Commercials That Annoy, Irritate or Outright Enrage

[Annber03]

I'm from Iowa and we call it "pop" here. 

[Palimelon]

Quote

I don’t know where these pop people are cause I never met one.

The ones I know are in Chicagoland.

[Prevailing Wind]

10 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

Yeah, we thought of Philly as being in another state. 😆

I seem to live in places like that. Philly, Miami, and Atlanta.  All separate from their respective states. LOL.

I DO worry about the folks in Connecticut, who told me they refer to the entire state of NY as NYCity. (This was in a hotel in Hartford where I was trying to get to directions to head west, not south, to NY state.)

[Tom Holmberg]

16 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

I don't know about the rest of Pennsylvania, but I grew up near Pittsburgh and we called it pop.  

https://drinkolipop.com/blogs/digest/soda-vs-pop#:~:text="soft drink."-,The term "pop" is most prevalent in the Midwest%2C,Louis.

 

[Bastet]

Taking soda vs pop vs other discussion to Small Talk ...

Edited July 22 by Bastet

[littlebennysmom]

In xfinity's seemimgly endless variations of people looking for advice from a whispery voiced counselor, an extra Halloween USA wig lying around the set was used as this woman's hair and I'm always distracted by its awfulness.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I absolutely loathe the Mattress Firm ads with people who do disgusting things, and claim they sleep on a Mattress Firm mattress.    They're stranger than the floating sales people.   

[Ancaster]

Domino's tipping ad makes me want to scream.  It's all about how awful the prevalence of tipping is and then offers you the chance to tip so you can get $3 off next week's order.

 

[Gharlane]

2 hours ago, Ancaster said:

Domino's tipping ad makes me want to scream.  It's all about how awful the prevalence of tipping is and then offers you the chance to tip so you can get $3 off next week's order.

I thought you got the $3 coupon instead of tipping the deliveryperson.

[Yeah No]

On 7/20/2024 at 9:38 PM, Ancaster said:

I don't know if I should post here or in the grammar thread - it annoys me because it's grammatically incorrect.

Some weight loss pill or system is apparently for: "People who suffer from obesity or overweight."

You don't "suffer from overweight", you are overweight. 

I get annoyed every time I hear a young woman on a commercial say, "Mine and my husband's favorite thing". I never remember what they're advertising because I'm always reacting to what I consider to be incorrect grammar. Shouldn't it be "My and my husband's favorite thing"? People online seem to disagree on this but if I'm reading it right the so-called "experts" seem to agree with me.

In your above example, couldn't it be improved by saying "People who suffer from obesity or are overweight?

[Yeah No]

On 7/22/2024 at 5:41 AM, Prevailing Wind said:

I DO worry about the folks in Connecticut, who told me they refer to the entire state of NY as NYCity. (This was in a hotel in Hartford where I was trying to get to directions to head west, not south, to NY state.)

I took my response to this to the Small Talk thread:

 

Edited July 28 by Yeah No

[Bastet]

13 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Shouldn't it be "My and my husband's favorite thing"?

Almost; traditionally, you put yourself last, so: "My husband's and my favorite thing".

[Yeah No]

Just now, Bastet said:

Almost; traditionally, you put yourself last, so: "My husband's and my favorite thing".

Right, I think it is technically OK but not as polite so not preferred. I was going to change it to say that but you got there first. I was too busy moving my response to that other post to the Small Talk thread to get to it in time, **sigh**.

[HyeChaps]

OMG I can’t stand the Nike commercial they are showing during the Olympics—“Am I a bad person?”

It implies all these bad qualities go into making an Olympic athlete. 

[Ancaster]

8 hours ago, Gharlane said:

I thought you got the $3 coupon instead of tipping the deliveryperson.

No, you have to tip them $3 in order to get a coupon for $3 that you have to use within a week.

[Yeah No]

12 hours ago, Ancaster said:

Domino's tipping ad makes me want to scream.  It's all about how awful the prevalence of tipping is and then offers you the chance to tip so you can get $3 off next week's order.

