Commercials That Annoy, Irritate or Outright Enrage

[Bastet]

20 hours ago, QuinnInND said:

The ad for Farxiga or however it's spelled, with the lady in the red dress taking dancing lessons and then going to eat afterwards. The way she holds her knife when she's cutting her food makes me crazy. Who does that? Wrong way to hold it. 

I had to go find this commercial, because I thought, "How do you hold a knife wrong?"  That is, indeed, a little odd.

And what is she cutting, anyway - she's eating a salad, and I don't see any big slices of meat on top of it; it looks like one where everything is already sliced/diced/shredded and ready to bite.

[jcbrown]

First time in this thread. I was driven here by Rachel Dratch and the incredibly awful Ruby Tuesday commercials. What brilliant ad exec said, "I know--let's get someone with an incredibly annoying voice to play three versions of an incredibly annoying character! Genius!"

[LoneHaranguer]

27 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I had to go find this commercial, because I thought, "How do you hold a knife wrong?"  That is, indeed, a little odd.

And what is she cutting, anyway - she's eating a salad, and I don't see any big slices of meat on top of it; it looks like one where everything is already sliced/diced/shredded and ready to bite.

 

37 minutes ago, Bastet said:

And what is she cutting, anyway - she's eating a salad, and I don't see any big slices of meat on top of it; it looks like one where everything is already sliced/diced/shredded and ready to bite.

It looks like a cherry tomato. Those can squirt if you just stab them with a fork.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I had to go find this commercial, because I thought, "How do you hold a knife wrong?"  That is, indeed, a little odd.

Well, she's mimicking "using utensils." So yeah . . . not actually cutting anything or eating anything, just going through the motions. She's got her knife pointed almost straight downward - who the hell cuts things with the very tip of a knife?

[frenchtoast]

5 hours ago, Bastet said:

I had to go find this commercial, because I thought, "How do you hold a knife wrong?"  That is, indeed, a little odd.

And what is she cutting, anyway - she's eating a salad, and I don't see any big slices of meat on top of it; it looks like one where everything is already sliced/diced/shredded and ready to bite.

I had to watch to see what it was. And all I could think of were the different ways to hold a crochet hook--the knife style or the pencil style. She looks like she's using the pencil hold. I use the knife hold to crochet. And when I use a knife, too

[janie jones]

5 hours ago, LoneHaranguer said:

 

It looks like a cherry tomato. Those can squirt if you just stab them with a fork.

But don't you have to stab it with a fork in order to slice it?  (Assuming you aren't holding it with your other hand, since it's in a salad.)

[Brookside]

On 8/4/2018 at 5:18 PM, BradandJanet said:

Yep. British English is perceived as being more educated and sophisticated than American English of any type. Also, most Americans can't distinguish between British and Australian accents. The Geico gecko started out as British and then mysteriously jumped continents. 

It still has a British accent where I get them, though I don't hear much of it because I despise the ads, and particularly the gecko.

I despise The General character just as much.

[Brookside]

Jack in the Box - the guy with the massive polystyrene head completely freaks me out.

They also now have a revolting new one for "Jack's bowls" with extremely unfunny, misogynistic potty humour that is hard to take in the wake of MeToo.

[NinjaPenguins]

Well, the Nationwide commercial featuring the warbling of Tori Kelly and a kid clomping around in giant shoes is back in heavy rotation. Even the melody is fucking annoying. I don’t want Nationwide on my side if this is the kind of shit they approvingly inflict on society. I’d take Peyton Manning back at this point. Hell, give me Eli Manning; I’m just that desperate.

The Jeep commercial where the guy surprises his lady love with... One Republic concert tickets. I don’t have any real feelings about One Republic, but this commercial rubs me the wrong way in a manner that’s hard to describe. It all seems very contrived, very safe, vanilla and bland, and there’s an air of douche about it. Not Chevy level douche, but still.

ESPN Fantasy Football selected the very type of dude I’d never want to share a league with to center their commercial around. He even appears to be making a nasty O face during the ad. Well played, ESPN, convincing me not to waste time this fall and winter on fantasy football.

[LoneHaranguer]

14 hours ago, janie jones said:

But don't you have to stab it with a fork in order to slice it?  (Assuming you aren't holding it with your other hand, since it's in a salad.)

To finish the job, yes, but not to cut the skin enough to "disarm" it. The woman in the ad is pushing her knife towards the rest of the salad, so the tomato is blocked from getting away.

