Commercials That Annoy, Irritate or Outright Enrage

[Prevailing Wind]

I used to know a guy who, when someone put on a lot of weight, referred to them as having visited Pie Island.  Count me in!

[funky-rat]

16 hours ago, TattleTeeny said:

I sort of want a reality show about the neighborhood in which Sheila's she-shed is burned down. Because what in the hell kind of people live there if a victim of arson (she suspects) is so calm on the phone and says "finally"?

Yeah, I wondered about that too.  It got hit by lightning, but still.....

6 hours ago, kariyaki said:

It’s not just Geico. Progressive, Liberty Mutual, The General... I have never seen so many insurance commercials as I do in this current era. I almost think they’re all in competition with each other for who’s ad agency can be the most creative.

I have Erie, and I don't know that I've ever seen a commercial of theirs on TV, so maybe that's one reason they have good rates for good coverage.  They're a great company to deal with as well.

[ams1001]

Just gonna leave this here...

[janie jones]

8 hours ago, Tom Holmberg said:

According to Merriam Webster, and they should know: "...the definition [of "desert island"] is simply "an island where no people live," so the desert in desert island is actually an archaic form of deserted: it refers to an island that is uninhabited, not one that is covered with sand (with the obligatory palm tree)."

Though I too wouldn't mind being stranded on a dessert island.

I was just about to say this, and I have a link if anyone is interested.  It's an example of an archaic word being preserved in an idiom (like "beck" in "beck and call"); it's just confusing because it still exists with another meaning.

Regarding the commercial, is the guy intentionally making a play on words?

[friendperidot]

I know we all hate Peloton here, but the commercial featuring the live instructor, "all my first time Peloton riders here..." I want to do her bodily harm. I would not be inspired by someone screaming encouragement and stupidity at me. I am not a candidate for spinning classes, aerobic classes or a freaking Peloton or Pelotan or Pelotin or however it's spelled, I can't even bother to look them up, I don't want their spam ads. But this one has been particularly aggravating to me lately.

[Gramto6]

My daughter has a pelaton, I was visiting last month and watched her exercise. All that yelling "encouragement" would make me crazy and I'd never get back on it again.

[theatremouse]

Ancestry.com lady:

If you had no idea what your grandfather did in Guatemala, then no, that is not where you got your passion for social justice. You just said you had no idea. Passion for social justice is not genetic.

[chessiegal]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Digiorno pan pizza commercial. "Pan, pan, pan, pan!" I realize pan pizza has a thick crust, but that "pizza" they show looks disgusting.

[mmecorday]

And that pan "pizza" is expensive for a frozen supermarket pizza. I'd rather buy a Red Baron and earn my wings.
 

[Milburn Stone]

On 7/12/2019 at 6:29 AM, kariyaki said:

It’s not just Geico. Progressive, Liberty Mutual, The General... I have never seen so many insurance commercials as I do in this current era. I almost think they’re all in competition with each other for who’s ad agency can be the most creative.

If that's so, Liberty is the clear loser. All they do is copy the successful devices of other insurance companies. They're the complete opposite of creative.

[SoMuchTV]

24 minutes ago, Milburn Stone said:

If that's so, Liberty is the clear loser. All they do is copy the successful devices of other insurance companies. They're the complete opposite of creative.

A couple Halloweens ago, we had a pair of trick-or-treaters dressed as Flo and Jake from State Farm (although this is the wrong thread for that, since they didn't annoy or irritate us at all!)

So this year, should we expect a LiMu, and a ...?  Gecko maybe?

[Tom Holmberg]

3 hours ago, mmecorday said:

And that pan "pizza" is expensive for a frozen supermarket pizza. I'd rather buy a Red Baron and earn my wings.

My current favorite is the Detroit-style pizza from the chain Jet's.

[Tom Holmberg]

1 hour ago, SoMuchTV said:

So this year, should we expect a LiMu, and a ...?  Gecko maybe?

They have an emu, but maybe a talking horse to compete with the camel.

[SoMuchTV]

21 minutes ago, Tom Holmberg said:

They have an emu, but maybe a talking horse to compete with the camel.

All those are a lot harder costumes to put together than a red polo/khakis, or an apron 🙂

[Prevailing Wind]

I think Mr. Holberg missed the part about "trick-or-treaters"...  😉

[Tom Holmberg]

15 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I think Mr. Holmberg missed the part about "trick-or-treaters"... 

Indeed! (To quote another insurance ad.) But a talking horse is an almost clichéd costume, usually the back-end does the talking (or complaining).

[LoneHaranguer]

On 7/13/2019 at 11:31 PM, Gramto6 said:

My daughter has a pelaton, I was visiting last month and watched her exercise. All that yelling "encouragement" would make me crazy and I'd never get back on it again.

I noticed in one of the ads that the guy in the video is yelling "Let's go, Pelaton", so the bike is essentially yelling encouragement to itself. Maybe it's something that a user can get used to since it's not yelling at them?

[Prevailing Wind]

22 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I think Mr. Holberg missed the part about "trick-or-treaters"...  😉

Sorry I left out the m in Holmberg. It ain't easy using a laptop when there's also a cat in your lap.

