Commercials That Annoy, Irritate or Outright Enrage

[janie jones]

There's a commercial for American Family Insurance (?) where a little girl is imagining she's a coxswain.  And at the end of the commercial, her parents walk in on her in the bathroom with an overflowing sink with her boat toys in it and water all over the floor.  The parents laugh and scoop her up and give her a hug.  No one scolds the kid for wasting water.  I hope they at least have her wipe up the floor.

[iMonrey]

So Jake from State Farm is black now? OK clearly there is more than one Jake, since we saw two of them in one commercial. Which leaves me to wonder: Does State Farm only hire agents named Jake? Or do you have to change your name to Jake when State Farm hires you?

I'm not sure the ad agency understands what made the original Jake funny. 

[chessiegal]

31 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

So Jake from State Farm is black now? OK clearly there is more than one Jake, since we saw two of them in one commercial. Which leaves me to wonder: Does State Farm only hire agents named Jake? Or do you have to change your name to Jake when State Farm hires you?

I'm not sure the ad agency understands what made the original Jake funny. 

I read an article that said State Farm has about 130 Jakes working in one capacity or another. One agent named Jake said he got rid of all his khakis as soon as the 1st ad came out. 😄

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

So Jake from State Farm is black now? OK clearly there is more than one Jake, since we saw two of them in one commercial. Which leaves me to wonder: Does State Farm only hire agents named Jake? Or do you have to change your name to Jake when State Farm hires you?

I'm not sure the ad agency understands what made the original Jake funny. 

I always think everyone should have a separate work name.  Just so work problems can't follow you home.  I worked at a travel agency with someone names Stormie.  Apparently some of the passengers thought that was a bad omen.  One said they were going to call her Sunny, and she was like "no you're not."  No point to that story except that I just remembered it.

 

[sempervivum]

22 hours ago, meep.meep said:

I want to be there when you find out about the gekko.

To say nothing of the emu. Although the emu is real enough, I guess; it's just not a real insurance agent.

[chessiegal]

I read that much of the emu is CGI, because for some reason I was curious.

[Browncoat]

Emus also don't make noises like that one does.  They make very quiet, drumming-type sounds, not squawks.

[Tabbygirl521]

On 5/27/2020 at 9:16 PM, SnarkySheep said:

Agreed...also, I still can't connect "WW" to Weight Watchers. My initial thought is, what's Oprah got to do with wrestling??"

Or like they’re about to reel off their web address, old style. 
 

I also don’t get the advantage of changing the name so that it’s more of a mouthful, no pun intended. 

[Haleth]

18 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

There is a new Life cereal commercial with Mikey now being a girl.  I would rather have them bring back the original commercial.

 

I would love it if the dad was the original Mikey.

14 hours ago, chessiegal said:

I read that much of the emu is CGI, because for some reason I was curious.

Is it?  I thought it was a puppet.  (In close ups, anyway.)

[chessiegal]

Re: LiMu Emu, this is what I found.

Quote

As for how the emu appears in the ads, here's the word from Jenna Lebel, vice president, brand and integrated marketing for the company: “LiMu Emu is a mix of a real bird and CGI. ... For the commercials, the team created a digital model based on the live emu, which was used to supplement the footage.”

 

[Ubiquitous]

TBH,  I've never thought ob the lame emu limu.

[sempervivum]

3 hours ago, Haleth said:

I would love it if the dad was the original Mikey.

Now that's actually clever. But of course, the 'girl Mikey' script scores woke-ness points. Much more important to make ad agency luvvies feel good about themselves, rather than please the grubby proles who actually buy cereal.

[peacheslatour]

On 5/25/2020 at 5:42 PM, Katy M said:

It doesn't have anything to do with the actual diseases, but the quarantining, lockdowns and shutdowns.

I love that old lady. I just want to hug her.

[friendperidot]

It's been a few days since I logged into this board, so I'm just going to copy and paste and comment on several posts. 