[Silver Raven]

8 hours ago, Brookside said:

Jack in the Box - the guy with the massive polystyrene head completely freaks me out.

They also now have a revolting new one for "Jack's bowls" with extremely unfunny, misogynistic potty humour that is hard to take in the wake of MeToo.

How is it at all misogynistic?  I WAS just coming here to post that Ad Week is mentioning that the ads are tone deaf in the ear of the #MeToo movement, but it's aimed at men, not women.

 

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/dTto/jack-in-the-box-teriyaki-bowls-try-my-bowls

[Brookside]

16 minutes ago, Silver Raven said:

How is it at all misogynistic?  I WAS just coming here to post that Ad Week is mentioning that the ads are tone deaf in the ear of the #MeToo movement, but it's aimed at men, not women.

 

I suppose I see it as misogynistic in that I find it degrading and belittling towards women, who are portrayed as all too eager to praise Jack's balls.  I may be overthinking.

I assume this is the Ad Week article?  Did you click on the Aussie ad link embedded within the article?  IMHO it's hilarious but perhaps too "explicit" for much of the US, hence cheap innuendo like the Jack in the Box commercials.

 https://www.adweek.com/agencies/jack-in-the-box-just-launched-one-of-the-most-tone-deaf-ads-of-the-metoo-era/

Edited August 7, 2018 by Brookside
To add link.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Jack in the Box - the guy with the massive polystyrene head completely freaks me out.

Burger King did essentially the same thing. Why do either of these chains think using some creepy mascot with a fake head is a good idea? It's far more likely to chase potential customers away after the nightmares they'll give you. It's like using Pennywise as your mascot. WTF.

Cologard, for those who've been fortunate enough to evade ads for this product, is the company that will send you a box to poop in so you can mail it to a lab and have someone test it for colon cancer. The ads themselves serve to remind us all that our jobs aren't so bad after all.

[NinjaPenguins]

I dunno. Aren’t those of us here who break down and critique commercials the real poop analysts? I know I get the unsettling feeling that a stool sample is nearby when Chevy douche ambles across my TV screen.

[bilgistic]

At this point in my life/"career" (ha ha no) I'd rather analyze poop smeared on cards than deal with people.

Edited August 7, 2018 by bilgistic

[chessiegal]

I started out my career as a med tech in a hospital lab. You quickly get over dealing with all things coming out of the body or that's not a career for you. I spent 26 years working in a forensic lab - still having to deal with less than pleasant samples. You deal.

[Kimmmmmm]

On August 5, 2018 at 1:38 PM, Neurochick said:

I don't think AI ever got it right, including season 1, but that's my opinion.

And mine!

[Zevious Zoquis]

i see it was mentioned a page back, but holy hell the Ozempic commercial is bad!  are all these drugs made by the same company and the ads by the same ad agency?  they all have such a similar (weird) look and feel - people wandering around playing with butterflies and attending various neighbourly gatherings and other such bullshit.  "oh oh oh ozempic!" (to the tune of Magic by Pilot.) ugh...

 

lol...do not use Ozempic, if you are allergic.  to Ozempic.  

 

 

solid advice.

Edited August 8, 2018 by Zevious Zoquis

[Brookside]

2 hours ago, Zevious Zoquis said:

 

lol...do not use Ozempic, if you are allergic.  to Ozempic.  

 

 

solid advice.

Tell your doctor if you're allergic to Ozempic.

May cause death.

[mmecorday]

ANNOUNCER: Report allergic reactions to your doctor.

Doctor: What seems to be the problem?

Patient: I'm allergic to you.

[Ubiquitous]

On ‎8‎/‎7‎/‎2018 at 4:48 AM, Brookside said:

Jack in the Box - the guy with the massive polystyrene head completely freaks me out.

They also now have a revolting new one for "Jack's bowls" with extremely unfunny, misogynistic potty humour that is hard to take in the wake of MeToo.

I have no issue with Jack's head. It's The King (from the 1990's) the creeped me out.

I read an article about the allegedly offensive "Jack's bowls" ad and watched it. I felt ambivalent about it but thought they were trying too hard.

[WarnerCL45]

Really sick of being bombarded with Wayfair commercials!  They are reaching the point of torture, now.

On 2018-08-03 at 10:51 PM, MaryPatShelby said:

I never understand these celebrities with their horrific plastic surgery (Meg Ryan, Reba McIntyre, Joan Van Ark, John Travolta, etc).  They have all the money in the world, figuratively speaking, yet they can't find a competent plastic surgeon?  How does that happen?

