Commercials That Annoy, Irritate or Outright Enrage

[backformore]

I don't see how they could spend weeks without seeing any mirrors, much less any reflective glass where they might catch a glimpse of themselves. No public restrooms? No department store shopping?

6 weeks without a mirror?  So, that means they don't wear contacts, comb or blowdry their hair, use makeup?  I don't buy it. 

[janie jones]

Well to be fair, I don't wear contacts or makeup, nor do I blow-dry my hair, and I know I'm not the only one who doesn't do these things.  I don't need a mirror to brush my hair, and I could probably do basic hairstyling without one.

[FormerMod-a1]

I don't need a mirror to blow dry (although I usually air dry) hair, comb/brush my hair or to put on make up.  Heck I can style my hair in an updo w/o a mirror.  But I do call shenanigans on not seeing oneself in any kind of reflective surface, or not going to friends house or using a rest room at work or restaurant or something,

[iMonrey]

I can't be the only person who yells "Go away, Matthew McConaughey!" every time I see him shilling for Lincoln. It seems like I just can't get away from him these days.

[Brattinella]

I'm REALLY sorry to say when I see Mathew McConnaughay, I see him rolling a booger. :(

[Chrissytd]

The new Sprint commercial.

[CarpeDiem54]

I swear to God, if I see that screeching hyena Tena woman one more time I'm going to open a can of whoop ass on someone/something. That damned thing has been on at least a dozen times this evening. It's making me really stabby.

[Stella MD]

 

The new Sprint commercial.

This. I assume we're talking about the damn narwhal song that gets stuck in my head immediately every time? Can't believe they canned GorDON to give us random goddamn dancing narwhals.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I swear to God, if I see that screeching hyena Tena woman one more time I'm going to open a can of whoop ass on someone/something. That damned thing has been on at least a dozen times this evening. It's making me really stabby.

 

I hate that woman. HATE. I mean, I'm glad her bladder issues are being handled, but her 'singing' makes me wish she'd spontaneously go mute.

[mojoween]

There is no way in hell Wooderson would drive a Lincoln anyways.

[Neurochick]

A commercial that bugs me so much I can't even watch.  It's for a company that makes blinds.  A young couple walks down the street, then they turn onto a residential street and we see a heavyset hairy man in his living room doing yoga with no blinds.  The young couple stands, mouths agape, staring at the man, who stares at the couple.

 

 The voiceover, "you need blinds."  The reason is pisses me off is it implies that if you're not attractive, you need to be behind blinds so young people can't see you; also the man is in his own home and the two youngsters shouldn't be staring, where's the home training? 

 

The commercial ends with the man in his home, still doing yoga with the blinds drawn.

[smittykins]

There's a Time Warner commercial with a mother and young daughter at a fountain. Daughter wishes for a puppy, and Mom wants affordable home Internet. When a bystander informs her that Time Warner can provide said Internet, she thanks him and calls after him, "Do you know where the nearest pet store is?"

All I can think is, "You do know many pet stores deal with puppy mills, right?"

Edited because I misquoted the ad.

I just saw a version of this ad with the last line edited out. Wonder if others had the same concerns as me?

[Actionmage]

The same goes for the Chevy Back in Black douche. I always roll my eyes at the end of the commercial when he is driving his huge truck down some city street hitting every green light

 

That one gets me so angry! I mean they both work in the same downtown high-rise building.  I don't get why smallish, sedan guy has to be labeled with the "Rainy Days and Mondays", unless it's Monday and he's sad about having to end his awesome weekend. Then Smuggy swoops down to AC/DC and cranks up the tuneage as he heads his nigh-unto-monster-truck into downtown traffic. I'm sure all the folks trying to turn around your stupid truck appreciate how wide-bodied it is.  The only positive is that it might keep the sun out of other drivers' eyes, yet I sorta doubt that even.

