Commercials That Annoy, Irritate or Outright Enrage

[KLovestoShop]

I HATE the Progressive commercials with the pain in the ass geek who thinks he’s all that. The newest one is with a Progressive choir singing a pretty decent tune, but then long comes Geekboy.  Ass

Why do ad agencies think that obnoxious kids will help sell a product?  Seems like Verizon Fios thinks that PIA kids are adorable and that we will buy their stuff because webthinks these kids are cool.  NOT !!!!!!  I’ve told of this one before, but I absolutely despise the Fios commercial with the pre-teen girl who is sexualized by floating in a pool while watching what looks like an adult French film on her iPad.  They really are upping the sleaze factor on that one, if not child porn. 

[riley702]

Confession time - I don't feel in the slightest bit sorry for Progressive Jaime. He's delusional, wrong about most things, yet thinks he's all that.

[peacheslatour]

So Miss Credulous is surprised the leading prescription didn't work for her yeast infection but then her doctor told her Monstat cures the most common causes of yeast infections. Why the fuck didn't her doctor just tell her to get Monstat in the first place? My doctor has no problem recommending OTC meds for me.

[smittykins]

Speaking of Verizon FIOS, the one where the kid is babysitting and one of his charges eats the paper with the password .  I would’ve said ”Eff this” and walked home.

[Maverick]

 There's a commercial for Rapid Advance, a company that makes loans to small business.  Apparently is like payday advance but for businesses.  It's stage like a scene from an Off (Off-Off-Off) Broadway musical (we're talking Lucy Ricardo's Tuesday Afternoon Fine Arts League-level Off Broadway here).   Which isn't as bad as it sounds.  It's almost so good it's bad in a cheesetastic way.   What get me is that the business owners are stylists, bar owners, etc.  You know, professions that it's conceivable could have a rocky start up or hit a rough patch that could jeopardize a small business.   Then a woman in a lab coat is up.  She's a "doctor in private practice".  Um, if you're a doctor in this country and can't get an SBA or legitimate bank loan and have to use the business equivalent of the Kwiky Kash that sits between the Kwiky Mart and Kwiky Liquors...what's up with that?

[bref]

I'm obsessed with that cheesetastic ad! I don't know why, but it tickles the hell out of me. Especially the extremely chipper background dancers. And the guy getting handed the sacks of money with dollar signs on them at the end. It's a perfect storm of corniness. :) 

[janie jones]

16 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

So Miss Credulous is surprised the leading prescription didn't work for her yeast infection but then her doctor told her Monstat cures the most common causes of yeast infections. Why the fuck didn't her doctor just tell her to get Monstat in the first place? My doctor has no problem recommending OTC meds for me.

I haven't seen this commercial.  It is possible she's getting a second opinion?

[proserpina65]

On ‎06‎/‎08‎/‎2018 at 11:10 PM, Brattinella said:

I've always considered AAA to be a great bargain.  Need a flat changed at night on the freeway?  Pays for itself.

I just got rescued when my car broke down and my friend had her AAA card with her.  Seriously considering getting one myself since it's 24/7.

 

On ‎06‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 2:35 PM, cpcathy said:

Agreed. The kid in the background is the same kid as the kid with the mom.

No, it's a third, totally different, kid.

[LoneHaranguer]

20 hours ago, Dirtybubble said:

This is a bit older but good LAWD I hate this commercial!  Who the flip brings a bowl, spoon, cereal, and MILK on a fishing trip? 

Why does he have a bowl and full-size cereal box, rather than one of those single-serving boxes that doubles as a bowl when you open it the right way? 

[proserpina65]

18 hours ago, smittykins said:

Speaking of Verizon FIOS, the one where the kid is babysitting and one of his charges eats the paper with the password .  I would’ve said ”Eff this” and walked home.

See, I complain about the babysitter expecting to be on the internet when he's supposed to be babysitting.

[Ohwell]

20 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

See, I complain about the babysitter expecting to be on the internet when he's supposed to be babysitting.

I can't stand that Verizon FIOS kid.  There's a commercial where he's in the woman's house eating a bowl of her cereal and suggesting she needs to buy a different one, even though her son seems to be satisfied eating it.   I would have told the little twerp to go home and eat his own mother's cereal.   