Debbie Reynolds had good plastic surgery, but Carrie Fisher’s was horrendous!  Did Debbie not share the name?

Edited August 8, 2018 by WarnerCL45

[Silver Raven]

Wow.  Bribe your kids to eat their dinners.  Great parenting.

[Mrs. Hanson]

1 hour ago, Silver Raven said:

Wow.  Bribe your kids to eat their dinners.  Great parenting.

 

I just saw this and I thought it was a joke.  Give three french fries per serving of "healthy" food?  Just.....no.  I was never a food "briber" so maybe I am not in their demographic.

[peacheslatour]

OMG the boob one! Have you seen this one? This woman is literally juggling her boobs. I don't even know what it is for because we were all laughing so hard we couldn't hear it. It might have been for bras. Seriously "boobs, how do they work?"

[mojoween]

On 8/3/2018 at 11:24 PM, Brookside said:

The Echo ad where the worthless father has to be told every little thing about how to parent his baby, like where the teething ring is.  Oh, and being told he's doing a great job.

I feel like dad is not worthless, but mom thinks he is.

At the end when Alexa butts in to tell him he’s doing a great job it looks like he’s pissed “like seriously I don’t need any more instructions god.”

[TattleTeeny]

Pharma ad copy that is geared for patients/consumers (as opposed to healthcare providers or insurers) has to be written at a fifth-grade (I think) reading/comprehension level, which may be part of why the commercials seem to state the obvious, in addition to wording things rather strangely and repetitively. There's a scale that's used to determine how many syllables per word, words per sentence, sentences per para, etc., etc. At work, I often find myself starting to over-edit juvenile-sounding sentences before remembering I am not really supposed to refine patient-facing stuff.
 

Quote

 

ANNOUNCER: Report allergic reactions to your doctor.

Doctor: What seems to be the problem?

Patient: I'm allergic to you.

 

Hahaha, like the since-updated one--for I want to say TB--that said, "Ask your doctor to take a [TB] test." All I could think was why would a doctor give him/herself a test because I said so?

Edited August 8, 2018 by TattleTeeny

[Brookside]

6 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

Wow.  Bribe your kids to eat their dinners.  Great parenting.

This is truly horrifying.  Laurie and Fry couldn't have come up with anything better.

[TattleTeeny]

Yeah, dinner is a (hopefully) every day occurrence; parents need to conserve the bribes for more momentous occasions!

[jcbrown]

The one that enrages me is a commercial that starts, "one year ago today, Mom started losing her words." It is a commercial for in-home care for people with early-stage dementia. I lost one parent to dementia and am in the process of losing a second one to it. You. do. not. mark time that way. I can look back and see, in retrospect, indicators of things that presaged the diagnoses, but knowing TO THE DAY when one of my parents started the decline into this terrible disease? Bite me, ad copywriters.

Edited August 9, 2018 by jcbrown

[Silver Raven]

8 minutes ago, jcbrown said:

The one that enrages me is a commercial that starts, "one year ago today, Mom started losing her words." It is a commercial for in-home care for people with early-stage dementia. I lost one parent to dementia and am in the process of losing a second one to it. You. do. not mark time that way. I can look back and see, in retrospect, markers of things that presaged the diagnoses, but knowing TO THE DAY when one of my parents started the decline into this terrible disease? Bite me, ad copywriters.

The part of that ad that I hate the most is the Dad making the kids pledge not to put their mother into a care home.

[jcbrown]

Just now, Silver Raven said:

The part of that ad that I hate the most is the Dad making the kids pledge not to put their mother into a care home.

Oh yes! I forgot that part. I am generally so busy growling at the TV when that ad comes on that I did not remember all of it. That's a dick move, to make your kids promise to "keep mom at home." I understand the desire but the reality is far different.

[mousegirl]

No one here has mentioned a commercial that makes me incredibly angry - maybe I'm just crazy?

It's the Aleve or Advil commercial (hell, I can't tell one pain reliever from another - I can't take any of them without becoming a complete zombie) with the "What Pain?" theme, showing a bunch of people throwing themselves around in ridiculous ways - hurling themselves off cliffs into the ocean, twisting their legs into pretzels, slamming down a hill on a mountain bike, etc - with the theme that even if your knee or back or shoulder or pinky on your left hand hurts, all you need to do is take a couple of pills and you can do all this with NO CONSEQUENCES TO YOUR BODY.