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  ON 5/23/2020 AT 1:54 PM, PRINCESSPURRSALOT SAID:

I have been exposed to the Plexaderm ad at least 60 billion times now.  Is there no one else willing to advertise on daytime?  First, no these are not popular videos on youtube.  Stop lying to me spokesperson! Second, the way she say "bags" in bags under your eyes makes me want to find her an remove her vocal cords for the sake of my sanity. Third, watching the person's eyes dart back and forth while their eye bags are shrinking is really off-putting.  Make it stop.  Please make it stop.  By now, anyone who wants to try this crap must have bought it. 

The remark about she and her father screaming. Bleh. Nope.

I see an ad on FB trying to raise donations for a candidate and apparently they are getting a lot of money and they are happy about it. But when they say in the ad "We were screaming! (over the donations)" I think about this ad, I've thought about commenting to them that "We were screaming!" sounds like a Plaxederm commercial, but I'd then get more ads just like that one. But the thing about the fake infomercial for the product with the 2 women, before they get to the "We were screaming" part, the one moderator says in such a serious tone, "this one's for real." I want to punch her in the face. 

Quote

As a matter of fact, there is. Luminess Silk spray makeup shit that can 'Turn Back Time' is shown incessantly.  Wanna swap?

I now, officially, hate that freaking song! But there's one lady in the ad, or maybe it's the Jane Seymour ad, where she says something like "now people can't tell my age!" I'm nearly 70, small stature and have always looked much younger, it's kind of annoying. I was nearly 40 before I was no longer carded to buy alcohol. I look older, but not 70. But, back to the ad, I scream back at the tv, I do that a lot, that no one gives 2 flying figs about her age, no one ever really has, build a bridge and get over yourself lady.

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I'm so tired of the 'Big Hurt' commercials. They seem to run 3 times an hour all day long.

I've said similar so many times in these forums. I hate him and I don't even know him. I particularly hate the fake press conference one. I hate all fake press conference, fake infomercials, fake product groups (the ones where the spokesperson is talking about the product and the people ask stupid questions like "will the estimate cost anything?" "how do I get my husband to use that product?"

Quote

  ON 5/24/2020 AT 3:55 AM, DC GAL IN VA SAID:

I absolutely despise this commercial. I guess they were going for.......... Oh Hell, I have no idea WTF they were going for. The alleged "humor" is so subtle as to be non-existent. And the cat mom is creepy AF too. If I was a cat owner this commercial would not convince me to buy this cat food.

I can see why lots of people hate this ad, and completely understand.  Personally, I like it and totally get it because as a cat owner, those moments when your cat is loving on you are pretty special.  The bonus is the dig on helicopter parents who panic if their kid gets a scratch.  Yeah, it's kind of rude, but I'm on board.  

I don't mind the commercial, but not because I'm a cat lover, I'm not, I'm not amused by their cute cat behavior like racing ahead of me down the hall especially when I'm trying to get to the stove before the food boils over or burns, and then stop in the middle, roll over on his back, grab my leg in mid step and trips me and digs his claws into my leg and bite my shoe, then yeow at me when I step on his little ass. But I don't mind the commercial because I think the mother knows her spawn pretty well and he's not crying, not sounding any kind of alarm. Mom's don't have to jump and run because their child fell or tripped. She could ask, how much blood?

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There is a new Life cereal commercial with Mikey now being a girl.  I would rather have them bring back the original commercial.

I'd love to see the original commercial, it's one of my top 5 favorite commercials of all time. I can still recite the entire ad. And, I had a dog named Mikey just because of the commercial. My Mikey has been gone about 15 years, still miss him, he was the bestest dog ever.

[Ashforth]

3 hours ago, friendperidot said:

I don't mind the commercial, but not because I'm a cat lover, I'm not, I'm not amused by their cute cat behavior like racing ahead of me down the hall especially when I'm trying to get to the stove before the food boils over or burns, and then stop in the middle, roll over on his back, grab my leg in mid step and trips me and digs his claws into my leg and bite my shoe, then yeow at me when I step on his little ass.