[iMonrey]

Quote

Why do ad agencies think that obnoxious kids will help sell a product?

They probably figure the parents will relate because their own kids are so obnoxious. 

There's an ad for the Surface laptop with a woman who says "Growing up I didn't have anybody who looked like me." Really? Nobody? Not even your parents? Nobody in your family at all? I mean, I get what the ad is going for here . . . she's of mixed race. But everybody looks like somebody. Off the top of my head I can think of two different actresses she looks like.

[Ohwell]

20 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

There's an ad for the Surface laptop with a woman who says "Growing up I didn't have anybody who looked like me." Really? Nobody? Not even your parents? Nobody in your family at all? I mean, I get what the ad is going for here . . . she's of mixed race. But everybody looks like somebody. Off the top of my head I can think of two different actresses she looks like.

I posted about this one in the Commercials That Make Us Scratch Our Heads thread.  I couldn't figure it out either and all I could come up with was that she kind of looked biracial.  Which, if true, is commonplace enough now so that I don't see the need for a blog about it.  But then she goes on to talk about clothes and then I really don't get it.

[cpcathy]

I'm put off by the fact that she says sometimes her blog is about sprinkles. Does she mean a dog named Sprinkles or actual sprinkles, like, on a cupcake? How can you just blog about cupcake toppings?

[LoneHaranguer]

40 minutes ago, cpcathy said:

How can you just blog about cupcake toppings?

Sprinkles can go on ice cream and donuts too. And if you put them on a cake, there's enough room to draw pictures with them.

[peacheslatour]

33 minutes ago, LoneHaranguer said:

Sprinkles can go on ice cream and donuts too. And if you put them on a cake, there's enough room to draw pictures with them.

The Pioneer Woman put them on everything.

Edited June 12, 2018 by peacheslatour
capitalization is a thing

[Jaded]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

They probably figure the parents will relate because their own kids are so obnoxious. 

There's an ad for the Surface laptop with a woman who says "Growing up I didn't have anybody who looked like me." Really? Nobody? Not even your parents? Nobody in your family at all? I mean, I get what the ad is going for here . . . she's of mixed race. But everybody looks like somebody. Off the top of my head I can think of two different actresses she looks like.

At least it doesn't end with a kid asking what a computer is! That Surface commercial caught my attention because they call it a laptop and not a tablet or something else.

Maybe the woman means she never saw anyone on TV or in most magazines that looked her so she felt like someone who wasn't being represented?

[Ohwell]

17 minutes ago, Jaded said:

Maybe the woman means she never saw anyone on TV or in most magazines that looked her so she felt like someone who wasn't being represented?

Yeah but that's the point.  What does "doesn't look like her" even mean?  Biracial?  I think she's being coy by not explaining what she means.

[jennblevins]

7 hours ago, LoneHaranguer said:

Why does he have a bowl and full-size cereal box, rather than one of those single-serving boxes that doubles as a bowl when you open it the right way? 

I always assumed they lived somewhere you could fish in the backyard, but on second thought that makes even less sense, because why bring the box with you to the backyard?  Fridge logic aside, I do like that series of commercials so I’m probably more likely to suspend disbelief. 

[mmecorday]

Quote

Sprinkles can go on ice cream and donuts too. And if you put them on a cake, there's enough room to draw pictures with them.

The Pioneer Woman put them on everything.

When she's not putting jalapenos in everything.

The Denny's "5.99, are you out of your mind?" ad campaign needs to be stopped before it does any more damage to my brain. Also, I'm on meds that make me hungry all the time and I want that food. I remind myself that the last time I went to Denny's, the food was barely edible.

Speaking of breakfast food, why does IHOP now want to be known as a burger joint? I've heard that the change to IHOb is only temporary, but it seems dumb. If I go to IHOP, I want pancakes.

Dammit, now I want pancakes.

[Silver Raven]

You can put sparkles in home made slime too

[tanyak]

3 hours ago, Ohwell said:

Yeah but that's the point.  What does "doesn't look like her" even mean?  Biracial?  I think she's being coy by not explaining what she means.

