoes are covered in crystals to try and make them "red carpet worthy," but Mario Lopez assumes that anyone not wearing open-toed shoes on the red carpet must have jacked-up feet.

You're not alone, though. All the comments at iSpot (where you can also watch the commercial) are asking the same thing: http://www.ispot.tv/ad/ALww/jublia-toe-nail-fungus-arrives-on-red-carpet-feat-mario-lopez

[RCharter]

The shoes are covered in crystals to try and make them "red carpet worthy," but Mario Lopez assumes that anyone not wearing open-toed shoes on the red carpet must have jacked-up feet.

You're not alone, though. All the comments at iSpot (where you can also watch the commercial) are asking the same thing: http://www.ispot.tv/ad/ALww/jublia-toe-nail-fungus-arrives-on-red-carpet-feat-mario-lopez

I once saw a slideshow on the worst celebrity feet and it was downright scary.  Those women would be delighted if all they had to worry about was some toe fungus.

[Brattinella]

I once saw a slideshow on the worst celebrity feet and it was downright scary.  Those women would be delighted if all they had to worry about was some toe fungus.

I think I saw that one.  All the woman had HUGE bunions from wearing shoes that were too small.  Horrible!

[RCharter]

I think I saw that one.  All the woman had HUGE bunions from wearing shoes that were too small.  Horrible!

It really was a cautionary tale.  I love heels, but I was like "I gotta remember to take off my shoes the minute I can, because I cannot end up with feet like those....I'm not pretty enough to make it work"

[CarpeDiem54]

Mario Lopez must have a brain fungus that gives him x-ray vision.

I saw that slideshow with the screwed up celebrity bunion feet. If I ever get invited to a red carpet event (highly unlikely) I'm wearing my Birkenstocks to show off my pretty feet that aren't deformed from cramming them into pointy toed witch shoes.

[mmecorday]

I'll wear my Converse All-Stars because that's pretty much what I always wear. :)

 

Regarding the Swiffer commercials, I have often wondered if the Tobin family ever leaves the house in the winter. Do they just stay snowbound until spring? And somehow keeping the house clean during the winter months just isn't a Tobin thing.

[CarpeDiem54]

There's a character on The Walking Dead named Tobin. A couple of weeks ago they kept shouting his name. All I could think of was that commercial and had visions of the guy fighting off zombies with his Swiffer.

[90PercentGravity]

I assumed it was a cabin or vacation home that had sat empty for a while.

[backformore]

I saw a pic of a kid in a red shirt, khakis, and a headset with a name tag, "Hello. I'm Jake from State Farm."

the real jake  no longer works for State Farm.   a few years ago, he was tending bar in a college town in Illinois.   "Jake from State Farm"  was a common halloween costume for guys going to the bar. 

[Bastet]

I saw a commercial for some financial services company last night, in which we see one of this company's employees on the phone conducting business all day long, wherever she is.  It starts out at the office, but then we see her in the middle of a class at the gym (the instructor has to tell her to put her phone down), while making dinner, while hanging out with her kid, in bed, etc.

 

I forget what the tag line is, but I'm supposed to find it wonderful that X Company's employees are so dedicated.  Instead, I just find it awful that they feel like they have to be available to work 24/7.  That it's presented as a good thing is a sad commentary.

[peacheslatour]

^^^^Have you seen the one where the guy never goes home from work and someone asks if he ever sees his family?  Well, it seems he has his kids right there working on their TPS reports.

[MrsEVH]

I think I saw that one.  All the woman had HUGE bunions from wearing shoes that were too small.  Horrible!

Oprah has really hideous feet.

[SoSueMe]

No biggie, and I've never even been to a Panera's, but the chick doing the voice over for their turkey sandwich annoys me. "Carved THICK". I can visualize her tongue sticking out between her teeth on the "thick".

[frenchtoast]

This is the Commercials forum, not the let's discuss various political hot points forum. There are plenty of annoying commercials out there to talk about rather than straying into spats.

[90PercentGravity]

Fuck off, Jennifer Aniston. There is no plane ride so long that you have to take a shower on the plane. 

[SmithW6079]

Oprah has really hideous feet.

I could have died happy without knowing that. :-)

[Muffyn]

Fuck off, Jennifer Aniston. There is no plane ride so long that you have to take a shower on the plane. 

Emirates Air has a 16.5 hour flight from San Francisco to Dubai.  It is the longest direct flight out of SFO.  However, I still think you shower before you get on the plane.  And I personally like that first shower when I've checked into the hotel.  Because showering and still being on a plane, no matter how luxurious it supposedly is, would still make me feel grimy.  With that said, I'm pretty damn sure Jennifer Aniston would not be roaming around a plane in her robe with her ever so precious loofah on a stick. 

[Bastet]

I finally saw the Peter Pan Geico commercial last night, and hated it.  With the other “It’s what you do” ads, what the person is doing is funny and/or it’s funny that they’re doing it.  This one, neither.  He’s just obnoxious.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I finally saw the Peter Pan Geico commercial last night, and hated it.  With the other “It’s what you do” ads, what the person is doing is funny and/or it’s funny that they’re doing it.  This one, neither.  He’s just obnoxious.