[Tom Holmberg]

4 hours ago, LoneHaranguer said:

Maybe it's something that a user can get used to since it's not yelling at them?

As I've said before, my family yells at me for free.

[peacheslatour]

NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!11!!! I can't reach for the remote fast enough.

[Brattinella]

9 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!11!!! I can't reach for the remote fast enough.

For what?

[friendperidot]

car repair or funerals I think. There's one on the old people channels for some car repair insurance scam where this woman screeches "NINE HUNDRED DOLLARS!" Obviously, these people don't get out much on the poor side of town.

The slingers need to go away. I'm so sick of their innuendo. Or as I read in a psych note several years ago and this remains my favorite error in psych notes, started me collecting them, "sexual in yer window."

[peacheslatour]

20 minutes ago, Brattinella said:

For what?

To throw it through the TV.

[margol29]

There is a new car commercial making the rounds. I think it is for Kia. There is a very pretty saleswoman (I think she is related to Toyota Jan) dressed in red and white. She walks up to a middle aged couple looking at one of the cars. The husband says something nice about the car. The saleswoman says that he has great taste. The doofus wife yells out "HE'S TAKEN!"

I'm sure that the pretty saleswoman is NOT interested in your middle-aged, pudgy husband who is probably 15 years older than her.

[LoneHaranguer]

34 minutes ago, margol29 said:

I'm sure that the pretty saleswoman is NOT interested in your middle-aged, pudgy husband who is probably 15 years older than her.

And isn't wealthy, or he wouldn't be looking at Kias.

[Pepper the Cat]

So there’s an ad for one of the banks here in Canada, CIBC, for their new mobile ap. Showing some woman with wireless headphones, so singing away, paying for all her stuff by just tapping her phone. Look! She doesn’t even have to off her headphones and interact with the people helping her. The rudeness of this just makes me see red every time I see this ad.

[Ms Lark]

On 7/11/2019 at 9:30 PM, TattleTeeny said:

I sort of want a reality show about the neighborhood in which Sheila's she-shed is burned down. Because what in the hell kind of people live there if a victim of arson (she suspects) is so calm on the phone and says "finally"?

You know dang well her husband burned down the blinkin' she shed!

The new Progressive ads make me crazy. Grown-ass man dressed like a child acting like a brat. Not content to leave it at banging airplane tables, now they've got more. Gaw. It's got to be drugs.

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, Pepper the Cat said:

So there’s an ad for one of the banks here in Canada, CIBC, for their new mobile ap. Showing some woman with wireless headphones, so singing away, paying for all her stuff by just tapping her phone. Look! She doesn’t even have to off her headphones and interact with the people helping her. The rudeness of this just makes me see red every time I see this ad.

I mean, I get it. I do as much as I can online or over the phone but when I'm out in the real world, I smile at people, make eye contact and pass the time of day.  And you're right it is rude. Corporations would love nothing better than to get rid of human staff altogether. I really feel for retail people. I used to be one of them and it's the nature of the beast. 

[Pepper the Cat]

36 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

I mean, I get it. I do as much as I can online or over the phone but when I'm out in the real world, I smile at people, make eye contact and pass the time of day.  And you're right it is rude. Corporations would love nothing better than to get rid of human staff altogether. I really feel for retail people. I used to be one of them and it's the nature of the beast. 

Oh, for sure. I am an introvert but still manage to those serving me. They should have just showed her using self checkouts!

[funky-rat]

Two are under my skin lately:

1) A commercial for Pebbles cereal that airs incessantly on a few channels for kids (I like cartoons).  It has some blaring music with a kid yelling in a microphone that they're too close to (so they sound fuzzy and distorted): "YABBA DABBA DABBA DO, MAN!  Yabba Dabba Dabba Do.  YABBA DABBA DABBA DO MAN!!! YABBA....DABBA.....DOOOOOOOOOO".  The visual are quick jumps between video clips that have stuff like "Yabba Dabba Spin",  "Yabba Dabba Jump", and similar.  The visual would be someone jumping, using a Hula Hoop, etc.  It's like nails on a chalk board to me. (I can't do a link - almost everything under the sun is blocked now at work - I hope this site doesn't follow suit)

2)  A commercial for some magical wishicorn thing (also seen on the same channels where I catch my toons).  The stuffed animal is cute, and I think it would be a nice gift for a younger kid.  It's the song in the commercial that gets me (much like the Pebbles commercial).  The person way overanunciates the word "Wish" and it ends up sounding like someone doing a sound effect "WHOOSH".  And the words are dumb.  I can't even hear half of them because the voice over goes over top of the song, but you hear "Wish me, wish me, wish upon a glow".  I know they say that because the horn on the unicorn glows, but "Wish upon a glow" sounds so stupid.

