I get a kick out of the new Toyota Yaris commercials. Especially the one with the spider/gas pump handle thingie.
The VW ads with the trebuchet flinging the cars are hilarious. (Though, I think I just like them because of the trebuchet.)
All Burger King commercials with "The King", particularly when sports related, annoy the living heck out of me.
Posts: 511 | Registered: Mar 2006
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mph, it's one thing for a commercial to have a target audience It's another entirely for a commercial to alienate a large chuck of the market outside of their target audience. There's one place I decided to never patronize again over ten years ago because their commercials were so insulting towards women. I haven't been back, and I won't be. I haven't seen the Burger King commercials in question, as I don't watch TV, but if a large percentage of women have the same reaction to them that these Hatrack women to, guys by themselves or with groups of other guys had better be the majority of their customers.
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quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head: Yet again, I don't think that you're part of the target audience of the "I am man" commercials, Syn.
Even if I was a man, I'd still think it's stupid... A bunch of guys screaming over hamburgers.. With Jalapeno so we all know what that leads to >.<
Also the ones with the King are stupid too... Good thing I am off fast food and will just make my own burgers. Unless a Friendly's appears near me...
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Truth to tell, I find them insulting as well.
But, I do undestand their appeal.
I'm now trying to figure out why I halfway defended those commercials even though they've always annoyed me.
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I was starting to get really annoyed with the "priceless" Mastercard commercials. But then they made the MacGyver one with Richard Dean Anderson, and I think I forgave them all that came before...
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I also dislike the ipod commercials. They just rub me the wrong way. Too slick?
(maybe it's because they used Bono and I hate Bono and my brain engaged in permanent semantic mapping: bono=bad, ipod commercial=bono, ipod commercial=bad)
Posts: 484 | Registered: Feb 2006
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Consistency check: Do commercials that portray men as buffons and women as savvy tick (general) you off?
I remember laughing out loud in one of my sociology classes when a student who had been (correctly) ranting about negative female stereotypes in advertising appreciated the male stereotypes.
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I hate when commercials and shows make men look stupid. It's so sexist because if they made a show with a tough bossy man then lots of people would gripe and complain, where as if it is a woman, it's ok... Arg. How the heck can the sexes get along if they think the other sex is just a child? drives me nuts... but it has nothing to do with ads that annoy me...
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Swampjedi: Consistency check: Do commercials that portray men as buffons and women as savvy tick (general) you off?
I remember laughing out loud in one of my sociology classes when a student who had been (correctly) ranting about negative female stereotypes in advertising appreciated the male stereotypes.
Like which ones? I can't think of any off the top of my head, but I pay a lot more attention to the fact that there are so many fat guy/hot wife commercials.
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Sorry Syn, I was replying to posts a little farther up.
Sexist commercials of any kind annoy me. Then again, most commmercials annoy me, because they make me feel so manipulated.
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Swamp: I call it the 'bumbling dad' genre and those annoy me too. Card wrote a few good rants about them, actually.
Just once I would like to see a food commercial where the man makes the supper and no one marvels "wow Dad you got something right!" or his wife tells him how awesome it is and he winks and it's Easy Something. He makes dinner, people eat it and compliment whatever the product is and that's that. How hard is that to accomplish?
EDIT: pH, right on! I don't know if you've seen Family Guy but "Buy this and hot women will have sex in your backyard."
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pH, I can think of one immediately, and I never watch TV. Of course it's a bit generic, but I can see little images of it in my head.
The scene: A man spends hours working on a financial problem, and can't seem to understand what's going on. His wife, the savvy internet user, has used Company A's widget banking service to accomplish the same task in two clicks. She smirks at him as he sits there surrounded by paperwork, and prints out her nice neat results from Company A's widget.
Posts: 1069 | Registered: Feb 2005
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quote:EDIT: pH, right on! I don't know if you've seen Family Guy but "Buy this and hot women will have sex in your backyard."
Exactly!
Actually, the only guys-look-like-idiots one I can think of is that one where all the guys are eating chips watching the construction guys, where one is working and the rest are goofing off, and it cuts to a shot of the office, where all the dudes are at the window, and the woman is solving some problem on the computer.
quote:Originally posted by Swampjedi: Thanks, Kristen.