I think you have my cat LOL

[friendperidot]

32 minutes ago, Ashforth said:

I think you have my cat LOL

you want it's brother? He's my sister's cat, so I can't do more than cuss him out. He is a good mouser, but if I gave my Pit Bull free reign of the house, he'd probably give the cat a run for his money. 

[SnarkySheep]

On 5/28/2020 at 6:57 AM, icemiser69 said:

IIRC, Oprah owns a stake (or is that steak) in Weight Watchers.  I don't think it is all that surprising that she is in the commercials.  Isn't she the only one that has ever been on the cover of her magazine?

Yes - except for one shared cover with Michelle Obama and one with Ellen. 

On 5/26/2020 at 10:01 AM, ctlady said:

And I see that the commercial for the NordicTrak bike is taking a page out of the Peloton ala 'let's work out in front of a big window with no coverings'. 

Maybe it's a case of life imitating art - isn't this always the case on TV shows and movies?? Nobody ever has curtains - even if they have a huge first-floor window facing a busy street - and have no hesitation about strolling past half naked (or murdering people). They also never notice the stalker or private investigator literally right outside, snapping photos.

[Tabbygirl521]

It’s my husband’s dream in life to be the clueless frustrated consumer in a crappy commercial. The “has this ever happened to you?” guy. The guy who opens an upper cupboard and a huge cascade of unmatched Tupperware rains down. Or the one whose garden hose ties itself into knots while springing leaks everywhere. He practices a lot, trying to get that perfect balance of frustration and despair  

Last night I saw an ad for some magically indestructible garden hose. They SET IT ON FIRE to show its durability. Because you know that melting garden hoses are a big problem. 

[CrystalBlue]

On 5/24/2020 at 4:05 AM, cynicat said:

I can see why lots of people hate this ad, and completely understand.  Personally, I like it and totally get it because as a cat owner, those moments when your cat is loving on you are pretty special.  The bonus is the dig on helicopter parents who panic if their kid gets a scratch.  Yeah, it's kind of rude, but I'm on board.  

FWIW, Sheba is kitty crack, and the absolute best food to tempt cats that aren't eating well.   

An alternate take on the commercial:  The kid (whether boy or girl) is jealous of the cat so went into the bathroom and staged a fake accident.  Mom knows the kid's antics and is just reverse psychology humoring the child, who isn't injured at all.

[peacheslatour]

9 minutes ago, CrystalBlue said:

An alternate take on the commercial:  The kid (whether boy or girl) is jealous of the cat so went into the bathroom and staged a fake accident.  Mom knows the kid's antics and is just reverse psychology humoring the child, who isn't injured at all.

Yep, I've seen them do it.

[CrystalBlue]

On 5/26/2020 at 9:14 PM, Prevailing Wind said:

You say that like it's a bad thing.

Anyone who has cats knows they don't own their cats, the cats own them.  As a mom of two kitties, a cat lover and all-around animal lover, I don't mind the Sheba commercial.  I love just about any and all ads with critters in 'em, whether it's relevant to the product or not!  I even wait for the dog to come running back to the car in the Blow A Kiss song car commercial!

5 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Yep, I've seen them do it.

I just realized some folks here have caught on before my comment and are like-minded as we.

[CrystalBlue]

On 5/28/2020 at 10:19 AM, icemiser69 said:

There is a new Life cereal commercial with Mikey now being a girl.  I would rather have them bring back the original commercial.

 

I hate that commercial.  It looks like milk is still in her mouth when she talks.  Yuck.

[TexasTiffany]

I understand that ads message is my cat is more important than anything so I feed her Sheba. They should have used a different image to convey that rather than images of a hurt child and possible neglectful parent. They didn't need to go there. How about showing how that woman's dinner had burned to a crisp in the oven rather than getting up and ruining her moment with her cat? No fake child hurt in the first place. This is why I don't like this ad.