So I was interested enough in this chick to look her up. And by the way, that’s my annoyance with this commercial. They never actually tell you who she is or what her blog is called. It’s Color Me Courtney, if interested.  It’s super cute. Lots of color, lots of fashion. What I have gathered from her musings on the blog is that yes, part of it is that she’s biracial. But another part of it is she’s short and curvy, although not plus size. And I do see her point. I think of lot of fashion blogs traditionally have been from rather modelesque-looking women. 

And I think her dog is named either Cupcake or Sprinkles. I can’t remember which one. 

[andromeda331]

10 hours ago, mmecorday said:

When she's not putting jalapenos in everything.

The Denny's "5.99, are you out of your mind?" ad campaign needs to be stopped before it does any more damage to my brain. Also, I'm on meds that make me hungry all the time and I want that food. I remind myself that the last time I went to Denny's, the food was barely edible.

Speaking of breakfast food, why does IHOP now want to be known as a burger joint? I've heard that the change to IHOb is only temporary, but it seems dumb. If I go to IHOP, I want pancakes.

Dammit, now I want pancakes.

The last time my family went to Denny's the food made us sick. The place looked like it hadn't been clean since the 50s and like a fight or two took place inside. The tables, chairs and walls all had dents, scratch marks and holes. It had been a couple years since we had last eaten there and couldn't believe the change.  The place closed a couple weeks afterwards.  I couldn't find a reason afterwards but assume it was the health department. Every Denny's commercial reminds me of that experience.  The food makes me queasy. 

Edited June 13, 2018 by andromeda331

[Prevailing Wind]

For an alleged "breakfast joint," Waffle House has surprisingly good cheeseburgers.  IHOP, not so much.

[Haleth]

15 hours ago, iMonrey said:

 

There's an ad for the Surface laptop with a woman who says "Growing up I didn't have anybody who looked like me." Really? Nobody? Not even your parents? Nobody in your family at all? I mean, I get what the ad is going for here . . . she's of mixed race. But everybody looks like somebody. Off the top of my head I can think of two different actresses she looks like.

I thought maybe she means nobody looked like her because of her quirky style.  Whatever.  She's adorable anyway.

[Ohwell]

10 hours ago, tanyak said:

So I was interested enough in this chick to look her up. And by the way, that’s my annoyance with this commercial. They never actually tell you who she is or what her blog is called. It’s Color Me Courtney, if interested.  It’s super cute. Lots of color, lots of fashion. What I have gathered from her musings on the blog is that yes, part of it is that she’s biracial. But another part of it is she’s short and curvy, although not plus size. And I do see her point. I think of lot of fashion blogs traditionally have been from rather modelesque-looking women. 

And I think her dog is named either Cupcake or Sprinkles. I can’t remember which one. 

Thanks for finding out about her.  I don't even think "short and curvy" is all that uncommon.  There's nothing really "unique" about her to warrant a commercial and that's why I think it's a big dud.   

[OpalNightstream]

9 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

Thanks for finding out about her.  I don't even think "short and curvy" is all that uncommon.  There's nothing really "unique" about her to warrant a commercial and that's why I think it's a big dud.   

I think it all goes back to the current obesssion for everyone to think they are special and unique and need to be "seen" for the incredible fabulous person they feel entitled to be. 

[Ohwell]

7 minutes ago, OpalNightstream said:

I think it all goes back to the current obesssion for everyone to think they are special and unique and need to be "seen" for the incredible fabulous person they feel entitled to be. 

Yup.

[Dirtybubble]

20 hours ago, LoneHaranguer said:

Why does he have a bowl and full-size cereal box, rather than one of those single-serving boxes that doubles as a bowl when you open it the right way? 

IKR?!  Why is he eating cereal in the first place?!  Eat it at home in your kitchen like a normal human being!  I'm from the south and fishing is a lifestyle down here so this commercial just bothers me on so many levels.  BEER that's all you need on a fishing trip!

[Mrs. Hanson]

On 4/26/2018 at 8:25 PM, Kimmmmmm said:

No....no, no, no, no, no!!!

I just saw this ad for the first time.  She is.....odd.

