Commercials That Annoy, Irritate or Outright Enrage

[backformore]

Who says the individuals are referring to themselves? That's the point of the second-person point of view.

 

But they ARE.   The young woman who named her car Brad and breaks into her happy dance, the couple who talks about the Plural "you", the woman asking what are you supposed to do, drive 3/4 of a car -    they are referring to themselves, because they are depicting the stories that they are telling.   But they are telling it as if it happened to the audience.

2nd person point of view is when the actor addresses the audience as in "If you have an accident, you should call the insurance company" - that's a directive.   But telling a story  -  I think it come across as so much more genuine  if the actors told the story using first person point of view -  telling the story about themselves, using "I had an accident - I called my insurance company, etc..."  

 

People do this, I've seen it on news shows, I've had family members do it.   If someone is asked "How did you feel losing your house in the tornado?"  they might answer "you feel so helpless" -  the meaning is kind of "I feel helpless, because that's the way YOU , or anyone else would feel in this situation".  It's wrong, because it doesn't answer the question, but it's the way people talk, often to avoid facing painful emotions. 

 

The Liberty ads use the second person point of view in a way that most  other commercials don't.  There's a difference between an ad saying "YOU should buy this product"  which is the correct way of using 2nd person directive, and saying "this  happened to YOU"  -   because it didn't. 

[Brattinella]

But they ARE.   The young woman who named her car Brad and breaks into her happy dance, the couple who talks about the Plural "you", the woman asking what are you supposed to do, drive 3/4 of a car -    they are referring to themselves, because they are depicting the stories that they are telling.   But they are telling it as if it happened to the audience.

2nd person point of view is when the actor addresses the audience as in "If you have an accident, you should call the insurance company" - that's a directive.   But telling a story  -  I think it come across as so much more genuine  if the actors told the story using first person point of view -  telling the story about themselves, using "I had an accident - I called my insurance company, etc..."  

 

People do this, I've seen it on news shows, I've had family members do it.   If someone is asked "How did you feel losing your house in the tornado?"  they might answer "you feel so helpless" -  the meaning is kind of "I feel helpless, because that's the way YOU , or anyone else would feel in this situation".  It's wrong, because it doesn't answer the question, but it's the way people talk, often to avoid facing painful emotions. 

 

The Liberty ads use the second person point of view in a way that most  other commercials don't.  There's a difference between an ad saying "YOU should buy this product"  which is the correct way of using 2nd person directive, and saying "this  happened to YOU"  -   because it didn't. 

 

Thank you!  You are very good at expressing what I was TRYING to say!

[SmithW6079]

That song is 86 years old.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Rascal_You

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn7JBLClozA&

Cool find.

It's the arrangement used in the commercial, then, that I hate.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

The Liberty ads use the second person point of view in a way that most  other commercials don't.  There's a difference between an ad saying "YOU should buy this product"  which is the correct way of using 2nd person directive, and saying "this  happened to YOU"  -   because it didn't.

Maybe it didn't happen to them either, so they're not allowed to say it did. They're staying in speculative mode with their wording, as in "(let's say) you totaled your brand new car...".

[SoSueMe]

I seem to be having trouble with airline ads lately. First it was Jennifer Aniston and the over the top super entitled Emirates airlines (showers and a bar, anyone?). Now it is ANA airlines with Usain Bolt. Great athlete, but I really can't understand him. And when He does mention A-N-A it sounds like A-N-E. And unfortunately, at a quick glance, the logo looks like ANAL. Sorry.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Maybe it didn't happen to them either, so they're not allowed to say it did. They're staying in speculative mode with their wording, as in "(let's say) you totaled your brand new car...".

 

The worst one for this is the one with the husband and wife with their "perfect driving record", and the wife says,  "And then one of you hits a food truck, ruining your perfect record."

 

First of all, her husband is standing right there, and she's clearly not talking about herself. And no one else is there, despite the fact that she's acting like she's telling this story to a bunch of other people. So irritating.

