Commercials That Annoy, Irritate or Outright Enrage

[BabyVegas]

I really, really HATE the GE commercials about the guy who got hired to be a developer at GE and none of his friends have ever heard of it.

I'm already with you. Those commercials are so obnoxious. I don't know which commercial in that series I hate the most. His friends are beyond stupid. Let's just assume for a second that these people aren't familiar with a company that's in the top ten of the Fortune 500. Every major American company that has anything to do with technology will have developers doing new and cool stuff and that's probably really exciting for him. So the stupidity is already blinding. And then, even if you don't understand what he's talking about, he's clearly very excited so just go with that. "You're excited about your new job! Excellent! Here's a cake!" (Also why did they have a cake if he was making some surprise announcement?)

 

But then when that guy asks his friends if they know what GE does, something in his tone sounds so condescending. And I'm sure it's just my issue living in a tech-heavy town where every other person is a techie who can design some brilliant new program but can't look both ways when wandering into traffic, but it makes me hate him too and then I want them all to go away forever.

[mojoween]

No I agree with you all and I hate everyone involved from the developer on down and the radio ads are way, way worse, but thankfully I haven't heard one in a while.

[CoyoteBlue]

When he mentions GE the  bewildered responses of the friends are as badly acted and fake as the entire premise. "Oh, so you're going work on trains?"

 

If that's because "engineers drive trains, right?", then those friends have been living in a cave the last 20 years.

[Ubiquitous]

How have I managed to miss those obnoxious GE ads? I probably just jinxed myself to see 100 of the end-to-end now.

As silly as the Macy's One Day Sales are, that strategy must work for them because they've been doing it for years. The same goes for those coupons that are never applicable to anything you actually want to buy.

Funny enough, I did an online marketing survey for various ads and that was one of them. I couldn't help but chuckle at the question about how effectively the ad communicated its message.

I noticed Chevy has some new ads with the asshole who makes people think he chucked their cellphones into a wood chipper. No, it's not a particularly clever trick to give people one award whwn all three won it, nor is convincing a bunch of brats that their parents need a wifi car so they can play videogames inside it.

[ennui]

The thing that bothers me about the Crest 3-D Whitening strips ad is the way she treats her (boyfriend? husband?). The way she slaps the whitening strips into his chest tells me she's getting ready to dump him. And at Christmas, too. 

[BusyOctober]

The faux whispery Buick ads are KILLING me!!! I mute the tv as soon as they come on. It just drives me irrationally insane with the fakey fake whispering. They can hear you, you freaking psycho! I must have undiagnosed misophonia because hearing these idiots do their stage whisper puts me in a rage. Please tell me these ads will disappear after Christmas.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

Hate Flo. Hate Progressive because of Flo.

Flo = remote dive

I like Flo's reaction to the weird hairdo she's given in return for the stylist agreeing to try the insurance gadget.

[riley702]

I like Flo's reaction to the weird hairdo she's given in return for the stylist agreeing to try the insurance gadget.

 

This? Go to the 30 second mark. Hee hee. 

 

Edited December 23, 2015 by riley702

[bluepiano]

I don't know which commercial in that series I hate the most. His friends are beyond stupid. Let's just assume for a second that these people aren't familiar with a company that's in the top ten of the Fortune 500. Every major American company that has anything to do with technology will have developers doing new and cool stuff and that's probably really exciting for him. So the stupidity is already blinding.

 

Thanks for expanding on this. Yes, it's not just that they haven't heard of GE. They also apparently don't understand what a computer program does. Other than it has something to do with making those little creatures run across the screen when you play a game on your phone.

 

There's another commercial in the series that is slightly different but just as obnoxious, in which the programmer pays a visit to his parents. He proudly tells them about landing this cool, presumably high paying job, and his horribly clichéd macho Dad, who seems to have time travelled from the 1950s, responds by implying he's an effin pansy. (Presumably afterwards, macho Dad goes to the local bar to knock back a few boilermakers and complain about how his son never wanted to play football because he was into all that science crap.)

 

The only way this series could redeem itself for me is if the programmer, despondent over his friends' apathy and his father's disapproval, throws himself in front of one of those trains he writes programs for.

Edited December 23, 2015 by bluepiano

[OSM Mom]

The douchebag who comes to work in his bed sick. Thanks for sharing your flu with everyone at work, asshole. Next time stay home.

[CarpeDiem54]

RE: The GE ads. Apparently, the developer dude's dumbass hipster friends have never changed a lightbulb or shopped for appliances. Oh, yeah, they probably all still live with their parents ala the Johnsonville Sausage asshole.

And his Dad's an ass, too.

[Rick Kitchen]

The douchebag who comes to work in his bed sick. Thanks for sharing your flu with everyone at work, asshole. Next time stay home.