I didn't think the ad was all about how awful the prevalence of tipping is, but how awful the pressure to tip has gotten. So Domino's thinks that by in effect "covering" your tip by giving you a coupon in the same amount it's taking some of that pressure off and making itself look good in the process by in effect raising the salaries of their delivery people (if the coupons are redeemed). It knows that some people, especially younger customers don't like tipping in general and feel that companies should make up the difference by raising salaries. So this supposedly would make them feel like they're participating in making the company do that by redeeming the coupons.

That entire issue bugs me enough all by itself, but for some reason the voice of their announcer and her sing-song-y upturn after every phrase bugs me even more.

Edited July 28 by Yeah No

[Bastet]

17 hours ago, HyeChaps said:

OMG I can’t stand the Nike commercial they are showing during the Olympics—“Am I a bad person?”

I just saw that one tonight, after seeing it (among others) complained about in the Olympics forum -- it's as awful as everyone has said.

"Am I a bad person?"  Because you want to win, no.  Because you're rather myopic in your quest for victory -- "single-minded", "selfish", "deceptive", "obsessive"?  Maybe, but probably not other than deceptive; it depends on how it manifests.  But because you "have no empathy" and "no sense of compassion", oh yeah. 

Also, Kobe Bryant was a fucking rapist, so maybe quit showing me pictures of him while asking "Am I a bad person?" and expecting me to answer no.

Another one I hate is for some AI service.  I hate all those commercials, for how casually we're expected to just accept this stuff run amok, but this one particularly chaps my hide:  A father talks about how his young daughter loves running, and looks up to Olympic runner Sydney McLaughlin, so he asks some AI bullshit to help his daughter write Sydney a fan letter.  WTactualFuck?  How about the dad helps her; ask her questions, such as what she likes about Sydney, if she thinks about Sydney while she's practicing as motivation to keep going, etc. and then use those answers to help her compose a letter of appreciation.  That's personal, and thus meaningful.  An AI-generated letter is not.  Whatever composition aids she uses along the way in life, the daughter needs to learn to start with her own thoughts, or she's never going to be a successful communicator.  Asking a bot on her behalf and then shoving your phone into her hands is not helping her.

Edited July 29 by Bastet

[proserpina65]

On 7/28/2024 at 1:02 AM, Gharlane said:

I thought you got the $3 coupon instead of tipping the deliveryperson.

No, you have to tip the delivery person online.  Honestly, everyone should be tipping the people who bring them their food no matter what.  I know, the companies should pay their employees a living wage but until that happens, tip your food delivery drivers and waitstaff.

On 7/28/2024 at 7:56 AM, HyeChaps said:

OMG I can’t stand the Nike commercial they are showing during the Olympics—“Am I a bad person?”

It implies all these bad qualities go into making an Olympic athlete. 

I keep shouting "Yes, you are a bad person if you lack empathy and compassion!" at the tv.

 

[dleighg]

13 hours ago, Bastet said:

Another one I hate is for some AI service.  I hate all those commercials, for how casually we're expected to just accept this stuff run amok, but this one particularly chaps my hide:  A father talks about how his young daughter loves running, and looks up to Olympic runner Sydney McLaughlin, so he asks some AI bullshit to help his daughter write Sydney a fan letter.  WTactualFuck? 

I just saw that one for the first time. How horrible! First of all, to use AI to write a heart-felt letter. But almost as bad is that the FATHER is feeding the reasons to the AI!

[chessiegal]

I'd be embarrassed to tip $3 for a Domino's delivery. They are the only company that delivers to us, so I'm grateful the few times a year I order from them. I usually tip 25% or more. The drivers always thank me for my generosity.

[andromeda331]

Has anyone seen the new Life alert commercial? The husband is an asshole. His wife is worried because she hasn't heard from her mother all morning. She even called her mother five times and got no response. The husband acts like it's no big deal and that his wife is making a big deal over nothing. She gets a call from Life Alert letting her know that her mother had a fall but is okay, the EMTs are with her. Does the husband apologize for being a jerk when there really was a problem? Nope. Does the wife yell at her husband for dismissing her concern? Nope.  She's relieved but doesn't say anything about his behavoir. 