Okay - new annoying commercial:  people have FEET FOR HANDS!  It is for anti fungal ad and it is just creepy to see people shaking hands with their foot/hand.

[Brookside]

On 5/21/2018 at 12:44 PM, ivygirl said:

 

Even if Uber manages to clean up the crapstorm that is their legacy of harassment, rape, and other assorted misbehavior, I won’t believe ANYTHING until they get their drivers to actually obey the rules of the road. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been behind an Uber driver who stopped randomly in the middle of the street, suddenly turned in front of me without a signal, pulled an illegal U in a busy street, sat with a driver’s-side door open in the road, or stopped with their hazards in the middle of a busy one-lane street while they waited for a rider in the middle of the commute hour  (oh, I guess it’s ok that you’re illegally blocking traffic because you have your hazards on!)...

 

Genuinely curious as to how you know they're Uber drivers and not just the usual jerks allowed on the road with minimal experience/knowledge.

[Brookside]

On 6/1/2018 at 10:55 AM, LoneHaranguer said:

There's a web site too; you don't need the app. Maybe he can't remember the PIN. Or, it's actually her car and she's just putting up with him using it while she's gone.

Thank you for saying PIN and not PIN number!   :-)

[Ohwell]

39 minutes ago, Brookside said:

Genuinely curious as to how you know they're Uber drivers and not just the usual jerks allowed on the road with minimal experience/knowledge.

Don't all Uber drivers have to have the "U" decal on their car so that they can be identified?

[funky-rat]

42 minutes ago, Brookside said:

Genuinely curious as to how you know they're Uber drivers and not just the usual jerks allowed on the road with minimal experience/knowledge.

They have to have a "sign" on their windshield - it has a "U" on it.  All rideshares have some form of ID on the car.

[ivygirl]

46 minutes ago, Brookside said:

Genuinely curious as to how you know they're Uber drivers and not just the usual jerks allowed on the road with minimal experience/knowledge.

 

6 minutes ago, funky-rat said:

They have to have a "sign" on their windshield - it has a "U" on it.  All rideshares have some form of ID on the car.

Yep. Uber stickers in the window. 

[proserpina65]

18 hours ago, mmecorday said:

If I go to IHOP, I want pancakes

I usually get their French toast, but still, always breakfast.

 

16 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

The last time my family went to Denny's the food made us sick. The place looked like it hadn't been clean since the 50s and like a fight or two took place inside. The tables, chairs and walls all had dents, scratch marks and holes. It had been a couple years since we had last eaten there and couldn't believe the change.  The place closed a couple weeks afterwards.  I couldn't find a reason afterwards but assume it was the health department. Every Denny's commercial reminds me of that experience.  The food makes me queasy. 

I guess I'm fortunate in that my local Denny's has good food and is clean and safe.  But that commercial is annoying.

[TattleTeeny]

I just started thinking about the opposite in terms of Uber safety. Like, the drivers can be background checked (or at least Uber can claim they have been) but the unvetted passenger could be a crazy maniac! 

My workday has been really slow.

[Ohwell]

7 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

I just started thinking about the opposite in terms of Uber safety. Like, the drivers can be background checked (or at least Uber can claim they have been) but the unvetted passenger could be a crazy maniac! 

And the taxi drivers would say to the Uber drivers "Welcome to my world.  I've been dealing with crazy passengers for years!"

I'm old school, so if I needed a ride I'd call a taxi. 

[peacheslatour]

44 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

I usually get their French toast, but still, always breakfast.

 

I guess I'm fortunate in that my local Denny's has good food and is clean and safe.  But that commercial is annoying.

I haven't been to a Denny's since high school (free coffee refills, yay) but judging from their ads their breakfasts look more like dessert than breakfast to me.

[LoneHaranguer]

8 hours ago, Dirtybubble said:

IKR?!  Why is he eating cereal in the first place?!  Eat it at home in your kitchen like a normal human being!  I'm from the south and fishing is a lifestyle down here so this commercial just bothers me on so many levels.  BEER that's all you need on a fishing trip!

That brings up another point. If he's going to eat cereal while doing something outdoorsy, shouldn't he be putting beer on it rather than milk? If his daughter's going to be having some too, it can be non-alcoholic.

