Commercials That Annoy, Irritate or Outright Enrage

[Aryanna]

On 6/10/2019 at 4:58 PM, chessiegal said:

We bought a new car last week. We had to have it insured before we could take it home. We've been with State Farm, bundled with home and autos for years. I ended up on the phone with our agency for over 30 minutes getting the new car added. The rep kept trying to push the most expensive coverage on us, which my husband turned down at every option. I swear, by the time we were done, I was ready to dump State Farm for Liberty Mutual.

I have State Farm and I bought a car a couple of yeas ago and all I had to do was show the dealer my current insurance and they let me take it. My agent even told me that my insurance covers me anytime I buy a new car but that I still need to give them all the info on the car after I've bought it so that they can get all the coverage correct.

[meep.meep]

On 6/7/2019 at 8:51 AM, smittykins said:

My mom’s version of this was “Go play marbles on the Thruway.”(Jokingly, of course.)

My mom would find some chores for us to do.  So we avoided her.

[tanyak]

On 6/10/2019 at 11:15 AM, Suzn said:

I've commented on this odious commercial several times and I'm analyzing what is so annoying about it.  First the women is annoying in all she says and does, but I think what I hate is that it seems to be presented as an example of the ideal mother.  Bullshit!  It's one thing to spend some time playing with a child, but this is devoting a day to fantasy play with costumes and props.  The mother can't spend her non-migraine time working, doing household chores, cooking, reading a book, anything of her choice or need, but but gives up her day to running around like a fucking idiot playing a child's game.

Or she just wants to play with her kid?

 I get that the fantasy angle is a bit over the top, but I just see a mom who seems to deal with headaches a lot, is feeling  better, and she just wants to hang out with her child. I certainly pick that over cooking or housework.  I also gather that this is an only child and they seem to be in a neighborhood where there aren’t many similar age children around.  I surmise that the girl had to entertain herself a lot when mom’s not feeling well. 

I know that children aren’t very popular on this thread. And as I said,  the imagery is kind of weird. But I think it’s really odd to criticize a mother for spending more than 30 minutes playing with her kid. 

[mmecorday]

Quote

I know that children aren’t very popular on this thread.

I love children. I never had any of my own, but my partner has two grandchildren that I adore.

That said, there's yet another grocery delivery service that's being advertised and in the commercial, the mother wants to complete her child's alien costume. So she orders green bananas so that the child will have alien claws. The mother ordered food for her children's playtime. That's a bit over the top.

[funky-rat]

16 hours ago, tanyak said:

I know that children aren’t very popular on this thread.

Personally, I have no issue with kids.  I have an issue with the fact that in today's society, kids are viewed as some sort of weird commodity that we all measure against, mostly for the bad.  Kids are frequently shown in commercials as obnoxious, precocious, mouthy, etc, which we're apparently supposed to think is cute.  I don't find it cute, but it's no wonder that many do, because they're being shown it frequently.  I don't think kids should be seen and not heard, but there has to be a happy medium.

Today's society is social media obsessed, and I can't go 2 posts on social media without being confronted by viral videos about people's kids, and I just feel like they're pimping their kids out for money (if they monetize their YouTube/Blog/etc), or for attention.  And we won't even get in to how this has bred the modern version Satanic Panic, where every 3rd post I see is about some "near miss" on human trafficking.

I have friends who are parents, and some are just as bad as others I see.  One owns a business, and they post how they enjoyed working at someone's event and tag the business/person holding event/etc, but 95% of the pictures they post are of their kids mugging for the camera, instead of the actual event.  Some call the newspaper repeatedly to get stories published about how their kid thought up something totally awesome all by themselves (but they didn't).  All of this breeds an ultra-competitive vibe amongst parents and kids, with those who don't have money, or parents who have the time and resources, to feel completely inadequate.  It can also breed bullying - both ways.

I have friends on both sides of the mom-shaming side.  I have some who don't have the money or time to do the things that other people tend to rub in their faces (through social media, or tv, etc) and they are made to feel lesser, and I have some that have the good fortune to have time, money, and talent, and when they share things in a non-obnoxious way, they get lashed at by people who are just overloaded with the better-than-you-ness of it all.