 

Along those lines, the truck one about the man who has Truck Brand Manly, driving around the ranch/"wild", but first? He switches the Copeland-wannabe to classical and we find out he's just a Dad taking his tiny dancer girl to ballet. Because Tiny Dancer couldn't dance ballet to Western-tinged orchestral music? That ballerinas can only dance to OG classical music? That Tiny Dancer can't rock her boots with her dance gear until she hits the studio? Screw you, Patriarchal Stereotype Ad Agency! I do like that Dad is taking her to her class, but geez, it's not like he's super special for actually doing a parental thing, even in his manly truck.

 

(I also like trucks, just not the ones on steroids. I know mileage varies and don't mean to hack off truck lovers. It's the ads that get me upset, not the vehicles.)

 

I think it is Verizon(?) that has the ad currently where the family gets excited and packs for a camping trip, but then they end up in their tent watching Droids, or some other Star Wars cartoon instead of watching the wonderful, star-filled night sky that is just outside their tent! I mean, really? Way to totally dis Nature. "Watch your favorite shows wherever, even when surrounded by an awe-inspiring natural happening!"

[erikdepressant]

(I also like trucks, just not the ones on steroids. I know mileage varies and don't mean to hack off truck lovers. It's the ads that get me upset, not the vehicles.)

Probably an unpopular opinion, but it seems to me that between truck drivers and sedan drivers, a larger percentage of truck drivers are assholes behind the wheel.

 

 

they end up in their tent watching Droids, or some other Star Wars cartoon instead of watching the wonderful, star-filled night sky that is just outside their tent!

Probably a grumpy old man opinion, but it seems to me that nothing is wonderful to kids unless it's on a smartphone screen or has game controllers attached.

[janie jones]

I think it is Verizon(?) that has the ad currently where the family gets excited and packs for a camping trip, but then they end up in their tent watching Droids, or some other Star Wars cartoon instead of watching the wonderful, star-filled night sky that is just outside their tent! I mean, really? Way to totally dis Nature. "Watch your favorite shows wherever, even when surrounded by an awe-inspiring natural happening!"

Oh I hate that too.  Why even bother going camping?

[Bastet]

I think it is Verizon(?) that has the ad currently where the family gets excited and packs for a camping trip, but then they end up in their tent watching Droids, or some other Star Wars cartoon instead of watching the wonderful, star-filled night sky that is just outside their tent!

 

There have been several commercials with that theme over the past few years, and they used to make me angry.  Now they make me sad, because looking around I get the sense these commercials, rather than presenting an outlandish scenario, are reflecting what has become a common reality. 

 

There's nothing wrong with electronic entertainment being part of the activities during a camping trip, but the attitude these commercials take is that the ability to spend just as much time glued to a screen out in nature as one does at home makes it okay to venture out into the "wilderness" because, oh thank heavens, now you don't have to sit around and take in the scenery, go exploring, sit around a campfire and all that awful stuff; you can just hole up in your tent and watch movies.

Edited February 22, 2015 by Bastet

[Cobalt Stargazer]

 

 

Shut up, Marie Osmond.

 

That is all.

[bilgistic]

"But what?!?" Shut up, indeed.

Kudos to her plastic surgeon, though. She's reaching uncanny valley territory, but doesn't look a day past 35.

[GaT]

Shut up, Marie Osmond.

 

That is all.

Whose face is she using?

[Shriekingeel]

Can someone step on "Lil Sweet" please? Feed him to their snake perhaps?

[riley702]

Can someone step on "Lil Sweet" please? Feed him to their snake perhaps?

Yeah, OK, WTH was that?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp6v_ZP8nww

[Prevailing Wind]

What happened to his tambourine?  He comes sliding in, vaguely shaking it and then it disappears in subsequents shots.  Trust me, it's the only thing worth watching in this abomination.

[erikdepressant]

Can someone step on "Lil Sweet" please? Feed him to their snake perhaps?