 

This is weird, I guess, but it always makes me think of the movie Groundhog Day after Bill Murray has lived through the same day four or five times, and that guy from his graduating class comes up to him and says, "Phil?" and he replies, "Ned?", then hauls off and punches him in the face. Because that's the expression the guy Peter Pan braces has on his face, like he just wants to deck this miniature jackass.

[StaceyNotStacie]

There's a commercial for United Healthcare where a teenager is matches with a lab partner with pinkeye. They share a microscope. Then we see the boy's mother calling her doctor because her entire family has pinkeye. Why would they even let that girl in school with pinkeye if she is contagious?

[Calamity Jane]

hWat? :-)

I was brought up to pronounce "wh" as "hw" and told that that was the original spelling -- makes sense because in Norwegian the equivalent words begin with "hv."  (Ex:  English - whale; Norwegian - hval.  English - what; Norwegian - hva. English - where; Norwegian - hvor.  All this in Bokmaal, not Ny Norsk.)  I endure relentless mockery from my children. " HHHWhat, Mom?   Do you want Cool HHHHWhip??"

[Calamity Jane]

The patient looks really weird at the beginning -- she's staring off into space like she isn't even there.

I wondered the first few times if she was supposed to be developmentally disabled or something.  Really, really odd acting there.

[Calamity Jane]

My current least-favorite is for Milky Way.  Unlike the Snickers ads, in which the product helps fix a problem, in these commercials the product CAUSES problems for the people who eat it.  This does not really seem like a message you would want to put out there - have a Milky Way and cause traffic mayhem or other issues that could kill people.  ???

[RCharter]

There's a commercial for United Healthcare where a teenager is matches with a lab partner with pinkeye. They share a microscope. Then we see the boy's mother calling her doctor because her entire family has pinkeye. Why would they even let that girl in school with pinkeye if she is contagious?

True story -- I was pink-eye patient zero at my elementary school.

 

I don't think I knew I had it when I handed it to everyone else.....and I have no idea how I got it.  I just wanted to share that story since its the only time I've been powerful enough to start an epidemic, its all been downhill from there.

Emirates Air has a 16.5 hour flight from San Francisco to Dubai.  It is the longest direct flight out of SFO.  However, I still think you shower before you get on the plane.  And I personally like that first shower when I've checked into the hotel.  Because showering and still being on a plane, no matter how luxurious it supposedly is, would still make me feel grimy.  With that said, I'm pretty damn sure Jennifer Aniston would not be roaming around a plane in her robe with her ever so precious loofah on a stick. 

Apparently Emirates Air is on a whole different level of classy, but I'm with you, I can't see how a shower on a plane would feel anything other than odd.  

 

For years my dad was obsessed with taking an Emirates Air flight to Dubai.  As he liked to say "They pick you up in a limousine and its first class all the way from there!"  He finally made his dream come true, and he said it was very classy.  He now feels cheated by almost every American carrier.

[bosawks]

I loathe these new American Cancer Society "Courage" commercials.

I mean, I can see what they are going for, but...

Apparently, my Dad died because he didn't have "courage"?!?

Fuck you American Cancer Society!

[TattleTeeny]

There are these knee-brace commercials that not only feature text with the most random capitalization but also show people on the phone placing orders. But the customers are ecstatically laughing and chatting away with absolutely no pauses, as if they're talking to some old buddy. It makes me wonder how the rep on the other end is able to get the order entered at all. 

[butterbody]

I really hate the Axe commercials where the voice over chick shames the guy for touching his own armpit.

[MaryPatShelby]

Apparently, my Dad died because he didn't have "courage"?!?

Fuck you American Cancer Society!

I agree with you on this, not to mention all the "awareness" campaigns, the pink ribbon culture, and ads that show strong people doing strong things like whoo-hooing at the end of a 10k in which everyone is wearing pink or one of the other cancer colors along with some indication that they're a survivor. I believe it makes cancer patients who fight cancer in a different way feel ostracized and unsupported.

[CarpeDiem54]

I agree with you on this, not to mention all the "awareness" campaigns, the pink ribbon culture, and ads that show strong people doing strong things like whoo-hooing at the end of a 10k in which everyone is wearing pink or one of the other cancer colors along with some indication that they're a survivor. I believe it makes cancer patients who fight cancer in a different way feel ostracized and unsupported.

My mother, who had two forms of cancer, esophageal and breast, absolutely detested those campaigns. She particularly hated the word "survivor".

[3pwood]

I'm not crazy about all the colors & races, etc. either, but I look at it this way:  people are trying to help & I appreciate their efforts, whatever form those take.  

[Ohwell]

I agree with you on this, not to mention all the "awareness" campaigns, the pink ribbon culture, and ads that show strong people doing strong things like whoo-hooing at the end of a 10k in which everyone is wearing pink or one of the other cancer colors along with some indication that they're a survivor. I believe it makes cancer patients who fight cancer in a different way feel ostracized and unsupported.