 

The company probably doesn't provide sick leave.

[Prevailing Wind]

My co-workers appreciated that I stayed home during the contagious stage.  Sick leave or not, it CAN be done.

[millennium]

Every single lemming-like commercial featuring a Star Wars tie-in.   The frequency and repetition of these spots -- same subject matter, same John Williams score, regardless of the actual product ostensibly being advertised -- feels like a psychological indoctrination into a cult.

[spaceytraci1208]

There's a commercial for Quicken Loans that annoys me...they mention several times that they make the loan application process "both simple and easy"...aren't those synonyms???

[legaleagle53]

My co-workers appreciated that I stayed home during the contagious stage.  Sick leave or not, it CAN be done.

 

No, it can't.  Not if you're in a job where if you don't work, you don't get paid or keep said job if you're out sick too often.  Simply put, not everyone has the luxury of taking a sick day, even when it's really needed.

[proserpina65]

Every single lemming-like commercial featuring a Star Wars tie-in.   The frequency and repetition of these spots -- same subject matter, same John Williams score, regardless of the actual product ostensibly being advertised -- feels like a psychological indoctrination into a cult.

The only one I like is that Dodge commercial showing the one black car being followed by a horde of white cars in strict formation on the way to the movie premiere.  That one is actually clever.  The rest?  Not so much.

[CoyoteBlue]

My co-workers appreciated that I stayed home during the contagious stage.  Sick leave or not, it CAN be done.

 

Heh, once I came to work wearing one of those medical face masks because I knew I was going to be in a 1.5 hour staff meeting in a smallish conference room and didn't want to infect my entire team.

[bad things are bad]

As for the Macy's one day, one day, one day sale, between the TV ads and the flyers, I cannot imagine how we wouldn't know about it.  Does anyone ever shop there on any other days at this point?

 

Not to go too far off topic, but I was in what used to be one of the "nicer" Macy's a couple of days ago and it looked like Kmart, with overloaded sale racks and disheveled merchandise everywhere.

 

Those ads must be part of a downmarket strategy; Macy's isn't as elegant as either of its predecessors here (Marshall Fields and before that, Hudson's). 

[WescottF1]

Every single lemming-like commercial featuring a Star Wars tie-in.   The frequency and repetition of these spots -- same subject matter, same John Williams score, regardless of the actual product ostensibly being advertised -- feels like a psychological indoctrination into a cult.

 

Cult, indeed.  Don't dare mention that you couldn't care less about Star Wars on social media, lest ye be in for a full-on nerd rage assault.  Those people can't believe that anyone can not be obsessed with that franchise.

Edited December 23, 2015 by WescottF1

[millennium]

Cult, indeed.  Don't dare mention that you couldn't care less about Star Wars on social media, lest ye be in for a full-on nerd rage assault.  Those people can't believe that anyone can not be obsessed with that franchise.

 

The media/marketing blitz seems intended to create a sense of inclusiveness, like "everybody loves Star Wars, why don't you?"  It reminds me of Superbowl season, when it's easy to feel like a second class citizen if you don't live/breathe/excrete football.

[CarpeDiem54]

This commercial (I guess it's really supposed to be a public service announcement) is running constantly and gets on my last nerve. While I sympathize with the sentiment, it's presented poorly. For one thing, the little boy seems to live in a house with a huge kitchen with a separate butler's pantry and all the latest upscale stainless steel appliances. Also, there seems to be lots of stuff in the fridge and cupboards, just no fruit sitting out or other items to snack on.

http://www.ispot.tv/ad/74mx/feeding-america-child-hunger-psa-featuring-scarlett-johansson

[Brattinella]

This commercial (I guess it's really supposed to be a public service announcement) is running constantly and gets on my last nerve. While I sympathize with the sentiment, it's presented poorly. For one thing, the little boy seems to live in a house with a huge kitchen with a separate butler's pantry and all the latest upscale stainless steel appliances. Also, there seems to be lots of stuff in the fridge and cupboards, just no fruit sitting out or other items to snack on.

http://www.ispot.tv/ad/74mx/feeding-america-child-hunger-psa-featuring-scarlett-johansson

 

 

Seriously, this kid is NOT starving!  I think it is a wonderful thing to feed the hungry, all for it!  But this kid wants apples and bananas; maybe Mom isn't home from the store?

[millennium]

I don't know anyone who has ever received a  car as a Christmas gift, let alone opening the door on Christmas morn to find a Lexus or Mercedes parked outside sporting a big red bow on the roof.

 

And yet these one-percenter commercials are ruining the experience of watching TV at night.  Every single commercial break.    I suppose if you're a Wall Street type, a doctor, or the owner of a tech company, these spots may seem charming.   But to someone who always seems to have more bills than money, they evoke nothing but resentment.   The one where the parents giddily wake up their kids on Christmas morning and run outside to find their Lexus/Mercedes/Audi/whatever is especially irritating.