[janie jones]

People do this, I've seen it on news shows, I've had family members do it.   If someone is asked "How did you feel losing your house in the tornado?"  they might answer "you feel so helpless" -  the meaning is kind of "I feel helpless, because that's the way YOU , or anyone else would feel in this situation".  It's wrong, because it doesn't answer the question, but it's the way people talk, often to avoid facing painful emotions. 

 

The Liberty ads use the second person point of view in a way that most  other commercials don't.  There's a difference between an ad saying "YOU should buy this product"  which is the correct way of using 2nd person directive, and saying "this  happened to YOU"  -   because it didn't. 

I think the first quoted paragraph describes what they could be trying to accomplish in the commercial.  They're telling what happened to them but they're trying to portray it in a way that says everyone does this shit. 

 

I see their yous as closer to what you're doing when you say "If you don't tie your shoes, you'll trip" to mean "If one doesn't tie one's shoes, one will trip."  "One names one's car Brad.  Brad sees one through 32 jobs and breakups."  (Or even, what I was doing when I wrote "you" in my above sentence.)  They're trying to say that everyone has a Brad.

 

Not that I don't think the whole thing is stupid.

[RCharter]

Mayhem has always held a soft place in my heart since OZ.

For me...since 30Rock....he will always be Dennis Duffy to me.  

I seem to be having trouble with airline ads lately. First it was Jennifer Aniston and the over the top super entitled Emirates airlines (showers and a bar, anyone?). Now it is ANA airlines with Usain Bolt. Great athlete, but I really can't understand him. And when He does mention A-N-A it sounds like A-N-E. And unfortunately, at a quick glance, the logo looks like ANAL. Sorry.

a lot of people would fly anal airlines!  I bet it was intentional :)

[Moose135]

And unfortunately, at a quick glance, the logo looks like ANAL. Sorry.

 

Maybe I've just seen it enough that I know what it looks like, but I think that's a stretch...

 

[RCharter]

Did you take that picture?  Pretty boss!

 

I could see it looking like anal with a lower case L.  Like "ANAl."  Like something a sneaky dude might try to talk you into.

Edited March 17, 2016 by RCharter

[Haleth]

The one that has been bothering me lately is for some drug (of course it is) where the voice over talks about doing one of something to be healthy.  The guy eating one piece of kale on a plate with a fork is bad enough, but the woman who counts her one sit up?  Would she lose count if she didn't say it out loud?  And then she looks so smug for doing one frickin' sit up.  It's annoying.

[Moose135]

Thanks, yes that is my photo!

[SoSueMe]

Maybe I've just seen it enough that I know what it looks like, but I think that's a stretch...

 

I see what you mean on the plane, I was talking about the logo shown on the commercial, it does kind of look like a lower case "L" at a quick glance; at least to me.

 

I remembered another airline commercial that irritates me,,,,,It's all about YOUUUUUU, they've started showing it again.

 

P.S. That is a great photo, Moose :)

Edited March 17, 2016 by SoSueMe

[Brattinella]

The one that has been bothering me lately is for some drug (of course it is) where the voice over talks about doing one of something to be healthy.  The guy eating one piece of kale on a plate with a fork is bad enough, but the woman who counts her one sit up?  Would she lose count if she didn't say it out loud?  And then she looks so smug for doing one frickin' sit up.  It's annoying.

 

The drug they are referring to is a VACCINE, meant to ward off pneumonia.  I refuse any and all vaccines, and that's all I'm gonna say.

[Prevailing Wind]

My doc persuaded me to get the vaccine for 27 strains of pneumonia, not the Prevnar 13. ('Cause Medicare will only pay for one a year, so the decision is a financial one, not based on health.) Can't say it's definitely related, but two weeks later, I got a cold that hung around for almost a month. Ruined all of December for me.

[Aquarius]

 

The worst one for this is the one with the husband and wife with their "perfect driving record", and the wife says,  "And then one of you hits a food truck, ruining your perfect record."

 

She says ". . . clips a food truck . . . "

 

Because just like the snot who tapped the bumper of a station wagon, the accidents these LM idiots have are no big deal.