It's not the kids fault.  It's the fault of some parents, and society in general, but everyone wants to be held blameless.  Parents backlash against those of us who don't find their kids antics in a restaurant, for example, as cute as they do.  I don't appreciate kids walking up to the table and taking food off my plate.  I don't appreciate kids deciding my table makes a great fort.  I don't appreciate kids screaming (literally) in my husband's ear that they want a hot dog, and they want it NOW!, but all of those things have happened, and my protests (no matter how polite) are met with "You must not have kids because you hate them".  Nope.  Don't hate kids.  But I do hate parents who allow them to behave like that, because they had to learn it somewhere.   And as an aside, when my husband reflexively said "JEEZ!" when the kid screamed in his ear (the kid was in the booth behind us, and turned around - my husband didn't see her - I did, but didn't expect her to scream), the mother threatened to be waiting for us in an alley, because she's a good mom damnit, and we're just assholes.  He said nothing other than Jeez, and this restaurant didn't serve hot dogs.....

And lastly before I climb off of my soapbox, society in general tends to place way too high of a commodity on being a parent.  I am childless not by choice, and the comments that people think are perfectly fine to make, and questions perfectly fine to ask are just mind-blowing.  Those who are childless by choice are treated even worse.  At my job, I've been told I have no business dealing with stuff for kids because I don't have any.  I've been told that moms rule the world, and we'd better learn to cater to them.  It's all so effed up, and I have no solution.

We should all just love our kids, mind our business, and be kind to each other.

[tanyak]

11 minutes ago, funky-rat said:

Personally, I have no issue with kids.  I have an issue with the fact that in today's society, kids are viewed as some sort of weird commodity that we all measure against, mostly for the bad.  Kids are frequently shown in commercials as obnoxious, precocious, mouthy, etc, which we're apparently supposed to think is cute.  I don't find it cute, but it's no wonder that many do, because they're being shown it frequently.  I don't think kids should be seen and not heard, but there has to be a happy medium.

I agree with you. I can't stand brats, either. But this girl in this particular commercial doesn't seem to be any of those things. I guess my point is, yes, some parents will pick hanging with their kids over a list of other things they could be doing. Not all the time, but yes, many times. That doesn't mean they are an ideal or perfect parent.

[funky-rat]

2 minutes ago, tanyak said:

I agree with you. I can't stand brats, either. But this girl in this particular commercial doesn't seem to be any of those things. I guess my point is, yes, some parents will pick hanging with their kids over a list of other things they could be doing. Not all the time, but yes, many times. That doesn't mean they are an ideal or perfect parent.

I just think the general backlash against the commercial is that it's just the most recent in a long line of commercials depicting what I mentioned in my lengthy post.  It's like people are getting tired of it, and they're shooting the most recent messenger.  I also notice there is a big backlash lately against prescription medicine commercials (for driving up the cost of meds, for one), and so this one gets a double whammy.

[Brattinella]

https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/2903-strudel-boy-and-cawowine-irritating-kids-in-commercials/?page=8&tab=comments#comment-4926829

[Suzn]

23 hours ago, tanyak said:

Or she just wants to play with her kid?

 I get that the fantasy angle is a bit over the top, but I just see a mom who seems to deal with headaches a lot, is feeling  better, and she just wants to hang out with her child. I certainly pick that over cooking or housework.  I also gather that this is an only child and they seem to be in a neighborhood where there aren’t many similar age children around.  I surmise that the girl had to entertain herself a lot when mom’s not feeling well. 

I know that children aren’t very popular on this thread. And as I said,  the imagery is kind of weird. But I think it’s really odd to criticize a mother for spending more than 30 minutes playing with her kid. 

I don't have a problem with any mother spending the entire damn day with her kid.  I just hate this particular mother and the way this day of play is presented.  I think the mother acts like a lunatic.

[Calamity Jane]

On 6/10/2019 at 8:15 AM, Suzn said:

I've commented on this odious commercial several times and I'm analyzing what is so annoying about it.  First the women is annoying in all she says and does, but I think what I hate is that it seems to be presented as an example of the ideal mother.  Bullshit!  It's one thing to spend some time playing with a child, but this is devoting a day to fantasy play with costumes and props.  The mother can't spend her non-migraine time working, doing household chores, cooking, reading a book, anything of her choice or need, but but gives up her day to running around like a fucking idiot playing a child's game.