After the first time I saw that commercial, it went on the mandatory-mute list, and Dr. Pepper went on the boycott list.

[Ubiquitous]

I see there's a new installation of that red truck ad where children imagine the man with a truck has weird macho exotic pets.

[Aquarius]

Yeah, OK, WTH was that?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp6v_ZP8nww

 

It's like a miniaturized Prince in heavy-metal drag . . .

[erikdepressant]

I see there's a new installation of that red truck ad where children imagine the man with a truck has weird macho exotic pets.

Yeah.  Because it's no longer ego-stroking enough to make women imagine you have big genitals.

 

On a side note, I cannot endure commercials where they have adorable children delivering spontaneous gems of cute.  I think AT&T ran an entire ad campaign of kids in fake focus groups a year ago.  Maybe the little shits aren't handed a script, but they spend all day on set getting coaxed, guided, and reshot for multiple takes.

 

ETA: Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae_3AZQiKcU

Edited February 23, 2015 by erikdepressant

[LoneHaranguer]

 

Oh I hate that too.  Why even bother going camping?

They may only be out there for something special, like a meteor shower.

 

 

Probably an unpopular opinion, but it seems to me that between truck drivers and sedan drivers, a larger percentage of truck drivers are assholes behind the wheel.

A certain percentage of people will do what they think they can get away with. For their own safety, nobody driving a Smart Car would dare try what the driver of a semi can get away with, so the frequency with which you'll see such behavior will depend on where the vehicle falls on that scale.

[Bastet]

They may only be out there for something special, like a meteor shower.

 

They'd probably live stream footage of it on their little screen they're so excited about rather than putting the damn thing down for once and looking up at the sky.

[CoderLady]

On a side note, I cannot endure commercials where they have adorable children delivering spontaneous gems of cute.  I think AT&T ran an entire ad campaign of kids in fake focus groups a year ago.  Maybe the little shits aren't handed a script, but they spend all day on set getting coaxed, guided, and reshot for multiple takes.

 

Good god, I hated that campaign so damn much. It was obviously phonied up cuteness, and the ads ran so often that I had to carry my remote with me everywhere in the house so I could mute the TV as soon as one came on. Heavily coached and edited kids are not cute.

[iMonrey]

I become unreasonably annoyed whenever I see Julia Louis Dreyfus shilling for Old Navy. I mean, she's got her own show on HBO for which she has won multiple Emmys, I'm sure she was paid a pretty penny during her Seinfeld years, and she did a movie with James Gandolfini. Just how much money does this lady need? I know, I know, it's probably very tempting when someone waves millions of dollars in her face for a few days' work, but still. Have some self respect, lady. 

[Rick Kitchen]

She's also an heiress.  She comes from money.

[Eliot]

For some reason TNT has decided to recycle that Walgreens commercial where the lady is sitting in the pedi chair and sees the sign across the street for a cheaper pedi. I could not loathe this ad more.

Ok, first, she walks across the street in bare feet, and while I would prefer to never ever wear shoes and don't normally care about motoring around barefoot, that poor person at the second pedi place is now going to have to wash that filth.

Second, the first lady was getting ready to polish, which means that she is literally at the last part of getting a pedi. So she's basically getting TWO pedis for $10 and the first lady did all that work for nothing. That is a very shitty thing for a consumer to do.

So Walgreens, I already put you on my banned list for my own personal idiosyncracies and this just makes it certain.

 

 

Agreed! I hate that bitch! She ducks out on the first pedi leaving the poor manicurist without her $20. Why do we have to keep showing people behaving badly on TV and then pass it off as "getting a good deal because she's smart!"

 

 

and, speaking of feet - I HATE that walgreens commercial too.  Obviously the people who put that together have no idea that a pedicure is more than just polish.  byt the time you have those toe-separators on, you're almost done.   You don't get to walk out, unless you want to have the police called.  (yeah, people do that, it's called theft of service) 

 

I haven't been on this site in forever and I came here specifically to complain about that ad! But of course my peeps here beat me to it.

