Commercials That Annoy, Irritate or Outright Enrage

[Jaded]

Looks like it was a skit/product plug.
 

[friendperidot]

I've got to stop watching as seen on tv product commercials and expecting them to make sense. The miracle bamboo pillow, they put it under a heat blanket with a thermometer and there was a 44 degree difference in the pillow and the heat blanket. Right now, we're in a heat wave, heat indexes over 100 for closing in on 2 weeks now - 44 degrees is a lot of difference in temps. And I don't live where I would normally sleep, even in the coldest weather where there's a difference of 44 degrees in my room temp and my pillow. 

And then there are products that may be pretty good, but the selling points of the ads are stupid. I kind of think having a toilet bowl light that changes colors might be kind of fun, and I agree that turning on overhead lights in the middle of the night will wake you up and are annoying. I solved that problem years ago with a night light in the bathroom, I turn it on at dark and off at light, rarely turn on overhead lights. And that poor little boy that they are trying to potty train - he needs a step stool to even reach the toilet to aim. The toilet bowl is at mid chest level - he won't be able to hit that bowl for a few years, hope he gets potty trained before then.

And the one for the outdoor lighting - having motion sensor lights outside is a good idea, but it must be really dark for that guy to run into the trash cans like he does, no street lights? Installation of regular outdoor lights may be difficult, but not as hard as they make it seem, you may need to use proper equipment, like a screwdriver and a step stool. 

I love watermelon and the cutting/serving tool might be a good idea. But does cutting a watermelon really take that much time away from your family? What about taking the kids in the kitchen with you and explain how to use a knife, that they should not use knives without adult supervision and generally explain how a kitchen works - it's part of their education. And who cuts a slice of cake out of the middle, then flips it upside down when they throw it on the plate? 

One of the many addiction treatment centers  talks about that they take most insurance and one of their clients says something about wishing his family had insurance, then he could have gotten the best treatment. Huh? That's a selling point?

I'm sure there's others's but I'm too crabby right now, in the middle of a move, in the middle of a heat wave, I'm sleeping on the floor with two dogs that are so messed up because they don't understand what's going on.My hairbrush and clean clothes are at the new place. Crabby doesn't even come close.

[Prevailing Wind]

8 hours ago, Jaded said:

Looks like it was a skit/product plug.
 

Well, this is disturbing.  Seems Seventh Generation has a whole string of commercials with Maya Rudolph. WHY would a company hire a woman who's known for doing parodies to do their ads for them?  I cannot take them seriously. Ever.  She does comedy. Even if I still used that type of product, I certainly wouldn't buy it on a comic's recommendation when, for all I know, it could also be a dessert topping AND a floor wax.

[fishcakes]

7 hours ago, friendperidot said:

I've got to stop watching as seen on tv product commercials and expecting them to make sense.

I watch those and wistfully wish that they actually worked as advertised because then life would be so much easier. I could cut a tin can and then cut a tomato with the same knife.

7 hours ago, friendperidot said:

And then there are products that may be pretty good, but the selling points of the ads are stupid. I kind of think having a toilet bowl light that changes colors might be kind of fun, and I agree that turning on overhead lights in the middle of the night will wake you up and are annoying. I solved that problem years ago with a night light in the bathroom, I turn it on at dark and off at light, rarely turn on overhead lights.

I don't know if it's the same company, but I saw that product being pitched on Shark Tank. One of the sharks said, "uh ... nightlight?" and the toilet guys said that a nightlight is fine for women, but it doesn't give men a hard enough target to aim at in the dark. Or something. I was grossed out by the fact that the light clips on to the underside of the rim. The toilet guy admitted that you can't clean it or the part of the toilet it's attached to, but that it clips to the side, which he said isn't as dirty as the front and back of the toilet. Which I doubt is true to any meaningful degree, but even if it is true, you can't clean the light at all, which means it would soon be filthy. I think they did get an offer, but if were a Shark, I would have screamed at them to get their toilet light out of my presence.

[Brattinella]

7 hours ago, friendperidot said:

One of the many addiction treatment centers  talks about that they take most insurance and one of their clients says something about wishing his family had insurance, then he could have gotten the best treatment. Huh? That's a selling point?

I agree.  The poor man looks quite beat up/almost dead in that scene.  I don't think the point of the commercial should be "you need better insurance"  that is a totally different subject.  Kinda makes folks feel guilty, I think.

[Moose135]

On 6/24/2016 at 8:11 AM, Haleth said:

The music is the Baby Elephant Walk yet there isn't a single elephant in the commercial.  That's what bugs me!

Maybe they're saying the Range Rover is the elephant...