 

My mother, who had two forms of cancer, esophageal and breast, absolutely detested those campaigns. She particularly hated the word "survivor".

I can't tell you how much these cancer campaigns make my blood boil, because I've had to deal with this personally (been cancer-free for a while now, thankfully).  Anyway,  I get so damn tired of races, pink ribbons, football players wearing pink crap, etc.  It's almost as if you're not shouting "I'm a survivor and I kicked cancer's ass and I'm gonna run a 10k now!"- -some of us do feel unsupported or ostracized, because we choose to deal with our situations privately and with some dignity.  If not for Halloween, I would dread the month of October because every damn year it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month and related campaigns.

[Muffyn]

All I can say is, if you have had cancer, if if you know someone who has had cancer, or if you know someone who knows someone who has had cancer, or you know someone who knows someone who knows someone whose life was affected by cancer, or your zodiac sign is cancer, or you used the word cancer when playing scrabble, or you bought a container of flavored milk snot yogurt with a pink lid and/or pink ribbon on it, or you have heard the word cancer (including hearing it in your own head while reading this post) please copy and paste this to your facebook status.  (A completely in no way supported calculation of) 97% of people won't do this.  Do you want all people to die of cancer you heartless swine?  If you don't post this, no one will know that cancer exists and that you think it's bad.

 

On a commercial related note, I have had a cold all week which has led to odd sleeping patterns.  I have now had multiple dreams that include drug commercials.  Fortunately I have not yet been assaulted in my nightmares by the walking intestines sitting at a restaurant table.  

[TattleTeeny]

I'm not crazy about all the colors & races, etc. either, but I look at it this way:  people are trying to help & I appreciate their efforts, whatever form those take.  

Good lord, I read this out of context and, for a second, inferred a very Archie Bunker vibe! I was like, "who says that?" I apologize!

Edited November 7, 2015 by TattleTeeny

[Maharincess]

Good lord, I read this out of context and, for a second, inferred a very Archie Bunker vibe! I was like, "who says that?" I apologize!

We must share a brain because I thought the same exact thing. I was thinking "holy shit, what's wrong with this person"!

Tattle Teeny, I think we're a little twisted.

[TattleTeeny]

Yes, it's definitely us, haha! I was with family today so maybe I read it as if I were still listening to their sometimes not-so-PC opinions! Again, 3PWOOD, I am so sorry!

[CarpeDiem54]

Ohwell, I hope you stay cancer free.

I just saw another American Cancer Society ad telling me I need to get angry. Because anger will help fight cancer. WTF?

Edited November 8, 2015 by CarpeDiem54

[KLovestoShop]

We have commercials here for UPMC Hospitals, and they all drive me nuts. They have various patients tell of their malady and at the end of the commercial they say, "I didn't choose to have cancer/stroke/heart transplant, but I DID choose UPMC". So, does anyone here ever choose to get sick?

I know it's been discussed before, but I cannot abide in the elderly people who kidnap doctors. It's just insulting to anyone with a modicum of intelligence.

[RCharter]

I agree with you on this, not to mention all the "awareness" campaigns, the pink ribbon culture, and ads that show strong people doing strong things like whoo-hooing at the end of a 10k in which everyone is wearing pink or one of the other cancer colors along with some indication that they're a survivor. I believe it makes cancer patients who fight cancer in a different way feel ostracized and unsupported.

There is a documentary about the commercialization of the pink ribbons.  Its on NF, and it sounds very interesting, though I haven't gotten around to watching it. 

 

It's amazing what people will buy (fucking disgusting Yoplait) just because there is an association with breast cancer prevention/cure.  I mean in a grocery store where a consumer has a million choices, people will really just go for the one with the pink ribbon so its a huge marketing boon.....but how much of that money actually goes to the cause?

[Brattinella]

We have commercials here for UPMC Hospitals, and they all drive me nuts. They have various patients tell of their malady and at the end of the commercial they say, "I didn't choose to have cancer/stroke/heart transplant, but I DID choose UPMC". So, does anyone here ever choose to get sick?

I know it's been discussed before, but I cannot abide in the elderly people who kidnap doctors. It's just insulting to anyone with a modicum of intelligence.

What does this mean?

[Maharincess]

Yes, it's definitely us, haha! I was with family today so maybe I read it as if I were still listening to their sometimes not-so-PC opinions! Again, 3PWOOD, I am so sorry!

I started reading it and I said "whoa....oh OK, I'm stupid".

My apologies as well.

[sofaslug]

My current least-favorite is for Milky Way. Unlike the Snickers ads, in which the product helps fix a problem, in these commercials the product CAUSES problems for the people who eat it. This does not really seem like a message you would want to put out there - have a Milky Way and cause traffic mayhem or other issues that could kill people. ???

Augh! I commented on this when this damn ad first appeared last year. I was appalled that they resurrected it. Why, Milky Way, would you put out an ad that is essentially saying that eating Milky Way makes you stupid?