[ramble]

The drug they are referring to is a VACCINE, meant to ward off pneumonia. I refuse any and all vaccines, and that's all I'm gonna say.

I'm with you & I generally don't discuss it either. However, that ad bothers me not just for personal reasons but for the smugness of the one'rs. (One sit-up, one broccoli floret, etc.) Although honestly most ads related to prescription drugs make me frustrated. It's just the U.S. & New Zealand that allows those type of ads, correct? Ugh.

[DeLurker]

Another reason why I hate the Liberty Moron spots - we spend so much time talking about how much we hate them!  I end up obsessing about everything - what they are saying, wearing, how they are standing, where they are standing...it really has taken on an unhealthy life of its own.

[zillabreeze]

Has the Fiber One "pregnant guy" commercial been covered or is it new?  I rarely watch spots, so when the guy with the preggo belly came on, of course I had to stay tuned.

Never did I expect that he just needed to take a big ol' poopy!

I haven't decided how I feel about it yet. On one hand-EEWWWW.  On the other hand, kinda funny because it's a true feeling.

[ivygirl]

Hilarious: I haven't seen the Janelle Monae ad in forever, but it came on just as I was scanning the forum :)

It doesn't bug me as much... But for me, the faces she makes are weird.

Oh dear Lord. I've listened to Roxette songs that made more sense.

By the way, woman in the library who holds a patronizing "just a moment" finger up to the poor maintenance guy: how much of a brain do you have if you can't finish your d*mn assignment before the library closes? I'm sorry, but it shouldn't take you all night to work out a basic business "deck."

That part especially bugs me. The guy just wants to wrap up his job. Maybe HE wants to get home and work on HIS homework. How ya like them apples, lady? Edited March 17, 2016 by ivygirl

[Jamoche]

  It's wrong, because it doesn't answer the question, but it's the way people talk, often to avoid facing painful emotions. 

Yeah, they're distancing themselves, and in this case the painful emotion is "I fucked up", so it comes off as deceitful, shifting blame. If you've ever asked someone why they broke something of yours, and they start the story with "well, you know how it is when you're doing whatever and something just happens". No. I don't, because those stories are never a "just happens" case.

[Rick Kitchen]

The Bush's bean ads where the kids are celebrating not having been given veggies while eating their beans, and the parents are celebrating having pulled one over on the kids.  I hate them for two reasons: They perpetuate the stereotype that kids don't like vegetables, and they encourage parents lying to their kids.

[DeLurker]

I just checked - a 1/2 cup serving of the original Bush's Baked Beans has 12 grams of sugar.  A Breyer's natural vanilla ice cream cup snack cup has 10 grams of sugar.

[Brattinella]

Wow!

[Ohwell]

I find that ad so creepy.  I assume he comes back later to have sex with the cow.  Or at least to try.  He doesn't seem smart enough to figure it out.  Then again he might try to wine and dine her before he makes his big move.

That cow does look like it's afraid it's going to be sexually assaulted.  I was hoping a bull would suddenly show up out of nowhere and run that dude off.

[chessiegal]

I just checked - a 1/2 cup serving of the original Bush's Baked Beans has 12 grams of sugar.  A Breyer's natural vanilla ice cream cup snack cup has 10 grams of sugar.

No kidding. Every time I see that commercial I think, oh yeah, congratulate yourselves for giving your kids sugar and  preservative loaded food. And I like Bush's Baked beans, but passing them off as a healthy vegetable is just wrong.

[ari333]

My doc persuaded me to get the vaccine for 27 strains of pneumonia, not the Prevnar 13. ('Cause Medicare will only pay for one a year, so the decision is a financial one, not based on health.) Can't say it's definitely related, but two weeks later, I got a cold that hung around for almost a month. Ruined all of December for me.