 

I hope that cheap old bag steps on a rusty nail on her way across the street.

[cynicat]

 

Whenever I see this commercial my response to their constant "People think Californians are [fill in the blank]" is to say that this commercial makes me think people from California are pompous assholes.

[Rick Kitchen]

Belvita breakfast bars are running ads that talk about how the people who eat their bars are edgy.  One of the ways they show they're edgy is, "You drive alone in the HOV lane."  So your customers are criminals?

[90PercentGravity]

Belvita breakfast bars are running ads that talk about how the people who eat their bars are edgy.  One of the ways they show they're edgy is, "You drive alone in the HOV lane."  So your customers are criminals?

Maybe they drive hybrids.

[wovenloaf]

Belvita breakfast bars are running ads that talk about how the people who eat their bars are edgy.  One of the ways they show they're edgy is, "You drive alone in the HOV lane."  So your customers are criminals?

It bothers me how close their name is to Velveeta, because I cannot stand Velveeta. That alone makes me want nothing to do with Belvita bars. I don't need any reminders that Velveeta exists, Belvita!

[Sandman87]

The mom in that ad probably knows that her husband is a stupid, selfish man-child who won't clean up after himself. Like every other man in every other commercial.

[Moose135]

The mom in that ad probably knows that her husband is a stupid, selfish man-child who won't clean up after himself.

You say that like it's a bad thing...

[Rick Kitchen]

The mom in that ad probably knows that her husband is a stupid, selfish man-child who won't clean up after himself. Like every other man in every other commercial.

 

And he's going to eat her yogurt when her back is turned.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

And he's going to eat her yogurt when her back is turned.

 

Is 'eat her yogurt' anything like 'drink your milkshake'?

[riley702]

Eww!

[xaxat]

Any commercial that uses the word "support" while hawking supplements or medical devices really annoys me.

 

Because "support" is shorthand for "There is absolutely no scientific or medical evidence that our product does anything to cure or treat what ails people, but as long as we skirt that legal line using that word, we can still sell our modern snake oil."

[Shriekingeel]

Maybe they drive hybrids.

But edgy hybrids.

[Sandman87]

And he's going to eat her yogurt when her back is turned.

Is 'eat her yogurt' anything like 'drink your milkshake'?

It ain't a milkshake if her back is turned...

[Ubiquitous]

It bothers me how close their name is to Velveeta, because I cannot stand Velveeta. That alone makes me want nothing to do with Belvita bars. I don't need any reminders that Velveeta exists, Belvita!

when they first came out, I wondered why anyone would eat cookies with Velveeta icing.

[Moose135]

when they first came out, I wondered why anyone would eat cookies with Velveeta icing.

Because that would be awesome! ;-)

[90PercentGravity]

when they first came out, I wondered why anyone would eat cookies with Velveeta icing.

The guy saying he ate Velveeta every morning for breakfast made me sick to my stomach until I realized he wasn't saying Velveeta.

[CarpeDiem54]

I hate those Auto Nation ads with that blonde vocal fry bitch.

[gameoff]

I happened to have the stomach flu earlier this week and it made me realize that there are hardly any commercials that don't pertain to the cooking of food, the eating of food, the selling of food, food going bad or something that is disgusting and dirty and needs to be cleaned, or somebody being sick and being chased after by a ball of mucus.  

 

On a normal day none of that is a big deal and I just take it all in stride but I felt so bad I couldn't even watch television.  Even an innocent innocuous commercial for cereal was enough to make me cringe.  It's interesting how the frame of mind you are in determines how you feel about things.  

 

I finally wound up putting the golf channel on because it was the only one I could find that I could tolerate.  

[Prevailing Wind]

That's why you should have a stash of DVDs of favorite movies...and some you've gotten tired of.  Watch those dubious ones when you feel bad and your mood won't turn you against them.