 

It used to be that commercials sold to broad segments of the population (i.e., the middle class, which I hear no longer exists).   These days it seems advertising is more focused on saturation of specific demographics and to hell with everybody else.    Another example is daytime TV where you can't escape the constant catheter/adult diaper/new unpronounceable drug commercials. 

[CarpeDiem54]

Seriously, this kid is NOT starving!  I think it is a wonderful thing to feed the hungry, all for it!  But this kid wants apples and bananas; maybe Mom isn't home from the store?

Yep. It looks more like the parent(s) make poor choices at the grocery store instead of not having money for any food at all. And I hate that song.

It used to be that commercials sold to broad segments of the population (i.e., the middle class, which I hear no longer exists).   These days it seems advertising is more focused on saturation of specific demographics and to hell with everybody else.    Another example is daytime TV where you can't escape the constant catheter/adult diaper/new unpronounceable drug commercials.

True. Also, all of "commercial people" live in impeccably decorated McMansions with huge circular driveways. Screw 'em all.

[Rick Kitchen]

They must have changed that Feeding America ad, because the link now goes to a video of Scarlett Johansson just talking, with no little boy.

[CarpeDiem54]

What fresh hell is this?

http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7UBD/finishing-touch-yes-bikini-featuring-fran-drescher

[millennium]

Yep. It looks more like the parent(s) make poor choices at the grocery store instead of not having money for any food at all. And I hate that song.

 

 

Speaking of kids and not having any food, I thought I'd post this even though it's OT.   It still blows my mind.   A kindly school lunch lady was just fired for giving a hungry child a free meal.

 

http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/state/idaho/article51028040.html

[CarpeDiem54]

They must have changed that Feeding America ad, because the link now goes to a video of Scarlett Johansson just talking, with no little boy.

Ah, I picked the wrong one. Here's the one with the kid.

http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7UB_/feeding-america-apples-and-bananas-featuring-scarlett-johansson

[CarpeDiem54]

Speaking of kids and not having any food, I thought I'd post this even though it's OT.   It still blows my mind.   A kindly school lunch lady was just fired for giving a hungry child a free meal.

 

http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/state/idaho/article51028040.html

Wow! I hope all of those "administrators" lose their jobs and become homeless. What a bunch of assholes!

[Prevailing Wind]

 

Ah, I picked the wrong one. Here's the one with the kid.

http://www.ispot.tv/...rlett-johansson

No parents are home - they must be down at the unemployment office.  Time to get a smaller house with a non-fancy-schmancy refrigerator, so your kid can eat apples & bananas. The economic recovery isn't clipping along swiftly enough for the kid.

[Ubiquitous]

Not to go too far off topic, but I was in what used to be one of the "nicer" Macy's a couple of days ago and it looked like Kmart, with overloaded sale racks and disheveled merchandise everywhere.

 

Those ads must be part of a downmarket strategy; Macy's isn't as elegant as either of its predecessors here (Marshall Fields and before that, Hudson's).

The one near me used to be a Burdines and before that, Maas Brothers. I miss those stores! I haven't been to Macy's in years because they're a mess and became too ghetto.

[OSM Mom]

The commercials for the razor club or whatever. Thank you for the shots of the nasty repulsive disgusting filthy nasty razors. Even if they are cgi.. Yuck.

[riley702]

There's a commercial for Quicken Loans that annoys me...they mention several times that they make the loan application process "both simple and easy"...aren't those synonyms???

But they're also effortless and user-friendly! ;)

[crazycatlady58]

My co-workers appreciated that I stayed home during the contagious stage. Sick leave or not, it CAN be done.

Not if you work retail. Most of the time if you do not work you do not get paid. Even if you are salary paid if you do not have someone to work in your place you must be there, the store needs to be open no matter how you feel.

[Neurochick]

I don't know anyone who has ever received a  car as a Christmas gift, let alone opening the door on Christmas morn to find a Lexus or Mercedes parked outside sporting a big red bow on the roof.

 

And yet these one-percenter commercials are ruining the experience of watching TV at night.  Every single commercial break.    I suppose if you're a Wall Street type, a doctor, or the owner of a tech company, these spots may seem charming.   But to someone who always seems to have more bills than money, they evoke nothing but resentment.   The one where the parents giddily wake up their kids on Christmas morning and run outside to find their Lexus/Mercedes/Audi/whatever is especially irritating.

 

It used to be that commercials sold to broad segments of the population (i.e., the middle class, which I hear no longer exists).   These days it seems advertising is more focused on saturation of specific demographics and to hell with everybody else.    Another example is daytime TV where you can't escape the constant catheter/adult diaper/new unpronounceable drug commercials. 