[friendperidot]

I forgot Sani Sticks! How could I forget Sani Sticks? The mother is complaining about 3 teenage daughters and hair that clogs the drains at least twice a week - there are strainers that fin over and inside drains, they do have to be cleaned out ever so often, but they do help. The same woman, (I think) is embarrassed by odors coming from her clogged drains. When there are odors coming from my clogged drains, I'm disgusted, not embarrassed. But I also try to do something about it before then, plunger comes to mind, the boiling water, baking soda, vinegar, boiling water can help too if it's not too bad.

[Phebemarie]

Charter Spectrum seems to be burning through a bunch of annoying commercials.  I think the "Dads Who Rap" ad was somehow supposed to be celebrating Fathers' Day.   In my area it's been taken off the air in favor of "Twentysomethings Who Beat Box", which I think is far more aggravating.  

I know a lot of people here didn't like the Excedrin migraine commercial.  As someone who experiences the occasional optical migraine at work, I appreciate Excedrin's attempt to show what the visual disturbances look like, even in a limited capacity.  

[xaxat]

Why am I chasing after my old laptop? Because that fucker cost me eight hundred bucks a couple of years ago and, unlike you, I am not the star of a hit show with with stacks of money lying around to light on fire.

That's why I'm chasing after my old laptop.

[Moose135]

I don't know if I find this annoying as much as disturbing, but does anyone else get an Exorcist vibe from this one? That can't be what they were after.

 

[erikdepressant]

"Your mother plucks cockerels in Hell..."

[janie jones]

20 hours ago, Jaded said:

Looks like it was a skit/product plug.
 

I actually find this amusing, although at one point, it makes it sound like babies grow in tampons. 

Also, she comes out and says "vagina," unlike other feminine care ads which avoid it.

Does it make me want to switch tampon brands, though?  No.

[AntiBeeSpray]

About the Kentucky Fried Chicken ad: Yea that commercial is rather creepy >_>.

[Sandman87]

19 hours ago, friendperidot said:

And the one for the outdoor lighting - having motion sensor lights outside is a good idea, but it must be really dark for that guy to run into the trash cans like he does, no street lights?

It's about 2 miles from my house to the nearest street light. I've been known to flip on my car's headlights when I need to carry something with both hands out there and can't hold a flashlight. And that's with the motion sensor light that's installed by the front door.

[bluepiano]

9 hours ago, xaxat said:

 

Why am I chasing after my old laptop? Because that fucker cost me eight hundred bucks a couple of years ago and, unlike you, I am not the star of a hit show with with stacks of money lying around to light on fire.

That's why I'm chasing after my old laptop.

I guess that's true also. But my first thought was, I'm running after my old laptop because I've got several years worth of files and  photographs on it, as well as all kinds of personal information I would not want a stranger to get their hands on. If you lose your laptop, the money to replace it is an issue, but far from the biggest one. It's a really stupid commercial, even by the standard of super commercials.

Might as well say, why worry that you left your baby in the cab? You can always have another one.

[LoneHaranguer]

On 6/24/2016 at 6:57 PM, luvmylabs said:

Please do correct me if I'm wrong, but I rarely see a commercial where the wife/female partner is made to look bad.  OK...let's not go back to the 50's but surely sometimes the woman made the mistake.

There are ads where you don't see a couple, but it's a woman who made the mistake. To use your example of Liberty Mutual, they had Ms. Just Tapped The Bumper, and are currently featuring the one asking if she's supposed to buy a car with three wheels.

On 6/24/2016 at 9:43 PM, janie jones said:

I'm like, first of all, the unit cost for three is surely much greater than in larger boxes

You shouldn't presume that a larger quantity is a better deal. Stores will sometimes set price traps for people who assume that, and sometimes they'll have to discount the smaller packages of something in order to move them (especially if it's something with an expiration date).

[TattleTeeny]

On 6/24/2016 at 9:51 PM, bilgistic said:

I wasn't comparing the pills; I made a statement about insurance companies non-sensically not covering one thing but inexplicably covering another.

Also, I was trying to be a little funny, but I guess that didn't work. I'll take my kickball and leave.

I got it. And sometimes, sadly, I think that whole scenario is based on sexism. Oy. sorry to be That Guy, haha!  

[iMonrey]

Quote

I'm hating the AT&T ad with the douchebag who ignores Lily to ask Siri what the current deals are. And fuck you, Siri. Your kind are not the overlords of humanity yet, so ditch the passive-aggressive attitude toward Lily.