I call her Martyr Mom, and I wonder if she’s the reason her daughter seems to have zero friends. Just loathe that ad. 

[millennium]

Any and all Mazda commercials featuring Haley Reinhart's cover of "Dreams" by the Cranberries.  The vocals are like fingernails on a chalkboard.

I don't know who Haley Reinhart is (apparently a former American Idol winner -- i had to look it up) but what a godawful thing she's done to such a beautiful song.  Poor Dolores O'Riordan must be spinning in her grave.

[janie jones]

3 hours ago, Suzn said:

I don't have a problem with any mother spending the entire damn day with her kid.  I just hate this particular mother and the way this day of play is presented.  I think the mother acts like a lunatic.

I think the kid is to old for that kind of play, especially with her mother.

[jcbrown]

On 3/16/2019 at 6:15 AM, B in Lee said:

The Most Obnoxious commercial has got to be that "custom made dimples" brat whining that Mommy and Dad are cleaning their home on a Saturday, instead of playing with her. Were that kid mine, she'd be running a vacuum cleaner, emptying waste baskets and wiping down cabinets right alongside Dad and me. Job done, we can ALL move on to more pleasant activities. Spoiled, center-of-the-world attitude makes me gnash my teeth.

I despise this commercial. Hate it with the white-hot passion of a thousand burning nuns (TM TwoP). Every time the annoying brat comes on and asks, "am I cute?" I respond "NO!" and mute the TV.

On 6/11/2019 at 8:04 PM, MadyGirl1987 said:

The commercial for Hazelnut Spread M&M'S.

Am I the only one who finds this disturbing? Cannibal candy? Really?

Yeah, that one bugs me, too.

[andromeda331]

1 hour ago, jcbrown said:

I despise this commercial. Hate it with the white-hot passion of a thousand burning nuns (TM TwoP). Every time the annoying brat comes on and asks, "am I cute?" I respond "NO!" and mute the TV.

I hate that commercial to. Partly the kid but mostly that the idea that its weird or that their bad parents for are cleaning on a Saturday instead of playing with daughter instead of it being completely normal that their cleaning. That's normal. Trying to get everything they have to done before Monday while also trying to find some time to spend with their kids.  

[elle]

On 6/12/2019 at 8:50 AM, peacheslatour said:

On 6/11/2019 at 9:04 PM, MadyGirl1987 said:

The commercial for Hazelnut Spread M&M'S.

Am I the only one who finds this disturbing? Cannibal candy? Really?

It's no worse than the cannibal Cinnamon Toast Crunch freaks.

I hate the Cinnamon Toast Crunch commercials. It somehow seems worse with the M&Ms.

5 hours ago, millennium said:

Any and all Mazda commercials featuring Haley Reinhart's cover of "Dreams" by the Cranberries.  The vocals are like fingernails on a chalkboard.

I don't know who Haley Reinhart is (apparently a former American Idol winner -- i had to look it up) but what a godawful thing she's done to such a beautiful song.  Poor Dolores O'Riordan must be spinning in her grave.

For anyone else who had not heard the original song by the Cranberries.

[QuinnInND]

The commercial for dental implants, featuring a woman spending the day on the River Walk in San Antonio. I know the point of the commercial is to show off her teeth (which look terrific), but she comes off as a grinning idiot. The way she smiles annoys me. 

[Haleth]

9 hours ago, janie jones said:

I think the kid is to old for that kind of play, especially with her mother.

That's what I said!  The kid is bordering on puberty.  The commercial would have been better with a 6yo playing dress up.  Maybe the custom made dimples brat.

[Prevailing Wind]

BUT SHE HAS NO DIMPLES!  That's what most drives me crazy about that ad.

[Ohwell]

4 hours ago, QuinnInND said:

The commercial for dental implants, featuring a woman spending the day on the River Walk in San Antonio. I know the point of the commercial is to show off her teeth (which look terrific), but she comes off as a grinning idiot. The way she smiles annoys me. 