 

The reason I don't resent those commercials is because they are unreal; like how airbrushing makes average looking models look flawless.  I've never known anybody who opened their front door on Christmas morning and saw a car with a huge bow on it (where do those bows even come from?).

 

Advertisers sell to people who have disposable income and who are apt to spend it, which is why there aren't a lot of commercials that are geared to people over 50, except those catheter/adult diaper/new drug commercials.  They might have the money, but won't spend it on trendy junk bullshit.  

 

BTW, I'm a Star Wars fan and I was getting so sick and tired of those commercials, mainly because they started airing them MONTHS before the movie even came out (yes, I did see it last weekend!).

[St. Claire]

The only one I like is that Dodge commercial showing the one black car being followed by a horde of white cars in strict formation on the way to the movie premiere.  That one is actually clever.  The rest?  Not so much.

I especially like that the guy watching the cars go by just got his coffee from Java the Hut. 

[proserpina65]

I especially like that the guy watching the cars go by just got his coffee from Java the Hut. 

Oh gosh, how did I miss THAT?  I'm going to have to watch it again.

 

Ed: Ok, I just watched it again, and there's also a guy dressed in a vest reminiscent of Han Solo holding  a little Wookiee-like dog!

Edited December 24, 2015 by proserpina65

[Prevailing Wind]

I saw a "Java the Hut" in Roanoke, VA.

[mojoween]

There used to be a coffee shop in Syracuse called Federal Espresso until the owner was sued by Fed Ex (and then it was changed to Freedom of Espresso) so I wonder if Disney will get ahold of Java the Hut.

[NinjaPenguins]

OSM Mom, I just saw a Dollar Shave Club commercial with a gross, moldy razor that actually vomits some kind of green spew. It included realistic throwing up noises.

I like Star Wars well enough, but there are too many damned commercials and too many damn products with Star Wars slapped on them. What's next? R2D2 tampons: May the Force be inside you? Enough already.

[Watcher0363]

I like Star Wars well enough, but there are too many damned commercials and too many damn products with Star Wars slapped on them. What's next? R2D2 tampons: May the Force be inside you? Enough already.

Clearly Disney did not produce enough pods to slip under everyone's bed. All the illegal immigrants must have thrown off their counts. Please submit your location. Oops, your on line, the Disney-- NSA nexus has already found you. Welcome to the club.

[Brattinella]

The bobble-headed sing-song girl on the Doctor on Demand commercial drives me BONKERS!  Please get her off my TV!!

[RCharter]

OSM Mom, I just saw a Dollar Shave Club commercial with a gross, moldy razor that actually vomits some kind of green spew. It included realistic throwing up noises.

I like Star Wars well enough, but there are too many damned commercials and too many damn products with Star Wars slapped on them. What's next? R2D2 tampons: May the Force be inside you? Enough already.

But damn if that marketing doesn't actually work.  I thought it was all pointless until I went to Sprouts today and saw one of the cardboard displays with Star Wars themed PopChips.  Which I think is dumb, but a kid almost knocked me down getting to the display and trying to find one for "Jabba the Hut."  He seemed vaguely interested in delicious popchips and much more interested in the actual StarWars character.  

[butterbody]

OSM Mom, I just saw a Dollar Shave Club commercial with a gross, moldy razor that actually vomits some kind of green spew. It included realistic throwing up noises.

I like Star Wars well enough, but there are too many damned commercials and too many damn products with Star Wars slapped on them. What's next? R2D2 tampons: May the Force be inside you? Enough already.

But how cool would it be if it were a teeny light saber with a string on the end?

[Watcher0363]

But how cool would it be if it were a teeny light saber with a string on the end?

Yeah, for the times when the flow is with you. For the die hard Star Wars fan in every woman.

[mojoween]

Three irritating TNT things while watching Bones every day and now 24 Hours of A Christmas Story:

Is the theme music for The Librarians supposed to sound like Inspector Gadget? Because every time I see an ad, I start humming the Gadget theme for the next three hours.

I didn't watch enough The Daily Show to understand the dichotomy between Jon and his correspondents, but what I did see I wasn't much of a fan of, so perhaps my interest in the Rachel (or Samantha, whatever her first name is) Bee show is colored but that, but the commercials for it are so annoying I can't imagine what is going to make people tune in. The only part I like is the use of James Earl Jones.

The first ads for Angie Tribeca were so surreal and the music for it made me want to punch a puppy that I couldn't figure out what the hell the show was about. But now, it seems it's supposed to be a comedy? Regardless of how many ads and whatever tone they are trying to set, it's not making the show look interesting.

[Rick Kitchen]

Talk about wanting to spew ...

 

[Brattinella]

Not clicking on that, nope, nope.

[CarpeDiem54]

Me either!