[Bastet]

27 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

Has anyone seen the new Life alert commercial? The husband is an asshole. His wife is worried because she hasn't heard from her mother all morning. She even called her mother five times and got no response. The husband acts like it's no big deal and that his wife is making a big deal over nothing. She gets a call from Life Alert letting her know that her mother had a fall but is okay, the EMTs are with her. Does the husband apologize for being a jerk when there really was a problem? Nope. Does the wife yell at her husband for dismissing her concern? Nope.  She's relieved but doesn't say anything about his behavoir. 

I just looked it up, and the actors are all of the quality you get on a Life Alert commercial budget, but from :20 to :30 I think the actor playing the husband may be trying to convey an "Oh, I'm fucked" element among his reactions.

Maybe she doesn't want to hand him his ass in front of their kid, but it would have played a lot more natural if she reassured the kid, then stared daggers at the husband when she turned.

 

[Palimelon]

Oh God that was one of the most unintentionally hilarious things I have seen in a while.

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, Palimelon said:

Oh God that was one of the most unintentionally hilarious things I have seen in a while.

The best actor in that commercial was the little girl!

I thought about getting Life Alert for my Dad for years, but both times I couldn't reach him it would have been useless. Once he unintentionally turned the ringer off his cell phone and didn't know that people were trying to call him for several hours. I was also unable to reach him on his land line. He had recently disconnected it and didn't tell me. If I had known I would have told him not to just because I knew we needed a backup method of reaching him. None of his neighbors or friends were reachable on that day either. It was the July 4th weekend and the superintendent of his building was away and the management company office was closed. His friends did not answer either. So we had the police do a wellness check. They knocked on the door but couldn't reach him either! We were beside ourselves! My husband and I got in the car and drove 110 miles down to his apartment and opened the door with my spare key. There he was in the second bedroom with headphones on listening to music while surfing the internet!  He couldn't believe we went all the way there just because we couldn't reach him for several hours, but he realized after that that he'd better make sure he was reachable at all times.

The second incident was when he got Covid and suddenly was unreachable because he was in bed sleeping and had left the phone in the other room. I had his friend and cleaning person go check on him and she had an ambulance come for him because she couldn't get him out of bed and he didn't look too well. He died a week later in the hospital at 92.

Actually I'm the person that could have used Life Alert last year when I had a really bad episode of vertigo. I was wet and in the shower when it happened but at least I always keep my phone right by me in the shower so I was able to call 911 myself and then stumble over to put my robe on and crawl to the front door. So actually I didn't really need it.

I tend to think the usefulness of something like that is kind of limited but I guess when you're that old and/or infirmed you and your family might want to take every precaution. And the commercials know that it's the loved ones that might be the ones buying the device for their relative so I guess they're aiming this ad at them.

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

I just looked it up, and the actors are all of the quality you get on a Life Alert commercial budget, but from :20 to :30 I think the actor playing the husband may be trying to convey an "Oh, I'm fucked" element among his reactions.

Maybe she doesn't want to hand him his ass in front of their kid, but it would have played a lot more natural if she reassured the kid, then stared daggers at the husband when she turned.

If my husband had acted that way when my father didn't answer I would have clocked him one for sure! Thankfully he knows better, LOL. 😉

[Gramto6]

The Emergency button on my iPhone worked just great when I fell the end of 2023 and (gulp) couldn't get up! Just push the button that takes you to the sign in screen and you have 2 choices at the bottom of the screen...Emergency or Cancel. 

I hit Emergency and immediately they were on the phone and dispatched help. I always have my phone in my pocket (clothes or pjs) or beside me in bed, as it is my step counter too. Just as good as the Life Alert device!!

[Gharlane]

9 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

Has anyone seen the new Life alert commercial? The husband is an asshole. His wife is worried because she hasn't heard from her mother all morning. She even called her mother five times and got no response. The husband acts like it's no big deal and that his wife is making a big deal over nothing. She gets a call from Life Alert letting her know that her mother had a fall but is okay, the EMTs are with her. 