I hate that creepy looking woman!

[peacheslatour]

4 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

BUT SHE HAS NO DIMPLES!  That's what most drives me crazy about that ad.

Right? Like they couldn't find a single little actress who actually has dimples? I call nepotism.

OMG and don't even get me started on that Peloton ad with that shrieking harpy egging on that poor, sweating woman past her breaking point.

Edited June 14, 2019 by peacheslatour

[funky-rat]

7 hours ago, QuinnInND said:

The commercial for dental implants, featuring a woman spending the day on the River Walk in San Antonio. I know the point of the commercial is to show off her teeth (which look terrific), but she comes off as a grinning idiot. The way she smiles annoys me. 

I haven't seen that one, but I have seen the woman in Cleveland (my old stomping grounds) and her teeth look decent enough, but somewhat fake.

19 hours ago, Calamity Jane said:

I call her Martyr Mom, and I wonder if she’s the reason her daughter seems to have zero friends. Just loathe that ad. 

I called her Sancti-Mommy.  Some people took exception (which is their right) but that's how I saw it.

[mmecorday]

Is it just me, or does it seem like the ads for Blue World Pools have been airing since the McKinley administration?

[Mabinogia]

On 6/13/2019 at 6:01 PM, Suzn said:

I just hate this particular mother and the way this day of play is presented.  I think the mother acts like a lunatic.

I actually like the kid in this particular commercial but yeah, I can't stand the mother. Not because she chose to play with her kid, not because she went way overboard on said play, but the woman plays her as incredibly obnoxious. There is that one moment that she gives this really, really smug smile and I just want to punch her, but she's in my TV and I think it would hurt too much so now when the commercial comes on I quickly change the channel. I know it's for some kind of medication, I'm assuming it is a medication that gives you energy? IDK what it does. Maybe it makes you annoying as fuck. So not only is she annoying to watch, the commercial isn't doing a great job of selling it's product to me. 

[SmithW6079]

On 6/11/2019 at 11:04 PM, MadyGirl1987 said:

The commercial for Hazelnut Spread M&M'S.

Am I the only one who finds this disturbing? Cannibal candy? Really?

On 6/12/2019 at 10:50 AM, peacheslatour said:

It's no worse than the cannibal Cinnamon Toast Crunch freaks.

Or the new Snapple one, where it's obvious at least one of the apples ate another during a Donneresque calamity.

[smittykins]

Or the Snapple mango one.  “Whatever happened to Phil?”

[Ubiquitous]

On ‎6‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 11:04 PM, MadyGirl1987 said:

The commercial for Hazelnut Spread M&M'S.

Am I the only one who finds this disturbing? Cannibal candy? Really?

It can't be more disturbing than them homicidally vivisecting each other.

Quote

I try not to hate on the kids, but rather the obnoxious ad execs that think we want to see kids act like this. 

Speaking of which, that gawddamm gummy bear ad with the meeting room full of adults talking about the gummy bears like brain-damaged children is back. I cannot change the channel fast enough when I see it starting.

7 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

OMG and don't even get me started on that Peloton ad with that shrieking harpy egging on that poor, sweating woman past her breaking point.

Is that the one with weird-looking braids and is slapping the front of her bike while she shrieks?

[Brattinella]

Be thankful you don't get "Apples and Bananas" dozens of times a day.  This commercial could have been so much better.  I would understand if this kid was homeless or living in some level of poverty.  THIS kid walks into their spacious kitchen (with pantry, all stainless steel appliances) and there's no fresh fruit in the fridge.  Just regular food.  This ad is sponsored by the Hunger Initiative or something with Scarlet Johanson.  Very sad music.  I lunge for the remote.

Edited June 15, 2019 by Brattinella

[chessiegal]

44 minutes ago, Ubiquitous said:

Speaking of which, that gawddamm gummy bear ad with the meeting room full of adults talking about the gummy bears like brain-damaged children is back.

Last year we were in Vienna, and our travel agent booked us in the best hotel I've ever stayed at, a Marriott. They had a kiosk where you could buy snacks, including Gummy Bears. As soon as I saw it, I started laughing thinking of the dislike of the commercial back home. Upscale hotel, Vienna, Gummy Bears. Hee!