Guys... a cold is a pain and can hang on and has no  relation  that I know of to certain strains of pneumonia. Pneumonia can land you in the hospital and even kill you.  If I can get the vaccine I'm getting it.  When Im old enough for the shingles vaccine Im getting that too. I do understand your feeling and hesitation. I wish my mom had gotten the shingles vaccine. and I wish my dad had had the one for pneumonia.

Edited March 18, 2016 by ari333

[xls]

Has the Fiber One "pregnant guy" commercial been covered or is it new?  I rarely watch spots, so when the guy with the preggo belly came on, of course I had to stay tuned.

Never did I expect that he just needed to take a big ol' poopy!

I haven't decided how I feel about it yet. On one hand-EEWWWW.  On the other hand, kinda funny because it's a true feeling.

Kind of WTF, but so funny!

[Stella Rose]

So the TV is on, and I am paying approximately 7% of my attention to it. I look up to see a woman seriously sobbing and blubbering on while holding a cute little baby. It's a commercial, but oh crap - what's wrong? Is the baby sick? Whhhhat? I rewind (do we still say rewind?) to find out what horrible malady child has... and,

What? Huh? Zillow? What the eff?

This is a commercial for a site to buy property and the woman is blubbering about something about how her house needed LOOOOOVE. (This was not some cool old place saved from the wrecking ball either; it's some bland ass McMansion). Has anyone else seen this?

No clue why, but damn it makes me stabby.

Not a quote, this is my post.  odd.

Edited March 18, 2016 by Stella Rose

[Stella Rose]

 Spurgeon (isn't that a fish?)

i think it's that place people go to once a year to drive cars real fast...

[Stella Rose]

This ad for the California Psychics kills my soul

 

I have it on good authority that the California Psychics knew it would kill your soul, but they did it anyway.

 

bastards

[riley702]

I just checked - a 1/2 cup serving of the original Bush's Baked Beans has 12 grams of sugar.  A Breyer's natural vanilla ice cream cup snack cup has 10 grams of sugar.

 

They have snack cups? Mmm, must look for those.

[DeLurker]

I have it on good authority that the California Psychics knew it would kill your soul, but they did it anyway.

 

bastards

Are you psychic?

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Dionne Warwick probably told her.

[Ubiquitous]

The Bush's bean ads where the kids are celebrating not having been given veggies while eating their beans, and the parents are celebrating having pulled one over on the kids.  I hate them for two reasons: They perpetuate the stereotype that kids don't like vegetables, and they encourage parents lying to their kids.

Are beans vegetables? They're not colorful and they're starchy (carbs).

 

Has the Fiber One "pregnant guy" commercial been covered or is it new?  I rarely watch spots, so when the guy with the preggo belly came on, of course I had to stay tuned.

Never did I expect that he just needed to take a big ol' poopy!

I haven't decided how I feel about it yet. On one hand-EEWWWW.  On the other hand, kinda funny because it's a true feeling.

Is that an old ad? I recognize it for some reason.

[Moose135]

Are beans vegetables? They're not colorful and they're starchy (carbs).

Based on "Animal, Vegetable, Mineral" they are...

[Prevailing Wind]

 

Are beans vegetables? They're not colorful and they're starchy (carbs).

Yes, they are.  They are not fruit.  They are in the legume family of vegetables.  Some consider them not "true" vegetables because they carry a certain bacteria "true" vegetables do not.  <shrug>  Is corn a veggie or a grain? 

[Stella Rose]

Are you psychic?

For only 25 cents per minute you too can find out!

[Jaded]

For only 25 cents per minute you too can find out!

There's some other psychic company commercial running where they want $1.00 a min.

[Eliot]

She says ". . . clips a food truck . . . "

 

Because just like the snot who tapped the bumper of a station wagon, the accidents these LM idiots have are no big deal.

 

Thank you for articulating what bugs me the most about these ads. If the "tap" of the station wagon bumper is significant enough to involve your insurance company to pay for the damage, I question whether it truly was "just a tap."