The weird thing is that the customer's Siri knows what Lily's Siri was told to call her, which suggests Siri is everywhere. Like, everyone who owns an iPhone has the exact same Siri and she's privy to every single iPhone user's personal info in the world. Now, that's scary. Wouldn't that pretty much put you off ever buying an iPhone? I'm sure there are a lot of elderly people out there who aren't very tech savvy and think that's exactly how Siri works. 

Quote

Has anyone seen that Maya Rudolph commercial for tampons? She's standing there with a microphone singing a "jingle" (her word - actually a "vajingle," because you know, it's about vaginas!). First of all, the commercial is uncomfortably long. I could have sworn it was like 2 minutes. Then, toward the end, she starts doing that exaggerated singing voice where you can't tell exactly what she's saying. It's so weird and uncomfortable - and it's not because of the subject matter.

I was in the other room when that commercial came on so I just heard it and was like "WTF?!?" I thought sure it was an SNL skit and couldn't figure out how the channel flipped over to SNL in the middle of the week. It's just really oddly graphic. Even commercials for boner pills aren't that graphic. It's not like they go "Viagara . . . for your penis!!"

Edited June 27, 2016 by iMonrey

[CoderLady]

On 6/26/2016 at 0:32 PM, Phebemarie said:

I know a lot of people here didn't like the Excedrin migraine commercial.  As someone who experiences the occasional optical migraine at work, I appreciate Excedrin's attempt to show what the visual disturbances look like, even in a limited capacity.  

I'm going to have to pay attention to those commercials and read the ingredients list for Excedrin migraine now. I don't get spike-through-the-eye migraines any more but anything that could shorten those annoying though painless episodes of going half blind would be worth checking out.

[LoneHaranguer]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

The weird thing is that the customer's Siri knows what Lily's Siri was told to call her, which suggests Siri is everywhere.

It's possible what seems to be the customer's phone is a display model in a store run by a manager who doesn't think it's worth putting tethers on merchandise costing hundreds of dollars. That would explain why the table is empty; people have walked off with everything else that had been displayed there.

[Brattinella]

I do think that Excedrin did a respectable job portraying what an optic migraine looks like; I always likened it to a prism dancing just out of my visual field.

[Jamoche]

15 hours ago, bluepiano said:

I guess that's true also. But my first thought was, I'm running after my old laptop because I've got several years worth of files and  photographs on it, as well as all kinds of personal information I would not want a stranger to get their hands on.

This. Also, if I'm running after my taxi and a strange guy starts running next to me and asking nosy questions, I'd be wishing I had a taser.

[Sandman87]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Even commercials for boner pills aren't that graphic. It's not like they go "Viagara . . . for your penis!!"

I look forward to the corresponding commercials for toilet paper.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

3 hours ago, Sandman87 said:

I look forward to the corresponding commercials for toilet paper.

Too late, they've already got those. Between bum wipes and Charmin bears, we know exactly how to avoid skid marks.

[bilgistic]

4 hours ago, CoderLady said:

I'm going to have to pay attention to those commercials and read the ingredients list for Excedrin migraine now. I don't get spike-through-the-eye migraines any more but anything that could shorten those annoying though painless episodes of going half blind would be worth checking out.

"Excedrin Migraine" has the same ingredients as regular Excedrin: acetaminophen, aspirin and caffeine.

[theatremouse]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's just the proportions/dosage that varies betwixt the different flavors of Excedrin. The individual ingredients don't vary.

Edited June 28, 2016 by theatremouse

[Brattinella]

4 hours ago, CoderLady said:

annoying though painless episodes

TRUE!  I cannot imagine how bad that would be if they HURT, too!

[riley702]

1 hour ago, theatremouse said:

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's just the proportions/dosage that varies betwixt the different flavors of Excedrin. The individual ingredients don't vary.

Actually, no. They're all the same. I remember some flack when they first came out because the migraine label cost more. They now all cost the same. They argue that people with back pain won't buy something that says "migraine", so they have labels for different things and people think they're getting the special version for their type of pain.

I had a headache while down south some years ago and could only find Goody's headache powders at the gas station (and those powders are a whole 'nother post). I couldn't find a version with acetaminophen, aspirin and caffeine; only acetaminophen and aspirin, so I took that, added truck-stop coffee for the caffeine and went on my way. It worked!

Edited June 28, 2016 by riley702
anecdote

[InDueTime]

I just saw this Verizon ad a few hours ago.  It is by far one of the cringiest ads this year.

[Watcher0363]

1 hour ago, riley702 said:

Actually, no. They're all the same. I remember some flack when they first came out because the migraine label cost more. They now all cost the same. They argue that people with back pain won't buy something that says "migraine", so they have labels for different things and people think they're getting the special version for their type of pain.