[MadyGirl1987]

1 hour ago, Ubiquitous said:

It can't be more disturbing than them homicidally vivisecting each other.

What? Must have missed that one....

[Amethyst]

The State Farm "Don't mess with my discount!" ad is terrible.  It just makes the woman look like a lunatic over a measly discount.  

I don't know why Progressive sticks with the annoying Flo and Jamie when the "turning into your parents" ads are so much funnier and more creative.  

[friendperidot]

In a small defense of the mom/daughter playing pirate/princess, I don't like the ad, but I grew up with a mom with migraines, she would lock herself in her dark, quiet room for basically days. It was the 50s and there was nothing for migraine relief, doctors all told migraine sufferers it was their imaginations. Then I grew up and I had the migraines that would make me miss days of life. Since the early 2000s, there have been amazing advances in migraine treatment. I've tried most of them and cannot use most of them. Tryptans (I have no idea of the spelling) give me rebound headaches and horrible stiff necks that are worse than the original. But with menopause came some relief. I also take blood pressure medication that helps the horrible headaches. I still get as many as ever - damn near daily, but a couple of Walmart brand Excedrin takes it away. I don't use Tylenol, just aspirin based meds. After many years of suffering, many trips to ERs and throwing up in triage offices (gets you in to see a doctor more quickly - but I've never been able to throw up on demand, it happens naturally with those nightmare headaches), anyway, I apologized to my mom for being part of the brat pack - included my brother and sister. I didn't have children, but my mother would have welcomed a medication that would have let her spend more time with her family and not being miserably sick. I would have welcomed medication that would have allowed me to spend more time being human. So, I cut the mom a little slack. I dislike the commercial, but I dislike most commercials, especially those for prescription medications. And Nugenix - I hate those freaking ads and the big hammer (or whatever) with all the simpering fools gathering around him at the gym.

[Ubiquitous]

6 hours ago, Brattinella said:

Be thankful you don't get "Apples and Bananas" dozens of times a day.  This commercial could have been so much better.  I would understand if this kid was homeless or living in some level of poverty.  THIS kid walks into their spacious kitchen (with pantry, all stainless steel appliances) and there's no fresh fruit in the fridge.  Just regular food.  This ad is sponsored by the Hunger Initiative or something with Scarlet Johanson.  Very sad music.  I lunge for the remote.

Yeah, I remember that commercial, and yeah, it didn't do the childhood hunger charity any favours.

6 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Last year we were in Vienna, and our travel agent booked us in the best hotel I've ever stayed at, a Marriott. They had a kiosk where you could buy snacks, including Gummy Bears. As soon as I saw it, I started laughing thinking of the dislike of the commercial back home. Upscale hotel, Vienna, Gummy Bears. Hee!

Ha! You just reminded me of this hotel in Bavaria near the SwaasForest that left a little package of gumnmy bears on the pillow every day. I guess gummy bears are more popular in Europe, or at least southern Germany.

6 hours ago, MadyGirl1987 said:

Quote

It can't be more disturbing than them homicidally vivisecting each other.

What? Must have missed that one....

3 hours ago, Amethyst said:

The State Farm "Don't mess with my discount!" ad is terrible.  It just makes the woman look like a lunatic over a measly discount.  

Yeah, that woman is a lunatic! She even risks her daughter and her peeing their pants b/c she doesn't want to risk that car insurance discount. It was a lot better when the commercial had only one of the scenarios.

[andromeda331]

Yeah, she'd rather pee in the car along with her kid and give birth in the car all to get her discount? Hope nothing goes wrong in the delivery. She's insane. I also assume she was fired from her job for that being a reason why she hadn't arrived for the meeting and making everyone else in car late too. Although why anyone would carpool with her I don't know.

[cynicat]

9 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Last year we were in Vienna, and our travel agent booked us in the best hotel I've ever stayed at, a Marriott. They had a kiosk where you could buy snacks, including Gummy Bears. As soon as I saw it, I started laughing thinking of the dislike of the commercial back home. Upscale hotel, Vienna, Gummy Bears. Hee!

That's because Gummy Bears are a German thing.  There are Haribo stores on every corner in Germany, and all over Europe.

