Commercials That Annoy, Irritate or Outright Enrage

[janie jones]

I think that "vegan chicken" is fine. It indicates that it's approximating chicken while not being some other meat product made to seem like chicken. "Imitation chicken" could still be meat, the way "imitation crab" is some fish.

[Browncoat]

"Vegan chicken" makes me think the chickens are vegans.

[chessiegal]

15 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

"Vegan chicken" makes me think the chickens are vegans.

Especially when you see free-range chickens. 😄

[Gharlane]

20 hours ago, dleighg said:

My daughter likes those things but they are typically labeled something like "chick'n" not chicken.

That reminds me of the "All you can eat beff" special at the Hungry Heffer on Cheers. 

 

 

[proserpina65]

On 8/10/2024 at 3:28 PM, Bastet said:

She didn't write it, so if they're not using her vocals (which is what it sounds like from your description, but I haven't seen it), she doesn't get anything for its use here.

It's not Grace Slick's vocals.

I hate that shitty song, but find its use no more noxious than other crap pop songs in commercials.  At least it's not the Jardiance jingle.

On 8/12/2024 at 7:54 AM, TattleTeeny said:

What should it be called? (I just looked in the freezer out of curiosity; nothing that I have is ”officially” labeled as such.)

Fake chicken, which is what it is.  A lot of non-meat brands use "chik'n" or some variation thereof.

On 8/12/2024 at 9:35 AM, TattleTeeny said:

I don't think that can work, because we don't want it to be chicken.

Then maybe it should be called something besides chicken.  Although honestly I don't really care all that much as long as anyone feeding it to me tells me it's not actually chicken.  I wouldn't necessarily object to a vegan meal as long as I knew that's what I was getting.

17 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Especially when you see free-range chickens. 😄

I was going to say "aren't chickens vegans or at least vegetarians" but Monsieur Google tells me they are omnivores which will eat all kinds of bugs.

[TattleTeeny]

5 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

Fake chicken, which is what it is.  A lot of non-meat brands use "chik'n" or some variation thereof.

"Fake chicken" doesn't tell people that it's vegan. 

[proserpina65]

11 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

"Fake chicken" doesn't tell people that it's vegan. 

Wouldn't it?  I suppose it could be made from some other animal although that seems unlikely.  Well, maybe "soy chicken" then.

[SoMuchTV]

7 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

Wouldn't it?  I suppose it could be made from some other animal although that seems unlikely.  Well, maybe "soy chicken" then.

There are definitely vegetarian products (marketed as meat substitutes) that aren’t vegan. Not sure what keeps them from being vegan. Maybe dairy or egg ingredients?

[TattleTeeny]

35 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

Wouldn't it?  I suppose it could be made from some other animal although that seems unlikely.  Well, maybe "soy chicken" then.

It's not unlikely; someone above mentioned as an example "crab" legs that are not made of crab. Some fake meat is made with eggs and/or dairy, which would make them not vegan. There are also things like turkey bacon that seem to confuse people. 

"Soy chicken" would only work if it was made of soy (and the people who are bothered by the word "chicken" being used at all would still be bothered). Also, there's soy in lots of nonvegan processed foods.

Seems like "vegan chicken" is the easiest way to convey this. As an aside, I think it will forever remain a mystery to me as to why people who aren't vegan care what vegan food is called. I mean, does anyone other than trite comedians care that Grape Nuts cereal is called that?

Quote

There are definitely vegetarian products (marketed as meat substitutes) that aren’t vegan. Not sure what keeps them from being vegan. Maybe dairy or egg ingredients?

We had these fabulous veggie burgers way back when in my college cafeteria. Not a fake meat kind of thing, but just a burger shape made with vegetables. I found them recently and, boo -- eggs! 

The Morningstar Farm brand is also not across-the-board vegan. 
 

Edited August 13 by TattleTeeny

[Ohiopirate02]

27 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

The Morningstar Farm brand is also not across-the-board vegan. 
 

Neither is my preferred faux chicken brand, Quorn. 

[Tom Holmberg]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

I suppose it could be made from some other animal although that seems unlikely. 

The general rule is: Everything you've never eaten tastes like chicken.

[TattleTeeny]

You just reminded me of some early '90s grunge-ish song that says "tastes just like chicken" in it and I can't remember what it is and I so don't want to Google -- I want to get it on my own!