I had a headache while down south some years ago and could only find Goody's headache powders at the gas station (and those powders are a whole 'nother post). I couldn't find a version with acetaminophen, aspirin and caffeine; only acetaminophen and aspirin, so I took that, added truck-stop coffee for the caffeine and went on my way. It worked!

I will forgive you for your ignorance, since you were just visiting the South. The proper way to take Goody or BC powder. Is to dump one or two packages into a 6oz bottle of Coca Cola or RC cola. Then let the magic happen. I swear in the 70's and 80's old timers like my grandfather and his peers were addicted to that stuff. Today I use that combination as a barometer, show me a young person buying Goody or BC powder and I'll show you a drug addict.

[janie jones]

21 hours ago, LoneHaranguer said:

You shouldn't presume that a larger quantity is a better deal. Stores will sometimes set price traps for people who assume that, and sometimes they'll have to discount the smaller packages of something in order to move them (especially if it's something with an expiration date).

Well, I know that.  But I can assure you that my boyfriend wasn't buying the box of three because it's cheaper per condom.  And given that he probably got them at a gas station, I'm going to assume he paid too much.

[RCharter]

18 hours ago, iMonrey said:

The weird thing is that the customer's Siri knows what Lily's Siri was told to call her, which suggests Siri is everywhere. Like, everyone who owns an iPhone has the exact same Siri and she's privy to every single iPhone user's personal info in the world. Now, that's scary. Wouldn't that pretty much put you off ever buying an iPhone? I'm sure there are a lot of elderly people out there who aren't very tech savvy and think that's exactly how Siri works. 

I was in the other room when that commercial came on so I just heard it and was like "WTF?!?" I thought sure it was an SNL skit and couldn't figure out how the channel flipped over to SNL in the middle of the week. It's just really oddly graphic. Even commercials for boner pills aren't that graphic. It's not like they go "Viagara . . . for your penis!!"

Well...no, because obviously the Viagra is for the benefit of whatever lucky lady* the guy is with.

They might as well say "Viagra...for the ladies!!"

* -- she is generally beautiful and can't do anything else besides stare lovingly at the man....or at the camera.  I think its Stockholm syndrome.

[CoyoteBlue]

There's an ad for Cici's Pizza where Mom is calling Dad and he tells her "Just taking the kids out to Cici's buff-HEY!" because of course, stuffed-crust buffet pizza is mind-blowing. But he turns that 'buffet' into a Jerry Lewis impersonation. I thought I'd never have to hear that annoying voice again once he kicked off and fell out of the cultural consciousness.

[xaxat]

On 6/27/2016 at 3:28 AM, bluepiano said:

I guess that's true also. But my first thought was, I'm running after my old laptop because I've got several years worth of files and  photographs on it, as well as all kinds of personal information I would not want a stranger to get their hands on. If you lose your laptop, the money to replace it is an issue, but far from the biggest one. It's a really stupid commercial, even by the standard of super commercials.

Might as well say, why worry that you left your baby in the cab? You can always have another one.

For most people, you are totally correct. But I'm the paranoid type who encrypts his mobile devices, two factor authentication, backup, password manager. . . 

(That photo showing Mark Zuckerberg with tape over his laptop cam? Been doing that for years. . . )

[Joe Blow]

22 hours ago, iMonrey said:

The weird thing is that the customer's Siri knows what Lily's Siri was told to call her, which suggests Siri is everywhere. Like, everyone who owns an iPhone has the exact same Siri and she's privy to every single iPhone user's personal info in the world.

I absolutely want to know what Lily's Siri has to say, so I'm thinking about signing up..

[Rick Kitchen]

I don't get enraged very often, but I'm enraged that Rolling Stones songs are being used for pet store ads.  I know it's probably a song that's used in the movie, which I don't object to, but this is just wrong.

 

[Joe Blow]

20 minutes ago, Rick Kitchen said:

I don't get enraged very often, but I'm enraged that Rolling Stones songs are being used for pet store ads.  I know it's probably a song that's used in the movie, which I don't object to, but this is just wrong.

 

It kind of rolls off my back now -- The Sonics, The Buzzcocks, The Monks, The Stooges in commercials?!  At least the Sonics commercial got my wife to start listening to them, and now they're one of her favorites..

The Sonics selling Land Rovers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VOOdtZ_HnQ

Edited June 28, 2016 by Joe Blow

[Brattinella]

I LOVE that pet store ad!  One of the best on TV lately.

[Brattinella]

This ad INFURIATES me.  The two cops approaching saying "Whoa!"  It borders on threatening, in my eyes,

 

Edited June 28, 2016 by Brattinella
GAH! Why can't I attach this link?? Nevermind, I was duh.