Wait, how long did it take for Life Alert to call her if she didn't know her mother's status all morning? 

[andromeda331]

14 minutes ago, Gharlane said:

Wait, how long did it take for Life Alert to call her if she didn't know her mother's status all morning? 

They never say. It would be good to know how long it took. 

[andromeda331]

7 hours ago, Yeah No said:

The best actor in that commercial was the little girl!

I thought about getting Life Alert for my Dad for years, but both times I couldn't reach him it would have been useless. Once he unintentionally turned the ringer off his cell phone and didn't know that people were trying to call him for several hours. I was also unable to reach him on his land line. He had recently disconnected it and didn't tell me. If I had known I would have told him not to just because I knew we needed a backup method of reaching him. None of his neighbors or friends were reachable on that day either. It was the July 4th weekend and the superintendent of his building was away and the management company office was closed. His friends did not answer either. So we had the police do a wellness check. They knocked on the door but couldn't reach him either! We were beside ourselves! My husband and I got in the car and drove 110 miles down to his apartment and opened the door with my spare key. There he was in the second bedroom with headphones on listening to music while surfing the internet!  He couldn't believe we went all the way there just because we couldn't reach him for several hours, but he realized after that that he'd better make sure he was reachable at all times.

The second incident was when he got Covid and suddenly was unreachable because he was in bed sleeping and had left the phone in the other room. I had his friend and cleaning person go check on him and she had an ambulance come for him because she couldn't get him out of bed and he didn't look too well. He died a week later in the hospital at 92.

Actually I'm the person that could have used Life Alert last year when I had a really bad episode of vertigo. I was wet and in the shower when it happened but at least I always keep my phone right by me in the shower so I was able to call 911 myself and then stumble over to put my robe on and crawl to the front door. So actually I didn't really need it.

I tend to think the usefulness of something like that is kind of limited but I guess when you're that old and/or infirmed you and your family might want to take every precaution. And the commercials know that it's the loved ones that might be the ones buying the device for their relative so I guess they're aiming this ad at them.

If my husband had acted that way when my father didn't answer I would have clocked him one for sure! Thankfully he knows better, LOL. 😉

My brother and I were going to get one for our dad. He has tons of health problems. I live with my dad but he sleeps downstairs but just in case he can't call me or yell up. But Life Alert had a lot of really bad reviews. I found a bell for him to use. 

[Yeah No]

3 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

My brother and I were going to get one for our dad. He has tons of health problems. I live with my dad but he sleeps downstairs but just in case he can't call me or yell up. But Life Alert had a lot of really bad reviews. I found a bell for him to use. 

That's interesting, I never got as far as to check reviews. I probably would have gone with another similar service if I had gotten that far.

[Haleth]

15 hours ago, Yeah No said:

The best actor in that commercial was the little girl!

I thought about getting Life Alert for my Dad for years, but both times I couldn't reach him it would have been useless. Once he unintentionally turned the ringer off his cell phone and didn't know that people were trying to call him for several hours. I was also unable to reach him on his land line. He had recently disconnected it and didn't tell me. If I had known I would have told him not to just because I knew we needed a backup method of reaching him. None of his neighbors or friends were reachable on that day either. It was the July 4th weekend and the superintendent of his building was away and the management company office was closed. His friends did not answer either. So we had the police do a wellness check. They knocked on the door but couldn't reach him either! We were beside ourselves! My husband and I got in the car and drove 110 miles down to his apartment and opened the door with my spare key. There he was in the second bedroom with headphones on listening to music while surfing the internet!  He couldn't believe we went all the way there just because we couldn't reach him for several hours, but he realized after that that he'd better make sure he was reachable at all times.

The second incident was when he got Covid and suddenly was unreachable because he was in bed sleeping and had left the phone in the other room. I had his friend and cleaning person go check on him and she had an ambulance come for him because she couldn't get him out of bed and he didn't look too well. He died a week later in the hospital at 92.