Yes, the most intelligent thing we can do is take drugs to mask pain and then indulge in some kind of extreme sports activity that will most likely create more injury and pain -but we won't know until later when the pain drug wears off, and anyway, who cares because - we can go ahead and just TAKE MORE DRUGS.

AARRGGHH!!

[Zevious Zoquis]

yeah the ads for back pain are the same way.  people who are really suffering from chronic lower back pain should absolutely take meds to dull the pain so they can run around and play with their grandchildren!  I mean it isn't like that darn annoying pain signifies the fact that there's damage in those soft little discs between the bones of your spine or anything so sure, mask the pain and go out and twist and bend and bounce on them discs to your heart's content!  it won't harm you in any way!

[mmecorday]

Quote

The one that enrages me is a commercial that starts, "one year ago today, Mom started losing her words." It is a commercial for in-home care for people with early-stage dementia. I lost one parent to dementia and am in the process of losing a second one to it. You. do. not. mark time that way. I can look back and see, in retrospect, indicators of things that presaged the diagnoses, but knowing TO THE DAY when one of my parents started the decline into this terrible disease? Bite me, ad copywriters.

That is an infuriating commercial! I had no choice but to put my mother in a nursing home and this ad makes me feel guilty for having to do that every time I see it. Screw you, Bright Star!

[proserpina65]

18 hours ago, TattleTeeny said:

Pharma ad copy that is geared for patients/consumers (as opposed to healthcare providers or insurers) has to be written at a fifth-grade (I think) reading/comprehension level, which may be part of why the commercials seem to state the obvious, in addition to wording things rather strangely and repetitively. There's a scale that's used to determine how many syllables per word, words per sentence, sentences per para, etc., etc. At work, I often find myself starting to over-edit juvenile-sounding sentences before remembering I am not really supposed to refine patient-facing stuff.
 

Hahaha, like the since-updated one--for I want to say TB--that said, "Ask your doctor to take a [TB] test." All I could think was why would a doctor give him/herself a test because I said so?

Reminds me of the bottle of generic acetaminophen I recently bought.  "Warning: contains acetaminophen!"  I sure as hell hope so, lol.

[configdotsys]

On 8/7/2018 at 9:37 AM, NinjaPenguins said:

The Jeep commercial where the guy surprises his lady love with... One Republic concert tickets. I don’t have any real feelings about One Republic, but this commercial rubs me the wrong way in a manner that’s hard to describe. It all seems very contrived, very safe, vanilla and bland, and there’s an air of douche about it. Not Chevy level douche, but still.

I hate that commercial. There is definitely an air of douche. A big one.  Like look what a cool boyfriend this gal has that not only gets concert tickets because she had a hard day at work but VIP tickets that have them practically standing on the stage during the concert. Yeah, that's realistic. 

I will never buy anything from Wayfair because their commercials are indeed torture.

[HighMaintenance]

On 8/7/2018 at 9:37 AM, NinjaPenguins said:

The Jeep commercial where the guy surprises his lady love with... One Republic concert tickets. I don’t have any real feelings about One Republic, but this commercial rubs me the wrong way in a manner that’s hard to describe. It all seems very contrived, very safe, vanilla and bland, and there’s an air of douche about it. Not Chevy level douche, but still.

I wager that One Republic is this decade's Nickleback.

[Ubiquitous]

Is that the band that covered several songs from Bob's Burgers?

[Ilovecomputers]

On ‎8‎/‎7‎/‎2018 at 2:15 PM, iMonrey said:

Cologard, for those who've been fortunate enough to evade ads for this product, is the company that will send you a box to poop in so you can mail it to a lab and have someone test it for colon cancer. The ads themselves serve to remind us all that our jobs aren't so bad after all.

Yes, my husband and I talked about that very thing; that is, going into work every day and facing a big stack of boxes of poop to open and examine.  Then it's lunchtime!

On ‎8‎/‎8‎/‎2018 at 6:20 PM, peacheslatour said:

OMG the boob one! Have you seen this one? This woman is literally juggling her boobs. I don't even know what it is for because we were all laughing so hard we couldn't hear it. It might have been for bras. Seriously "boobs, how do they work?"

Makes me think of the Jane Russell ad we used to laugh about when we were little girls.  The 18-hour bra "lifted and separated."  I guess I am not so bosomy to have my breasts ever crowding each other unless I wear a push-up bra that "lifts and mushes together."