[janie jones]

5 hours ago, Rick Kitchen said:

I don't get enraged very often, but I'm enraged that Rolling Stones songs are being used for pet store ads.  I know it's probably a song that's used in the movie, which I don't object to, but this is just wrong.

 

What bothers me here is that that song doesn't make any sense in this context.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Dear Progressive Execs:

I am one of the few people who enjoy your series of commercials with Flo, especially the ones with her family, but please do stop it at once with the lame Ghostbusters tie-in. That is all.

Stargazer

[RCharter]

Dear Dove Executives,

I appreciate your message of female empowerment.  However, this message may have gone too far in your latest commercial where women attack stereotypes such as being "too pretty to fight," or "I might be dressed inappropriately for the office and so people stare at me."  

First, not every comment is a battleground and cause for a revolution.  Someone calling you "too pretty" hardly seems the battlefield to die on.  Second, maybe the message of female empowerment should be that these comments should have such nil effect that you don't even remember them.  Third, I'm not sure how sexist any of this is.  There are plenty of men that are told they are "too fat for that outfit," "aren't dressed appropriately," and "shouldn't be fighting" for whatever reason (brain injury).  The real lesson here is that people, in general, can be assholes.  They can be assholes to women, and they can be assholes to men.

Fourth -- and probably most important.  I really don't appreciate the obvious pandering by implying that the only way I'll truly be a feminist is if I buy your grooming products.  Or that if I just change my deodorant, it will somehow make things better.  I'm going to wear Secret deodorant, because it works the best....and I'll be the exact same woman I always was.  Assuming women are dumb enough to buy into such nonsense is probably the greater sin than someone saying that its a shame you would risk a pretty face getting smashed in.  

Hugs and Kisses,

RCharter

Edited June 29, 2016 by RCharter

[riley702]

10 hours ago, xaxat said:

(That photo showing Mark Zuckerberg with tape over his laptop cam? Been doing that for years. . . )

Really? Is that something I should be doing? I went into the settings and stopped it from automatically booting up when the computer turns on. Not enough?

I don't like the pet commercial not because it's using the Rolling Stones music, but because the song is "Sympathy for the Devil". Is that really the message you want to be sending, doggie?

The snack mix ad is infuriating. Step the fuck right off and leave my snacks alone. It's none of your damned business what I'm eating. I'd be all "Get that arm away from me before I break it off and beat you over the head with it."

[Brattinella]

10 minutes ago, riley702 said:

Really? Is that something I should be doing? I went into the settings and stopped it from automatically booting up when the computer turns on. Not enough?

I don't like the pet commercial not because it's using the Rolling Stones music, but because the song is "Sympathy for the Devil". Is that really the message you want to be sending, doggie?

The snack mix ad is infuriating. Step the fuck right off and leave my snacks alone. It's none of your damned business what I'm eating. I'd be all "Get that arm away from me before I break it off and beat you over the head with it."

Yes, that's not enough.  Put tape over the camera lens.  Disable/uninstall camera and software.  Disable onboard mic, too.

[erikdepressant]

Because the Tampax Pearl "Waterslide" commercial is on TV every time I open my eyes, life during my period really is starting to look like this:

[friendperidot]

Quote

The snack mix ad is infuriating. Step the fuck right off and leave my snacks alone. It's none of your damned business what I'm eating. I'd be all "Get that arm away from me before I break it off and beat you over the head with it."

can't with that right now, just read a mystery about a serial killer who ties abusive men to trees, cuts off both their arms and beats them with it. I've sloughed through the entire book, very unsatisfying read, but was a free Kindle book, Legend of Devil's Creek - if you're looking for a good read, I really don't recommend it.

[riley702]

1 hour ago, Brattinella said:

Yes, that's not enough.  Put tape over the camera lens.  Disable/uninstall camera and software.  Disable onboard mic, too.

I taped it over and disabled the camera and mic. Thanks.

[Jaded]

Another one of those for profit "college" commercials.
 

[riley702]

23 minutes ago, friendperidot said:

can't with that right now, just read a mystery about a serial killer who ties abusive men to trees, cuts off both their arms and beats them with it. I've sloughed through the entire book, very unsatisfying read, but was a free Kindle book, Legend of Devil's Creek - if you're looking for a good read, I really don't recommend it.

Eek, it was just an expression. Don't think I want to read about someone taking it literally.

[friendperidot]

Riley, it wasn't a great read, it wasn't even a good read. It was a free book, I used to get a lot of them, but not so much any more, many are first time published, some show promise, some don't, I have found a couple of authors that I have added to my purchase more lists. But I have also learned to cut my losses quickly if the book isn't good.