Edited May 30, 2020 by TexasTiffany

[Kiki777]

5 hours ago, CrystalBlue said:

An alternate take on the commercial:  The kid (whether boy or girl) is jealous of the cat so went into the bathroom and staged a fake accident.  Mom knows the kid's antics and is just reverse psychology humoring the child, who isn't injured at all.

I thought the opposite - that the cat is jealous of the human child and is somehow the cause of the kid getting hurt.  I once had a dog who would leave his toys on the stairs... accidentally?

[Haleth]

23 hours ago, Tabbygirl521 said:

It’s my husband’s dream in life to be the clueless frustrated consumer in a crappy commercial. The “has this ever happened to you?” guy. The guy who opens an upper cupboard and a huge cascade of unmatched Tupperware rains down. Or the one whose garden hose ties itself into knots while springing leaks everywhere. He practices a lot, trying to get that perfect balance of frustration and despair  

In black and white, of course.

[SG429]

Those bratty Kraft kids should be sent to their rooms until they're good and ready and hungry enough to eat what is served.

Edited May 31, 2020 by SG429
spelling

[Ashforth]

28 minutes ago, SG429 said:

Those bratty Kraft kids should be sent to their rooms until they're good and ready and hungry enough to eat was is served.

Nope, forcing kids to eat food that is repugnant to them is a form of torture.

They can eat what's been prepared for dinner or have a bowl of cereal or a simple (pb&j or cheese) sandwich instead. No forced feeding.

 

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, Ashforth said:

Nope, forcing kids to eat food that is repugnant to them is a form of torture.

They can eat what's been prepared for dinner or have a bowl of cereal or a simple (pb&j or cheese) sandwich instead. No forced feeding.

 

And they can clean up afterwards of course, no dessert goes without saying. I was forced to eat as a child. I would never do that to my own child, it's cruel and controlling.

[Tabbygirl521]

6 hours ago, Haleth said:

In black and white, of course.

Yes!

[chessiegal]

I think Kraft has 2 ads that are better - the one where they sprinkle cheese on broccoli and one where they put cheese on tacos. I sure hope kids don't eat only mac and cheese every day.

I was not a picky eater, but one time I didn't want to finish my beefaroni. My mother made me finish it, and was rewarded by sitting up all night with me vomiting - I was coming down with a stomach bug. Never had to finish a plate again, and can't eat beefaroni to this day.

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, SG429 said:

Those bratty Kraft kids should be sent to their rooms until they're good and ready and hungry enough to eat was is served.

I think it's that psycho mom who chases her child around the house over "one more bite" - a child whose protest is that she's full, not that she hates broccoli or whatever is on the fork - who ought to be sent somewhere.  Why ruin dinner for yourself and your kid over one damn bite?  Next time, put one more bite than you want her to eat on her plate.  Problem solved.

[peacheslatour]

19 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

I think Kraft has 2 ads that are better - the one where they sprinkle cheese on broccoli and one where they put cheese on tacos. I sure hope kids don't eat only mac and cheese every day.

I was not a picky eater, but one time I didn't want to finish my beefaroni. My mother made me finish it, and was rewarded by sitting up all night with me vomiting - I was coming down with a stomach bug. Never had to finish a plate again, and can't eat beefaroni to this day.

Same happened to me with Scrapple. I refused to eat it 1. because it was awful and 2. my dad told me it was made from floor sweepings at the slaughter house. They forced me to eat it and I threw up in my plate. They also never made me eat it again. In fact I don't think they ever served it again.

[Katy M]

41 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I think it's that psycho mom who chases her child around the house over "one more bite" - a child whose protest is that she's full, not that she hates broccoli or whatever is on the fork - who ought to be sent somewhere.  Why ruin dinner for yourself and your kid over one damn bite?  Next time, put one more bite than you want her to eat on her plate.  Problem solved.