Actually I'm the person that could have used Life Alert last year when I had a really bad episode of vertigo. I was wet and in the shower when it happened but at least I always keep my phone right by me in the shower so I was able to call 911 myself and then stumble over to put my robe on and crawl to the front door. So actually I didn't really need it.

I tend to think the usefulness of something like that is kind of limited but I guess when you're that old and/or infirmed you and your family might want to take every precaution. And the commercials know that it's the loved ones that might be the ones buying the device for their relative so I guess they're aiming this ad at them.

If my husband had acted that way when my father didn't answer I would have clocked him one for sure! Thankfully he knows better, LOL. 😉

Omigosh!  These stories are terrifying!  

[Red Bridey]

I got Life Alert for my mom after she had a couple of falls. One of the interesting things was there was a power failure in her neighborhood and an automatic call went out to the local EMT service. I got the LA call at work and rushed to her house where the paramedics were leaving...she was sound asleep in her bed and was surprised to see them tramping through her bedroom.

[proserpina65]

23 hours ago, chessiegal said:

I'd be embarrassed to tip $3 for a Domino's delivery. They are the only company that delivers to us, so I'm grateful the few times a year I order from them. I usually tip 25% or more. The drivers always thank me for my generosity.

My brother does pizza delivery so I'm always generous with tips because I've heard his stories about people who place large orders and then don't tip.

 

[dleighg]

(watching the olympics) I keep seeing this very annoying kid at Target (??) saying how he used to be really into dinosaurs (for his backpack and lunchbox presumably), and he knew all their names and what they ate, blah, blah, blah. But NOW "he's evolved" and it's all about sharks. So if it's not sharks, he's NOT INTERESTED.

I feel like when I was a kid told to eat my dinner because of starving children in Africa. (Well I actually wasn't told that, but it was a thing). DON'T YOU KNOW THAT THERE ARE KIDS WHO DON'T EVEN HAVE SCHOOLS????

[Prevailing Wind]

Taking the Life Alert discussion to Small Talk...

[sempervivum]

Maybe this was discussed long ago (I only read back 3 pages here), but how sickening is the 'spit-take' ad from Sprint! It was kind of funny the first 2 times, but it just goes on and on and on.

 

[marceline]

On 7/29/2024 at 2:40 PM, Bastet said:

I just looked it up, and the actors are all of the quality you get on a Life Alert commercial budget, but from :20 to :30 I think the actor playing the husband may be trying to convey an "Oh, I'm fucked" element among his reactions.

Maybe she doesn't want to hand him his ass in front of their kid, but it would have played a lot more natural if she reassured the kid, then stared daggers at the husband when she turned.

 

I've never seen this one before. Ugh. This looks more like an ad for a divorce attorney than Life Alert.

I've said this about the Geico "Don't Become Your Parents" ads but I really feel like so many of the people writing these ads really don't understand normal human relationships.

[Haleth]

15 hours ago, marceline said:

I've said this about the Geico "Don't Become Your Parents" ads but I really feel like so many of the people writing these ads really don't understand normal human relationships.

Yeah, I don't see anything wrong with what the people are doing in the BBQ ad (except maybe the woman taking away glasses from people who haven't finished their drinks).  So what if someone wants to wear a silly apron?  I do laugh at the one about old people talking about the weather.  My husband recently bought a home weather station and is now informed enough to rival Jim Cantore.  Just ask him.

[Prevailing Wind]

Weather, bird feeders/watching, and jigsaw puzzles.  We're getting up there, aren't we?

[dleighg]

15 minutes ago, Haleth said:

except maybe the woman taking away glasses from people who haven't finished their drinks

I'm notorious for "cleaning up." (Though it's only glasses that have been left around on tables or counters)

[andromeda331]

6 hours ago, Haleth said:

Yeah, I don't see anything wrong with what the people are doing in the BBQ ad (except maybe the woman taking away glasses from people who haven't finished their drinks).  So what if someone wants to wear a silly apron?  