And just to bring it back to commercials, I am not sure if I even hear the word "vegan" in them. I know that the term "plant based" has become popular (and often used stupidly, like you don't have to tell me that a Caesar salad is plant based). I bet "vegan" is not a good buzzword because people get so oddly aggro about it. 

OH! I do hear "vegan" in commercials for meal subscriptions. But not really anywhere else that I can recall. 

Edited August 13 by TattleTeeny

[SoMuchTV]

17 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

like you don't have to tell me that a Caesar salad is plant based

Well actually (sorry!) classic Caesar salad (and most store-bought Caesar dressings) contain anchovies. So do most Worcestershire sauces. I know that thanks to my vegetarian daughter. 

[proserpina65]

3 hours ago, TattleTeeny said:

Seems like "vegan chicken" is the easiest way to convey this. As an aside, I think it will forever remain a mystery to me as to why people who aren't vegan care what vegan food is called. I mean, does anyone other than trite comedians care that Grape Nuts cereal is called that?

I don't care that much really, except when I'm bored at work.  It's more a matter of curiosity.  But don't me started on Grape Nuts.  Or as I think they should be called "Gravel Nuggets".  Or things labelled as milk which are NOT milk.  (Yes, that is the hill I would choose to die on.  If it came from a nut or a legume or a grain rather than a lactating mammal, it's not milk, damn it.)

7 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Well actually (sorry!) classic Caesar salad (and most store-bought Caesar dressings) contain anchovies. So do most Worcestershire sauces. I know that thanks to my vegetarian daughter. 

Any cream-based dressing would be non-vegan by definition as well, so the vegan versions would need to be labelled as such, too.

I did not need to know about the anchovies, though, but I guess since I can't identify fish in the dressing or the Worcestershire sauce, I can pretend I don't know.

 

[TattleTeeny]

34 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

But don't me started on Grape Nuts. 

Hahhahhaaaaa, I snorted at this! Some deep Grape Nuts feelings -- as deep as a gravel pit...where the Grape Nuts come from!

Quote

Well actually (sorry!) classic Caesar salad (and most store-bought Caesar dressings) contain anchovies. So do most Worcestershire sauces. I know that thanks to my vegetarian daughter. 

Yes. But "plant based" isn't a synonym for vegan. It just means that some certain percentage of the food is plants. I would assume most people don't need to be told that a salad is plant based. But that was just an example that I used (maybe because I kind of miss Caesar salad). 

Maybe applesauce or something would be a better example!

Edited August 13 by TattleTeeny

[Tom Holmberg]

49 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

You just reminded me of some early '90s grunge-ish song that says "tastes just like chicken" in it and I can't remember what it is and I so don't want to Google -- I want to get it on my own!

Scatterbrain "Tastes Just Like Chicken"

[TattleTeeny]

OH MY GOODNESS, it was the damn title?! I can picture the cover of this album! I'm gonna listen to it and feel old!

Edited August 13 by TattleTeeny

[Palimelon]

Quote

Or things labelled as milk which are NOT milk.  (Yes, that is the hill I would choose to die on.  If it came from a nut or a legume or a grain rather than a lactating mammal, it's not milk, damn it.)

From a marketing standpoint, it makes more sense to call something Almond Milk or Cashew Milk than calling them Nut Juice.

[aghst]

On 5/27/2020 at 10:12 AM, nottopbravo said:

As if we don't have enough false and misleading information around already, I saw this on television recently:

"Hi. I'm Jan from Toyota"

No you not, you're Laurel Coppock, an actress who is paid by Toyota to play a person named "Jan".

And guess who shows up next:

"Hi. This is Lily from AT&T."

No your not Lily, you're Milana Vayntrub, and actress who is paid by AT&T to play a person named "Lily".

I wish these companies wouldn't think we are so stupid not to realize that all these "spokespersons" are just actors hired by them to play a part.  I can't think of an actor who played a part (even though he/she might be stereotyped in that role) showing up, claiming they are that person.  

It's like William Shatner appearing on the screen saying, "Well, yes, I've been to space.  I am Captain Kirk".

 

I don't like these recurring characters either.  But for some reason, they endure.

Jan, Lily and Flo from Progressive Insurance have been around well over a decade.  They must work somehow, help sell their products?

It also seems like these actresses don't have any significant credits than these commercials.

Acting is a tough profession for most people so these actresses found a niche which provided a living for them for a long time.

In any event, there used to be a site, commercialsIhate.com and now a Reddit subedit r/commercialsIhate.