My mom never made us eat anything. If we said we were full or that it was gross that was it.  She didn't make us something else, but we didn't have to eat it.  My paternal grandmother would give me a full-sized adult portion of food.  I knew better than to try the gross bit with her, but I would eat until I was full and she would say "three more bites."  I've never understood that concept, but I learned to say that I was full a bit before I was so, so I could comfortably fit in the 3 more bites. 

 

[andromeda331]

There might be another one that I'm forgetting but the one where the kid pretends to faint when told fish is for dinner and then it goes to them eating tacos was pretty bratty. I really hope they put the fish in the tacos instead of thrown out that big fish. The one that shows the Mom chasing her daughter through the house for one more bite is terrible. The kid isn't refusing because she doesn't like the food or being a brat. She's full. Why would you make your kid keep eating if she's full? The one I do like is the kids not eating the broccoli and then cut to cheese put on top of it. That's a great commercial. Their not throwing out it out they simply added cheese to it. Which yeah kids probably are more likely to eat broccoli if it has cheese on it. It really seems like a fair compromise.  Or if they can dunk them in ranch dressing. My parents' went back and forth because we liked both. Vegetables can be kind of boring or don't really taste good to eat when your a kid. The kids are still eating healthy and when they get older they might not end up needing the cheese on the broccoli.  

That Kraft commercial where the Mom asks her three kids what they want and they all given different answers. There's a reason my mom decided we'd alternate turns to pick instead of asking that question. But then they show them eating pizza. It just makes me think of that stupid Red Baron commercial where the Mom's patting herself on the back for getting her family to eat pizza. 

[Browncoat]

My mother never asked us what we wanted for supper.  She made food and we ate it or not.  No special food for kids, no chasing around the house with food, not even putting cheese on broccoli. 

[Prevailing Wind]

Taking to small talk...

[smittykins]

On 5/29/2020 at 4:53 PM, friendperidot said:

I'd love to see the original commercial, it's one of my top 5 favorite commercials of all time. I can still recite the entire ad. And, I had a dog named Mikey just because of the commercial. My Mikey has been gone about 15 years, still miss him, he was the bestest dog ever.

I think this is the original, with the “When you bring Life home...” tag line.  Later versions promoted Cinnamon and Raisin Life, and included the ubiquitous “Part of this good breakfast.”

[janie jones]

I fucking hate this commercial: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/oNFe/kim-crawford-wines-marketplace-song-by-lolo

The more I see it, the more I hate it.  And I know I'm probably overthinking it, but: It depicts this basic lady in her basic athleisure as some boss bitch other women are in awe of because she gets this certain wine.  Whenever I see this commercial, I think, this commercial is just telling Karens they're better than everyone else.

I hope she pays for the sunglasses.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

They didn't bother me, I just turned the other cheek.  

What you did there. I see it. Lulz.

[helena.handbasket]

4 hours ago, janie jones said:

I think, this commercial is just telling Karens they're better than everyone else.

Every ad wants you to believe buying their product makes you better than everyone else. 

[SoMuchTV]

9 hours ago, smittykins said:

I think this is the original, with the “When you bring Life home...” tag line.  Later versions promoted Cinnamon and Raisin Life, and included the ubiquitous “Part of this good breakfast.”

Awww. I still occasionally buy the little boxes of raisins to add to my Life. Haven’t seen the Raisin version for decades, I guess. 

[smittykins]

19 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Awww. I still occasionally buy the little boxes of raisins to add to my Life. Haven’t seen the Raisin version for decades, I guess. 

I don’t think Raisin Life lasted very long.

[SoMuchTV]

14 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

I hate the potato pay commercial with a passion.

I would love it if the dad told his daughter that the broccoli was going to end up in her one way or the other.  She could either eat it or it could take an alternate route, but it would get there.  