[Popples]

58 minutes ago, funky-rat said:

1) A commercial for Pebbles cereal that airs incessantly on a few channels for kids (I like cartoons).  It has some blaring music with a kid yelling in a microphone that they're too close to (so they sound fuzzy and distorted): "YABBA DABBA DABBA DO, MAN!  Yabba Dabba Dabba Do.  YABBA DABBA DABBA DO MAN!!! YABBA....DABBA.....DOOOOOOOOOO".  The visual are quick jumps between video clips that have stuff like "Yabba Dabba Spin",  "Yabba Dabba Jump", and similar.  The visual would be someone jumping, using a Hula Hoop, etc.  It's like nails on a chalk board to me. (I can't do a link - almost everything under the sun is blocked now at work - I hope this site doesn't follow suit)

Every time I see that commercial, I wonder if the kids in it even know who or what The Flintstones are.

[LoneHaranguer]

46 minutes ago, Popples said:

Every time I see that commercial, I wonder if the kids in it even know who or what The Flintstones are.

They might if they've watched cartoons on the net.

[funky-rat]

1 hour ago, Popples said:

Every time I see that commercial, I wonder if the kids in it even know who or what The Flintstones are.

I believe Boomerang still airs it. Whether they watch it or not is anyone's guess.  They could know who they are just by way of the cereal.

[Popples]

I always forget about the Boomerang network because my cable company doesn't carry it, in my area at least.

[funky-rat]

25 minutes ago, Popples said:

I always forget about the Boomerang network because my cable company doesn't carry it, in my area at least.

You can stream it, but only some of the content is free.

[margol29]

[cpcathy]

I would take that she-shed in a heartbeat.

[Was-MArsenault]

I can name a whole bunch of these that annoy me, but I'll only list some of them:

- Liberty Mutual

- My Pillow

- The Takl commercial with Kathie Lee Gifford

- The Joe Namath commercial for that Medicare Coverage Helpline 

[Browncoat]

2 hours ago, margol29 said:

That is definitely a chi-chier she-shed.

[Moose135]

On 7/14/2019 at 3:30 PM, Tom Holmberg said:

maybe a talking horse

Wilbur!!!

[GaT]

This woman's vocal fry assures that I will never buy this product, her voice is like nails on a blackboard to me.

https://ispot.tv/a/IWmx

[funky-rat]

14 hours ago, Browncoat said:

That is definitely a chi-chier she-shed.

A friend said that wasn't a "she shed" but a "Wo-Mansion".  I like that much better than "She Shed".  My distaste for that term endures.

[catlover79]

On 7/14/2019 at 10:16 AM, chessiegal said:

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Digiorno pan pizza commercial. "Pan, pan, pan, pan!" I realize pan pizza has a thick crust, but that "pizza" they show looks disgusting.

Thanks, now it's stuck in my head!!

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, GaT said:

This woman's vocal fry assures that I will never buy this product, her voice is like nails on a blackboard to me.

https://ispot.tv/a/IWmx

Admittedly, my hearing is not what it used to be, but I listened to the linked ad twice and didn't hear vocal fry. Are you sure that's the correct link, @GaT?
ETA: There is nothing in that commercial that would make me trust the product.

I found this great (IMO) short video on vocal fry from 2015:
https://youtu.be/s_LmC-ynqGM

Edited July 18, 2019 by shapeshifter

[Was-MArsenault]

On 7/14/2019 at 10:16 AM, chessiegal said:

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Digiorno pan pizza commercial. "Pan, pan, pan, pan!" I realize pan pizza has a thick crust, but that "pizza" they show looks disgusting.

Another commercial I can't stand.

[cynicat]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Admittedly, my hearing is not what it used to be, but I listened to the linked ad twice and didn't hear vocal fry. Are you sure that's the correct link, @GaT?
ETA: There is nothing in that commercial that would make me trust the product.

I found this great (IMO) short video on vocal fry from 2015:
https://youtu.be/s_LmC-ynqGM

I heard it.  Ugh.

[Ubiquitous]

19 hours ago, margol29 said:

I suspect there's some insurance fraud going on here...

[sempervivum]

Centrum multi vitamin gummies: Feed your cells, illustrated whimsically by teeny tiny milk cartons and fruits.

Am I the only one insulted by this? Do these people really want me to think my 'cells' need special, separate 'food'? Is it possible the audience doesn't know my entire body is made of 'cells' and that whatever I eat ends up in those cells?

17 hours ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

The Joe Namath commercial for that Medicare Coverage Helpline 

I'm very tired of this ad, but I can't hate on old Broadway Joe. He's still very charming and I wonder how many people watching him realize the reason behind his ' I guarantee it' line!

[mmecorday]

I have always had a fondness for Broadway Joe as well. After all, he did visit Bobby Brady when he heard he was very, very sick.

[GaT]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Admittedly, my hearing is not what it used to be, but I listened to the linked ad twice and didn't hear vocal fry. Are you sure that's the correct link, @GaT?
ETA: There is nothing in that commercial that would make me trust the product.

I found this great (IMO) short video on vocal fry from 2015:
https://youtu.be/s_LmC-ynqGM

2 hours ago, cynicat said:

I heard it.  Ugh.

It's a different commercial now!!!! I think they changed it, same product, different woman. I tracked it down again, https://www.ispot.tv/ad/oSHO/uqora-effective-solutions better listen soon, because this is now the only one I can find. I think they're deleting it because I'm not the only one who has a problem with her voice.