The snark and even the mean posts about these pitch women can certainly be entertaining.

 

 

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, aghst said:

They must work somehow, help sell their products?

There was a profile of Stephanie Courtney, who plays Flo in those Progressive ads, last year in the New York Times that detailed how Progressive's customer base and profits absolutely soared after those commercials started airing.  I don't remember details and no longer have a subscription to access the article, but it was a transformed the company level of change.  And she's still here, getting paid big bucks to keep doing them, so obviously the math is still supporting that ad campaign.

[ebk57]

All about Flo

Gift link to the NYT article from November.

[TattleTeeny]

What is the commercial with the headphone girl walking and singing? I know we’ve talked about it in here but I forget what it’s for, some kind of drug? Anyway, she so totally overacts with her face, especially for the “O” words — she really exaggeratedly pushes out her lips! 

[Bastet]

20 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

What is the commercial with the headphone girl walking and singing? I know we’ve talked about it in here but I forget what it’s for, some kind of drug?

Allegra.  For someone supposedly living her best life because her allergy symptoms are under control, that woman sure looks ticked off in the final shot.  And why does being symptom-free mean she's entitled to pay no attention to others during her own little mini concert, nearly knocking kids over?

[Gharlane]

I hate commercials that use "plant based" instead of "vegetarian" or "vegan". I think they use it because they're really not either.

Edited August 15 by Gharlane

[TattleTeeny]

Maybe. They all mean different things, but they probably hope that people don't know that and that they all will buy whatever it is without checking. 

[proserpina65]

18 hours ago, Palimelon said:

From a marketing standpoint, it makes more sense to call something Almond Milk or Cashew Milk than calling them Nut Juice.

Sure, but I still hate it and wish they wouldn't do it.  It's a personal bugaboo of mine.

12 hours ago, ebk57 said:

All about Flo

Gift link to the NYT article from November.

That was an interesting article.

[chessiegal]

48 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

Maybe. They all mean different things, but they probably hope that people don't know that and that they all will buy whatever it is without checking. 

I can't imagine someone who is serious about being vegan wouldn't check it out. We were having a pleasant lunch once when someone who was vegan came in to see if the restaurant used different fryers for French fries and fried meats, as he was told in a previous visit. Evidently, he was lied to, and he raised a stink (lots of screaming, histrionics) that disrupted operations to the point the manager finally got him outside to deal with him. While I respected his desire to be vegan, I didn't care for the way he went about dealing with it in that instance.

[TattleTeeny]

Well, that's not about being vegan; it's more about being kind of a dick. 

I consider myself more or less "serious about being a vegan" but mistakes can still happen here and there as far as label (and grill/fryer) assumptions go. Honestly, I am probably more "militant" about onions being kept far from my food.

Edited August 14 by TattleTeeny

[Prevailing Wind]

22 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

But don't me started on Grape Nuts.  Or as I think they should be called "Gravel Nuggets". 

Sometimes I envy my cat for having kibble to crunch on. When I'm feeling stressed, I pull out my version of kibble and have me some Grape Nuts.

 

[Gharlane]

On 8/13/2024 at 5:20 PM, Palimelon said:

From a marketing standpoint, it makes more sense to call something Almond Milk or Cashew Milk than calling them Nut Juice.

Heh heh heh, you said "nut juice"!

That does remind me of an unfortunate carton design I can't seem to find right now for some kind of "nut milk"...

 

[chessiegal]

Quote

milk

1 of 2noun

ˈmilk 

1

a

: a fluid secreted by the mammary glands of females for the nourishment of their young

b(1)

: milk from an animal and especially a cow used as food by people

(2): a food product produced from seeds or fruit that resembles and is used similarly to cow's milk

coconut milk

soy milk

 

[TattleTeeny]

Unfortunately named -- and real. And actually pretty good for the mass-market brands (and probably not likely to have a commercial where people have to say its name, hahahaha!).

Edited August 15 by TattleTeeny

[Shrek]

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

 

We have some soy juice/milk in the fridge only it doesn't call itself soy milk but "unsweetened non-dairy beverage".

[chessiegal]

31 minutes ago, Shrek said:

We have some soy juice/milk in the fridge only it doesn't call itself soy milk but "unsweetened non-dairy beverage".

That's what it is called on the label? Interesting. What brand is it? Just curious.

[Shrek]

56 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

That's what it is called on the label? Interesting. What brand is it? Just curious.