[Blergh]

On 8/9/2018 at 7:25 AM, Zevious Zoquis said:

yeah the ads for back pain are the same way.  people who are really suffering from chronic lower back pain should absolutely take meds to dull the pain so they can run around and play with their grandchildren!  I mean it isn't like that darn annoying pain signifies the fact that there's damage in those soft little discs between the bones of your spine or anything so sure, mask the pain and go out and twist and bend and bounce on them discs to your heart's content!  it won't harm you in any way!

I'm not holding my breath for there to be follow up commercials showing these folks in wheelchairs saying 'Yeah, I'm now crippled but it was worth having a few hours here and there to painlessly lift up the grandkids'.

[NinjaPenguins]

On 8/9/2018 at 3:42 PM, HighMaintenance said:

I wager that One Republic is this decade's Nickleback.

That is one of the cruelest burns I’ve ever seen. Well played.

Mazda has a shitty new commercial where the voiceover guy urgently, breathlessly whispers dumbass cliches. “Chase the sun.” “Spread your wings.” What? I think Icarus tried that and it didn’t work out so well. Voiceover guy’s delivery is so hilariously melodramatic that it borders on parody. 

There’s an Audi commercial set in a soulless corporate workplace where some lady decides to up and leave to start her own dream company. She struts all the way out of the building, cliched box of trinkets in hand and all the bystanders staring at her in amazement and wonder. A song called “Making time” plays and the lyrics that stand out the most are “same old song, same old song.” Yeah, that gets me revved up to buy a car. The commercial is butt ugly too; everything looks dreary and washed out. The tagline to this mess is Promote Yourself. 

[chenoa333]

The 3 P's. Fuck off and die Alex Tribeck. That commercial is the loooooongest commercial ever.

I know we've discussed this before but its gotten to the point where I'm ready to call Colonial Penn (??) insrance and get arrested for profanity over the phone. "WHAT'S MY PRICE ALEX?" It's all the same: we screw EVERYONE over for the same price! And why are seniors always portrayed as fragile, feeble minded and gullible?

[smittykins]

As someone who lost my husband at age 42(I was 38), too young to qualify for those policies, I think they can all FOAD.

[chenoa333]

Colonial Penn Vultures Insurance Company. 

[WarnerCL45]

4 hours ago, chenoa333 said:

And why are seniors always portrayed as fragile, feeble minded and gullible?

Thank you!!!   Add "silly" to "fragile, feeble minded and gullible".

Nothing to do with commercials, but, Dear Services Staff People - stop calling me hon (hun?)!

[chenoa333]

Oh holy underwear! I just saw a commercial for special underpants for men with leaky bladders. The underwear is "ruched/gathered" material like the ones that they advertise for women with leaky bladders. I would be horrified if I met a guy I liked only to find out he's wearing leaky bladder underwear. Thankfully, I've been "closed for business" for quite some time! Lol

Edited August 11, 2018 by chenoa333

[chenoa333]

3 hours ago, smittykins said:

As someone who lost my husband at age 42(I was 38), too young to qualify for those policies, I think they can all FOAD.

Sorry for your loss. What a tragedy. Hugs to you.?

[zillabreeze]

2 minutes ago, WarnerCL45 said:

Thank you!!!   Add "silly" to "fragile, feeble minded and gullible".

Nothing to do with commercials, but, Dear Services Staff People - stop calling me hon (hun?)!

Or "young lady".  Do you think I don't know that I am 50 and change???

Also,  old people commercials show a pair of reading glasses next to a cup & saucer...no we're not all Mrs. Bucket.  We don't drink out of Royal Doulton (with hand painted periwinkles) it's prob a giant smartass, stained mug or wine goblet. 

And I'm sure it's been covered, but why do you have to dance & prance while peeing in your new adult diapers?

[tanyak]

On 8/7/2018 at 9:37 AM, NinjaPenguins said:

Re ESPN’s Fantasy football commercial: I really like the song in the commercial and the commercial was fun the first few times I saw. But now I am sick.of.it. The last few years, ESPN has tended to have several fantasy commercials that are part of one larger theme. Last year it was some Cosplay thing, another year it was scenes from a draft party at someone’s house. There was for a variety and they can switch it up. I am so damn tired of this one commercial. I’ll be glad when fantasy draft period is over. 

Edited August 11, 2018 by tanyak