My grandmother used to do that all the time. You learned to keep your drink in your hands at all hands even to the bathroom or else it would be gone.

Quote

I do laugh at the one about old people talking about the weather.  My husband recently bought a home weather station and is now informed enough to rival Jim Cantore.  Just ask him.

Me too. My dad's always doing that or yelling at the weatherpeople. Although the guy talking about 10% chance of rain is so correct where I live you have a better chance getting a down pour or big snow storm when they predict 10% then anything else.

[Shrek]

I have to admit to doing the weather thing, the wife hates it & I'm sure it annoys her.

[Ohiopirate02]

I get the weather thing once you buy a home with a yard. The yardwork is never-ending and there are only so many hours of daylight in which to get it done. You need to keep abreast with the weather so you can plan on when you are going to mow your lawn without suffering heat stroke. 

[Tom Holmberg]

56 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I get the weather thing once you buy a home with a yard. The yardwork is never-ending and there are only so many hours of daylight in which to get it done. You need to keep abreast with the weather so you can plan on when you are going to mow your lawn without suffering heat stroke. 

Basically it's: everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.

[SweetieDarling]

i just saw a new (to me) Lume commercial, and OMG this woman has learned NOTHING from the criticism about her commercials!! 

FFS hire a marketing team! or a makeup artist, or anything that makes you not look like you yourself need a shower!! 

There is no way this woman convinces me (even if I camped for weeks) that I should buy what she's selling. Hire a damned advertising firm already!! or get off my tv (and my lawn while you're at it)

Edited August 2 by SweetieDarling
spelling

[Jaded]

1 hour ago, SweetieDarling said:

i just saw a new (to me) Lume commercial, and OMG this woman has learned NOTHING form the criticism about her commercials!! 

FFS hire a marketing team! or a makeup artist, or anything that makes you not look like you yourself need a shower!! 

There is no way this woman convinces me (even if I camped for weeks) that I should buy what she's selling. Hire a damned advertising firm already!! or get off my tv (and my lawn while you're at it)

There must be a stockpile of Lume commercials. I've said before that I sometimes see a few times then there's another what seems like new one not long after. She is an obnoxious huckster preying on other women.

[Yeah No]

9 hours ago, SweetieDarling said:

FFS hire a marketing team! or a makeup artist, or anything that makes you not look like you yourself need a shower!! 

7 hours ago, Jaded said:

She is an obnoxious huckster preying on other women.

In addition to being a slimy huckster, is it me or is she also creepy? I feel like I need a shower after watching just a minute of her!

[Yeah No]

On 7/31/2024 at 2:46 PM, marceline said:

I've said this about the Geico "Don't Become Your Parents" ads but I really feel like so many of the people writing these ads really don't understand normal human relationships.

Those were funny and relatable in the beginning but now it's like they're scraping to find something to correlate to being a function of being an aging parent. And it just misses the mark. The writers weren't good enough to continue to be that spot-on. But of course they are trying to continue them anyway. 

20 hours ago, Haleth said:

I do laugh at the one about old people talking about the weather.  My husband recently bought a home weather station and is now informed enough to rival Jim Cantore.  Just ask him.

Interestingly even though my father and good friend were both armchair/amateur meteorologists (and actually often better than the TV news) that commercial bit didn't make me laugh. I just don't find those Geico "parents" commercials funny anymore. And the more they go on the less funny I find them.

[Gharlane]

On 7/31/2024 at 2:46 PM, marceline said:

I've never seen this one before. Ugh. This looks more like an ad for a divorce attorney than Life Alert.

I've said this about the Geico "Don't Become Your Parents" ads but I really feel like so many of the people writing these ads really don't understand normal human relationships.

Just thought I'd share this... 

[tres bien]

Not too long ago I posted that I thought Dr Lume is the most putrid spokesperson on TV. Body shaming women is one hell of way to sell a product.

I see that she's also become the spokesperson for her men's line Mando. Interesting 

[Palimelon]

Like Jo Jo Siwa, she has a face that i can only describe as punchable.