On a related note, I'd love it if women would quit being amazed when learning that I love to cook and am quite competent.
Then again, if that's attractive, by all means be amazed!
I think it's attractive because...um....I don't do it.
I also find it attractive that my boyfriend occasionally takes out my trash and locks both of the locks on my door if I fall asleep and he has to leave.
quote:Because "band on a roof" is apparently the most common group band photo known to man.
See also: Band in a field; Band on a bus.
I'm sick of the the hot girl/fat guy stereotype, but in sitcoms, not commercials. Every season it seems like I see 3 new 'fat guy with a hot wife' sitcoms, and two 'Charlie Sheen smirks' sitcoms.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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I don't understand why King of Queens is still on... I hate that show so much. It just annoys me... Hence why I have stopped watching it. Also it has that chick with a bad attitude whose personality sucks so much and the fat guy is really a nice guy but rather... stupid.....
I also hate irratating marriage sitcoms where the guys whine about how they hate being married because their wives tell the what to do... Oddly it makes marriage a bit unappealing to me... If they hate being married so much, why don't they stay wild playboys?
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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This goes back a long way, and involves a political campaign commercial, but the best political campaign commercial in history was the "Morning in America" commercials of the Ronald Reagan presidential re-election campaign for his second term. Even jaded liberal democrats got lumps in their throats watching the commercial.
The worst commercial I ever saw was the Quizno's commercials from about two years ago, where the characters touting the toasted subs looked like road kill. Honestly. Flattened, teeth awry--truly disgusting. It took the company several months to realize what a terrible commercial campaign it was, and finally yanked them. Their current commercials are OK. But those earlier ones could not have been worse if their competitors designed them, deliberately intending to put people off and sabotage Quizno's marketing effort.
Posts: 3742 | Registered: Dec 2001
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quote:The worst commercial I ever saw was the Quizno's commercials from about two years ago, where the characters touting the toasted subs looked like road kill. Honestly. Flattened, teeth awry--truly disgusting. It took the company several months to realize what a terrible commercial campaign it was, and finally yanked them. Their current commercials are OK. But those earlier ones could not have been worse if their competitors designed them, deliberately intending to put people off and sabotage Quizno's marketing effort.
You're KIDDING, right?
Seriously, that was the most effective ad campaign I've seen in YEARS. *EVERYONE* was talking about it. College-age kids LOVED it, and that was who Quizno's was targetting (given that the inspiration for the commercial was a flash animation).
Posts: 4313 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I also hated the Quizno's commercials. It seems to be a love it or hate it thing. We are still talking about it years later. I can honestly say I haven't eaten at a Quizno's in years, although I don't think it had anything to do with the commercial.
Posts: 555 | Registered: Jun 2005
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I hate all of those Sierra Mist ads. The soda tastes good, I'd drink it if I wasn't swearing off of soft drinks, but those ads. I don't want to encourage them.
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quote:Actually, the only guys-look-like-idiots one I can think of is that one where all the guys are eating chips watching the construction guys, where one is working and the rest are goofing off, and it cuts to a shot of the office, where all the dudes are at the window, and the woman is solving some problem on the computer.
DiGiorno Pizzas have a lovely line of "men are idiots/lazy/jerks" commercials. Like the one where the woman comes in and asks who delivered, he says it's DiGiorno, whatever, and she goes, "You fixed the oven? You fixed the oven!" but the oven isn't fixed, it's new microwave DiGiorno, or the supremely annoying commercial when he calls his wife and barks at her to bring them a pizza and "make it snappy", and then she comes out and turns the sprinklers on them (although to be fair I think she's an idiot for apparently making a habit of bringing him pizza when he acts like that), and there are others, too... And those are just the first ones that came to mind, there are lots more from other companies.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I'd like to add the espn mobile commercials to the list of crappy commercials. I watch sportscenter every day, and these commercials are beyond annoying. The premise is stupid, the actor is infuriatingly aggravating, and the product is something no one wants.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Synesthesia: I hate all of those Sierra Mist ads. The soda tastes good, I'd drink it if I wasn't swearing off of soft drinks, but those ads. I don't want to encourage them.