Here you go, no actual label but it's from Costco & comes in a pack of 12. 

[proserpina65]

3 hours ago, chessiegal said:

 

Webster's is wrong, imo.  Milk is secreted by the mammary glands of a mammal.  Anything else is an emulsion.  I don't care what the non-diary "milk" industry calls it.  Like I said, it's a personal hang-up of mine.

Edited August 15 by proserpina65

[Shrek]

20 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

Webster's is wrong, imo.  Milk is secreted by the mammary glands of a mammal.  Anything else is an emulsion.  I don't care what the non-diary "milk" industry calls it.  Like I said, it's a personal hang-up of mine.

It annoys me too which is why I noticed our soy non-dairy beverage wasn't calling itself milk.

[Aqua]

This Snapchat commercial has to stop!

Enough of this pretentious girl talking about "the more oranges we anthropomorphize."  She is so snarkily proud of herself for working that word into a sentence, like she just learned it in her Women's Studies class. Every time I see this nonsense I want to throw something at the TV.

Edited August 16 by Aqua

[Bastet]

All the Target back to school commercials are mildly annoying, except the one with the "dino" kid, which drives me absolutely crazy because I have seen better acting in local commercials for a used car lot in Bumfuck than in this national ad from a major retailer.  Good grief, if he was the best they could find, they should have used CGI instead.

Edited August 17 by Bastet

[Aqua]

What annoys me about the "No more dinos, I want sharks" commercial is it's just another greedy, precocious, entitled kid who has no idea how fortunate he is to get a new backpack every year.  

[sempervivum]

I know it's Paul Simon's song to do with as he wants, but I hate that '
You Can Call Me Al' is being used on a BMW ad. Yeah, it features Al Roker, but seriously? What's next- 'Homeless' on a Zillow ad?

[Dimity]

Walmart has a new back to school commercial with this totally entitled little kid actually snapping her fingers at her mother while she tells her just what she will and will not be buying for school this year.  And the mother just smiles fondly.  Is this supposed to be funny?  Or reflect real life? Because, no, and I hope not!  

[Aqua]

1 hour ago, Dimity said:

Walmart has a new back to school commercial with this totally entitled little kid actually snapping her fingers at her mother while she tells her just what she will and will not be buying for school this year.  And the mother just smiles fondly.  Is this supposed to be funny?  Or reflect real life? Because, no, and I hope not!  

That's awful. I'm glad I haven't seen that one. But it seems to be par for the course in commercials, TV, and movies nowadays to pair an annoying twit of a kid with a hapless parent.

[andromeda331]

6 hours ago, Dimity said:

Walmart has a new back to school commercial with this totally entitled little kid actually snapping her fingers at her mother while she tells her just what she will and will not be buying for school this year.  And the mother just smiles fondly.  Is this supposed to be funny?  Or reflect real life? Because, no, and I hope not!  

I hope not. I would have been dead if I did that to my mom. Definitely not be getting a new backpack or anything. Picking out a new backpack and school supplies every year was so much fun. 

[dleighg]

13 hours ago, sempervivum said:

I know it's Paul Simon's song to do with as he wants, but I hate that '
You Can Call Me Al' is being used on a BMW ad.

what I hate about that ad is that a guy I've always thought of as nice uses his position as a weatherman to send everyone home from the beach so he can have it by himself. How obnoxious!

[Haleth]

30 minutes ago, dleighg said:

what I hate about that ad is that a guy I've always thought of as nice uses his position as a weatherman to send everyone home from the beach so he can have it by himself. How obnoxious!

I'm envious!

[Gharlane]

18 hours ago, sempervivum said:

I know it's Paul Simon's song to do with as he wants, but I hate that '
You Can Call Me Al' is being used on a BMW ad. Yeah, it features Al Roker, but seriously? What's next- 'Homeless' on a Zillow ad?

I hate that song!

[Ohiopirate02]

4 hours ago, dleighg said:

what I hate about that ad is that a guy I've always thought of as nice uses his position as a weatherman to send everyone home from the beach so he can have it by himself. How obnoxious!

I've never thought of Al Roker as nice, so I can totally buy him doing this.

[Tom Holmberg]

9 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I've never thought of Al Roker as nice, so I can totally buy him doing this.

I have no opinion on Al Roker, but I think the ad is funny.

[chessiegal]

4 minutes ago, Tom Holmberg said:

I have no opinion on Al Roker, but I think the ad is funny.

As it was intended to be. It's a joke!