Yeah, a lot of people would be upset by a father making an empty threat to his child, but as a child I was always told what to eat.  It wasn't up for discussion, and there wasn't any deal making.  If I refused to eat something, I wasn't allowed to do what I wanted to do until I ate what I was told to eat.

There are times when parents are flat out wrong and they need to listen to their children.  A child refusing to eat broccoli isn't one of them.

Venturing into small talk territory here, but IMO, something like wearing a seatbelt/staying in the carseat falls in the nonnegotiable territory. Not wanting to eat a particular food that for some reason the kid can’t stand, if they’re otherwise getting a reasonably balanced diet, is not the hill that I as a parent would want to die on. Don’t you have anything you just don’t care to eat?

[Brookside]

On 5/30/2020 at 10:04 AM, shapeshifter said:

Maybe this is a moment when a little hypocrisy is a good thing. Like, wearing a face mask with "I love you" on it might positively change the behavior of someone. Or it might just piss them off. 

It would piss me off royally.  It's worse than "Have a nice day", or "Enjoy."  Ugh.

On 5/31/2020 at 12:01 PM, chessiegal said:

I think Kraft has 2 ads that are better - the one where they sprinkle cheese on broccoli and one where they put cheese on tacos. I sure hope kids don't eat only mac and cheese every day.

I was not a picky eater, but one time I didn't want to finish my beefaroni. My mother made me finish it, and was rewarded by sitting up all night with me vomiting - I was coming down with a stomach bug. Never had to finish a plate again, and can't eat beefaroni to this day.

Unfortunately there are plenty of children who are apparently able to eat nothing other than mac and cheese or peanut butter and jelly.

(By the way, thanks for making me look up Beefaroni. 🙂  )

 

9 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

I hate the potato pay commercial with a passion.

I would love it if the dad told his daughter that the broccoli was going to end up in her one way or the other.  She could either eat it or it could take an alternate route, but it would get there.  

Yeah, a lot of people would be upset by a father making an empty threat to his child, but as a child I was always told what to eat.  It wasn't up for discussion, and there wasn't any deal making.  If I refused to eat something, I wasn't allowed to do what I wanted to do until I ate what I was told to eat.

There are times when parents are flat out wrong and they need to listen to their children.  A child refusing to eat broccoli isn't one of them.

I don't understand why it's even an issue.  We ate what we were given and cleaned our plates.  We weren't told what to eat, we just did what was normal, which is eat our dinner.  And then we washed up.

 

Edited June 2, 2020 by Brookside

[janie jones]

6 hours ago, helena.handbasket said:

Every ad wants you to believe buying their product makes you better than everyone else. 

This is true, but it's Karens thinking they're better than everyone that I specifically find problematic here.

[CrystalBlue]

On 5/30/2020 at 6:47 PM, Kiki777 said:

I thought the opposite - that the cat is jealous of the human child and is somehow the cause of the kid getting hurt.  I once had a dog who would leave his toys on the stairs... accidentally?

The cat was being pampered and purring right next to the mom, so how did the cat cause the brat to be "hurt" by falling down?  Can't the kid look where he/she is going?  If you have pets in the home, it's up to the humans to look out for the toys left on the floor.

[SnarkySheep]

On 6/1/2020 at 1:32 PM, icemiser69 said:

I do need a hair cut,  I kind of wish that they would bring back the Flowbee commercial.

May I introduce you to my father?? He bought a Flowbee in the height of its popularity, somewhere in the early '90s, and has cut his hair with it ever since. He has been especially smug about it in recent months.

[Katy M]

3 hours ago, SnarkySheep said:

May I introduce you to my father?? He bought a Flowbee in the height of its popularity, somewhere in the early '90s, and has cut his hair with it ever since. He has been especially smug about it in recent months.

In all seriousness, anything bought in the early '90s and is still working is actually a pretty solid product.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Remember, kids, you can't spell association without 'ass'.
 

 

[peacheslatour]

You couldn't pay me to live in a neighborhood with an HOA.