[b2H]

The commercials that irritate me are the ones on endless loop on OWN.  Every single commercial break is the same hawking of programs that are absolutely moronic - more Tyler Perry stuff that couldn't make it anywhere else, Dynasty set in Atlanta.  In particular, this one commercial's background music uses phrases from the classic opera 'Carmen', which is absolutely 180 degrees away from this dopey program.  They've been trying to make this show happen now for over a month (it finally premieres this week) and it's been the same commercial - one - for over a month in every commercial break.

[Prevailing Wind]

3 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

Yeah, she'd rather pee in the car along with her kid and give birth in the car all to get her discount? Hope nothing goes wrong in the delivery. She's insane. I also assume she was fired from her job for that being a reason why she hadn't arrived for the meeting and making everyone else in car late too. Although why anyone would carpool with her I don't know.

How does the "snapshot" thingie know what the speed limit is where you are? We have some LED speed limit signs on our interstate that GaDOT can change depending on the traffic load, construction, accidents, etc. How would the gizmo KNOW that and take away your discount accordingly?

[Ubiquitous]

Holy crap! I don't know what it was for, but I just saw a commercial featuring horrific-looking squirrels in it! Excuse me while I apply some bleach to my eyes and brain...

[Bort]

34 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

How does the "snapshot" thingie know what the speed limit is where you are? We have some LED speed limit signs on our interstate that GaDOT can change depending on the traffic load, construction, accidents, etc. How would the gizmo KNOW that and take away your discount accordingly?

My GPS knows what the speed limit is wherever I'm at. But it's more about if you get in an accident or pulled over because of speeding, bye bye discount.

[smittykins]

Until it was dropped a few weeks ago and replaced by yet.another.Dr.Phil.episode, I used to watch the 6 am showing of Dateline , and I noticed there was almost no paid ads at that hour, only promos for OWN and other Discovery networks.

Edited June 15, 2019 by smittykins

[Brattinella]

3 hours ago, Ubiquitous said:

Holy crap! I don't know what it was for, but I just saw a commercial featuring horrific-looking squirrels in it! Excuse me while I apply some bleach to my eyes and brain...

Is that the one with stuffed, dead squirrels?  Cringy ad.

[Ubiquitous]

1 hour ago, Brattinella said:

Is that the one with stuffed, dead squirrels?  Cringy ad.

Worse. Squirrels with human faces!

[chessiegal]

7 hours ago, kariyaki said:

My GPS knows what the speed limit is wherever I'm at.

My new Honda Accord not only shows the speed limit on the GPS, it can project it on the windshield above the dash. This car has so much technology, I haven't figured out how to use the GPS for directions. I'm still using Google Maps on my phone. My car is too smart for me.

[Browncoat]

I recently got a new car, too, and it seems like I discover new things about it every week.  It will "see" speed limit signs and show them on the dashboard, but sometimes I really wonder what it's seeing.  The other day, I was driving in the city, and my car insisted the speed limit was 100.  I have no idea what it saw to make it think that.

[Mabinogia]

6 hours ago, Ubiquitous said:

7 hours ago, Brattinella said:

Is that the one with stuffed, dead squirrels?  Cringy ad.

Worse. Squirrels with human faces!

Oh holy heaven, why!?!??!! There is not one single thing in this universe a squirrel with a human face could get me to buy, unless it's scissors so I can gauge my eyes out so I never have to see them again. YIKES!

[Neurochick]

On 6/10/2019 at 8:30 AM, Uncle JUICE said:

I saw another one this morning, I think it's for Cadillac. For some reason Serena Williams is parked in a Cadillac SUV during a rainstorm, this soft music is playing, she draws something on the inside of the window we never see, then she lowers the seat, never leaving the car at all, the car doesn't drive. It implies that she's so happy in her Cadillac, she is moved to masturbate in it. WHY ELSE WOULD SHE BE THERE? It's Serena fucking Williams, you think rain storms stop Serena Williams from getting out of her car? She's won like 240 championships. If she wants to go sit in her car and rub one out when it's raining, well I'm sorry, she's SERENA WILLIAMS. She can do whatever she wants. Maybe if YOU had a Cadillac, you'd understand that urge. I can tell you my Nissan full of soccer and karate gear and mismatched children's shoes and old food containers does NOT move me to whack it. 