[Brookside]

Anything from Geiko with that godawful gecko, plus the current one where the neighbour jerk sticks his head through the hedge.

[Zevious Zoquis]

So lately every time I watch TV I’m treated to an ad for a company called EasyFinancial.  It tells the sad tale of a young family suffocating under the burden of their debt load.  We see mom and dad trying to go about their business but there’s stress on their faces and the family fridge door is papered by bills with ”past due” stamps on them.  Mom is up late at night worrying!  But then...while web browsing for any possible solution, she happens upon the EasyFinancial web page and there’s a big banner there announcing the availability of “$25,000 loans!” Hurrah!  Mom heads over to get her 25 grand and voila!  Like magic all their troubles are behind them.  Now, the fridge door is covered with nothing but happy family pictures!  Life is great...

 

 

 

...until 2 years later when mom is scouring the web for some place that will loan her 50 grand so they can pay off the previous loan plus all the debt they’ve accrued since getting it!  Such a bullshit ad.

[Eliot]

On 6/12/2018 at 5:07 PM, LoneHaranguer said:

Sprinkles can go on ice cream and donuts too. And if you put them on a cake, there's enough room to draw pictures with them.

There's four blogs right there!

[peacheslatour]

3 hours ago, Brookside said:

Anything from Geiko with that godawful gecko, plus the current one where the neighbour jerk sticks his head through the hedge.

Is that the one where the guy's wife has the gigantic watering can and shrieks "Yeah!!!!" at the end? Hate it.

[proserpina65]

18 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

I haven't been to a Denny's since high school (free coffee refills, yay) but judging from their ads their breakfasts look more like dessert than breakfast to me.

You can still get basic breakfasts which are breakfasty, but those ones in the commercials definitely read like dessert.

[Ohwell]

Those IHOP (before the IHOB) commercials make me sick to my stomach just looking at all the dessert toppings they put on the pancakes.  I guess it's supposed to appeal to kids, because no way would I eat that crap.  

[iMonrey]

Quote

So I was interested enough in this chick to look her up. And by the way, that’s my annoyance with this commercial. They never actually tell you who she is or what her blog is called. It’s Color Me Courtney, if interested.  It’s super cute. Lots of color, lots of fashion. What I have gathered from her musings on the blog is that yes, part of it is that she’s biracial. But another part of it is she’s short and curvy, although not plus size. And I do see her point. I think of lot of fashion blogs traditionally have been from rather modelesque-looking women. 

I shouldn't belabor the point because she seems like a nice lady with a positive message. But she's all of 28 years old. It's not as if she grew up in the 1950s.

The McDonalds commercial hawking their new "fresh beef" quarter pounders actually enticed me into trying one. They taste exactly the same as before. Also in fast food news: the commercials for Arby's two roast beef and cheddar and bacon sandwiches for $6 is also quite misleading. They look nothing like they do in the ad, piled high with about three inches of sliced roast beef. In fact they're so smushed flat you wouldn't even think anything was between the buns at all without opening them and looking.

[LoneHaranguer]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Also in fast food news: the commercials for Arby's two roast beef and cheddar and bacon sandwiches for $6 is also quite misleading. They look nothing like they do in the ad, piled high with about three inches of sliced roast beef. In fact they're so smushed flat you wouldn't even think anything was between the buns at all without opening them and looking.

That sounds even worse than when they were selling bacon-less versions at 5 for $5. The only really honest fast-food pictures I've seen are the window posters at Little Caesars comparing their $5 pepperoni with the new $6 version. The $5 has almost nothing on it, and the $6 has what the $5 used to have, which is nothing like what's in their TV and other store advertising for the new one.

[Brattinella]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

They look nothing like they do in the ad, piled high with about three inches of sliced roast beef. In fact they're so smushed flat you wouldn't even think anything was between the buns at all without opening them and looking.

This is why we love Whataburger.  The food shown in their commercials is EXACTLY what you get!

[Tunia]

On ‎6‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 5:07 PM, LoneHaranguer said:

Sprinkles can go on ice cream and donuts too. And if you put them on a cake, there's enough room to draw pictures with them.

"Sprinkles are for winners."