[TattleTeeny]

The Liberty ads use the second person point of view in a way that most  other commercials don't.  There's a difference between an ad saying "YOU should buy this product"  which is the correct way of using 2nd person directive, and saying "this  happened to YOU"  -   because it didn't

 

The LM commercials are using it entirely correctly and legitimately. If you don't like it, that's fine (I don't care for it either, especially when reading a book--I believe Kurt Vonnegut used it? Maybe Tom Robbins?) but it's a completely valid storytelling style choice in all kinds of arts and media.

Edited March 18, 2016 by TattleTeeny

[xaxat]

In general, I don't like the way the King family estate operates. But this ad for Boeing with his image really annoys me. 
 
It pisses me off that the family, in their effort to make as much money as possible protect his legacy decided to associate Martin Luther King with the second largest military contractor in the world.

 

“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”

 

Huh, I wonder who said that?

[avecsans]

I am watching the Law and Order marathon on Sundance and the commercial with the soul-crushing Rachael Ray for her line of "Nutrish" pet foods is on constant rotation. Grrrr....why must this fool mangle the English language?

[Prevailing Wind]

 

It pisses me off that the family, in their effort to make as much money as possible protect his legacy decided to associate Martin Luther King with the second largest military contractor in the world.

Their oldest child, Yolanda, had a hard time keeping the other 3 in line with Daddy's thinking, but after she died in 2007, there was no stopping the (whatever of the deadly sins you'd like insert here). He would be SO disappointed in them.

Edited March 19, 2016 by Prevailing Wind

[Brattinella]

I am watching the Law and Order marathon on Sundance and the commercial with the soul-crushing Rachael Ray for her line of "Nutrish" pet foods is on constant rotation. Grrrr....why must this fool mangle the English language?

 

Oh man, I haven't seen that commercial in a while.  NUTRISH! Yummo!  Gah what a maroon she is!

[Haleth]

Based on "Animal, Vegetable, Mineral" they are...

That settles it.  Chocolate is a vegetable.

[TattleTeeny]

Thank you for articulating what bugs me the most about these ads. If the "tap" of the station wagon bumper is significant enough to involve your insurance company to pay for the damage, I question whether it truly was "just a tap."

 

Yes--especially considering wherever these people are! I can't tell their exact location but, judging by the SoL in the background, they're probably in an area with a lot of tight parallel parking, and where people actually tend to have an understanding that taps will happen. Taps, not crashes, mind you!

Edited March 19, 2016 by TattleTeeny

[Joe Blow]

I can't stand the Liberty Mutual commercials, but the "Perfect Driving Record" one where the guy swipes a food truck actually rings pretty true.  A couple of years ago I was in a really small parking lot and had made sure no one was coming, was 3/4 of the way out of the spot, and had turned to look forward when some kid had turned the corner behind me and kept driving behind a car that was most of the way into the driving lane.  Normal people stop and let you finish pulling out, but I ended up backing the corner of my rear bumper into the front quarter panel of his car.  It was technically my fault, since I was the one backing out, but more than 99% of the time people stop (his friend's comment was, "Dude, you JUST got this fixed from when this happened a couple of weeks ago!")

 

Anyway, that happened like 3 years ago, and I *still* hear comments from my wife about it.  It got old a long time ago, but sometimes that really is how someone's partner responds.

[ennui]

Speaking of couples, the Allstate safe driving bonus checks are back in rotation. The couple in the cafe annoy me, when she's holding her check and says "Silence" in Dennis's voice. The weird thing to me is that the checks all seem to be in single digits. Yes, it's nice to get a check for $7, but it's hardly worth the lunchtime drama. But it does explain the "let her pay for lunch" ad, because it won't pay for much else.

[Stella Rose]

That settles it.  Chocolate is a vegetable.

Yes.  Yes it is.  It grows in a bean, right.  That is my argument that cigarettes are a vegetable.  They make them from leaves after all.

 

My Liberty Mutual stabby Ad of the Day is:  "They want you driving around on three wheels.' 

me:  What is wrong with that?  I live in the US and damn, if I haven't coveted the Reliant Robin for-effing-ever.  (tried to post a photo, but was denied.  Look up the Robin,  It's adorable!)