Huh?  I never thought she was masturbating.  I just thought she was chilling out, enjoying a quiet moment.  I mean everybody needs quiet moments.

[Prevailing Wind]

Yeah, but her own NAME is SERENA. If anyone should be serene, it would be her. LOL.

[Ashforth]

On 6/15/2019 at 12:15 AM, friendperidot said:

In a small defense of the mom/daughter playing pirate/princess, I don't like the ad, but I grew up with a mom with migraines, she would lock herself in her dark, quiet room for basically days. It was the 50s and there was nothing for migraine relief, doctors all told migraine sufferers it was their imaginations. Then I grew up and I had the migraines that would make me miss days of life. Since the early 2000s, there have been amazing advances in migraine treatment. I've tried most of them and cannot use most of them. Tryptans (I have no idea of the spelling) give me rebound headaches and horrible stiff necks that are worse than the original. But with menopause came some relief. I also take blood pressure medication that helps the horrible headaches. I still get as many as ever - damn near daily, but a couple of Walmart brand Excedrin takes it away. I don't use Tylenol, just aspirin based meds. After many years of suffering, many trips to ERs and throwing up in triage offices (gets you in to see a doctor more quickly - but I've never been able to throw up on demand, it happens naturally with those nightmare headaches), anyway, I apologized to my mom for being part of the brat pack - included my brother and sister. I didn't have children, but my mother would have welcomed a medication that would have let her spend more time with her family and not being miserably sick. I would have welcomed medication that would have allowed me to spend more time being human. So, I cut the mom a little slack. I dislike the commercial, but I dislike most commercials, especially those for prescription medications. And Nugenix - I hate those freaking ads and the big hammer (or whatever) with all the simpering fools gathering around him at the gym.

Thankfully, I don't have migraines, but I'm aware that they can be debilitating. The message that if this medication works for you, you can spend time with your child instead of suffering isn't bad, it's the way over-the-top succession of costumes and frantic "play" that bug. I don't get the impression that all of the play is in one day, but still. Why not show some of the quieter moments doing crafting to make the elaborate costumes? Why doesn't the little girl seem to have any friends? Why does the mom seem so smug?

[meep.meep]

On 6/15/2019 at 4:22 AM, cynicat said:

That's because Gummy Bears are a German thing.  There are Haribo stores on every corner in Germany, and all over Europe.

Technically, Gummi 

[Ohwell]

There's a commercial for the Children's National Medical Center and, while it's for a good cause, I absolutely HATE that background music.  It's jarring to listen to with the banging piano and it seems totally unsuitable for a commercial about children's health.  Also, (and I feel bad about saying this) one of their commercials has this kid popping up out of the swimming pool in goggles and that kid scares me every time I see him, LOL. 

[Bastet]

40 minutes ago, Ashforth said:

I don't get the impression that all of the play is in one day,

I don't either, although I'd have to check their clothing to be sure, but that multi-day impression is what bugs me about the commercial -- it comes across to me as an illustration of how many migraine-free days she can have on this medication, and thus get back to a "normal" life.  But her normal life consists solely of elaborate pirate games with her daughter?  I don't think so. 

Why isn't it a montage of the various things - which includes, but is not limited to, playing with her kid - she would like to be spending her days doing if migraines didn't pose a recurring obstacle?  A "week in the life" commercial, in which she's working, lounging on the couch reading, getting together with friends, doing a home improvement/organizational/craft project, going for a walk/hike/bike ride, playing with her kid/pets, etc. as the VO drones on about the wonders and side effects of the medication - you know, like pretty much every other "your life could be so much better with this drug" commercial out there - would be better.

If it is supposed to be a typical singular day on this medication, both mother and daughter need fuller lives.

(I get migraines, but am fortunate enough to only get one or two per year and they last about six hours.  They are truly debilitating while they last - and the "hangover" from the meds is far better than the migraine, but still a time when I'm not 75%, let alone 100% - so those who deal with chronic migraines have my utmost empathy.)

Edited June 16, 2019 by Bastet