In general, I get annoyed with "Our product will make you act crazy/irresoponsible" ads.
In general. Some are acceptable, because funny covereth a multitude of sins.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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The commercial I hated most in my life was the movietickets.com commercial that played before every movie I saw for about six months.
A couple shows up at a cinema center, talking about how great it was that they could by movie tickets online. Then the female reveals that she's in one theater, while he is in a different one. He asks which one, and she while going up an escalator tells him to check his ticket. He says something to the effect of: "Are we still on for dinner later, you know, at the same restaurant?".
Every time it annoyed the hell out of me. Perhaps someone can explain to me the joke of this commercial. That the woman is a jerk, and that their relationship clearly has issues? If I were that guy, I would probably leave her butt at the theater, and then go home and start packing up her stuff .
Posts: 5656 | Registered: Oct 1999
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quote:Originally posted by SC Carver: I also hated the Quizno's commercials. It seems to be a love it or hate it thing. We are still talking about it years later. I can honestly say I haven't eaten at a Quizno's in years, although I don't think it had anything to do with the commercial.
I'm solidly in the "loved them" camp, but I haven't eaten Quiznos in probably a year and a half either. They're significantly more expensive than their competition, and not significantly tastier. If I have coupons or someone else is buying I'll eat there, but that's about it.
Ron, I can remember my parents rolling their eyes at those "Morning in America" commercials. I think I remember my father saying "more like 'mourning for America'".
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I have to say that McDonalds makes particularly horrible ads. Their entire advertising philosophy seems to revolve around trying to convince people that McDonalds is something that it isn't by putting it around things that it has no place with. As if showing some bicyclists eating McDonalds food will make us all believe that it is a healthy place now.
On the flip side of the fast food market, the ads with that Burger King guy are awesome. He's the best fast food mascot yet!
Overall, though, I think the least effective ads are ANY car ads. I don't think I've ever seen a car ad that made me remember the car for more than 10 seconds....
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quote:I'm solidly in the "loved them" camp, but I haven't eaten Quiznos in probably a year and a half either. They're significantly more expensive than their competition, and not significantly tastier. If I have coupons or someone else is buying I'll eat there, but that's about it.
Around here, we only have Subway as a comparison for chain subs, and Quizno's is entire universes better than they are. Not because the subs are necessarily made with better ingredients, but because their employees actually give a damn about making the sandwich edible looking, easy to hold without dripping crap all over the place, they don't squish your bread while cutting it, etc. etc. I can barely eat at Subway anymore; if they didn't have $2.99 foot long specials, I never would.
Posts: 4313 | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Tresopax: I have to say that McDonalds makes particularly horrible ads. Their entire advertising philosophy seems to revolve around trying to convince people that McDonalds is something that it isn't by putting it around things that it has no place with. As if showing some bicyclists eating McDonalds food will make us all believe that it is a healthy place now.
On the flip side of the fast food market, the ads with that Burger King guy are awesome. He's the best fast food mascot yet!
Overall, though, I think the least effective ads are ANY car ads. I don't think I've ever seen a car ad that made me remember the car for more than 10 seconds....
Or soccer players! Soccer players eat McDonald's every day, and so should you!
I hate the Burger King guy though. He freaks me out really bad. Ugh.
As for car ads...hm. I can remember some of the Volvo ads. I remember pretty much all the new Volkswagen ads, but that's could be more just my selective attention. And I remember the Dodge Charger ads, and they piss me off...or is that the Calibur? The one with the fairy, and the other one with the dog sticking his butt out the window.
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The other commercials I hate are any featuring Michael McDonald. Can someone teach that guy diction? His voice makes me wanna yamma-burn-this-place-to-the-ground.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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My favorite commercials are the CitiBank (?) ads about identity theft, where they have the people with the wrong voices. The latest one had a big burly guy lifting waits and then he starts singing some pop song in a girls voice. Hilarious. I love those.
Also, the MacGyver commercial is the best commercial of all time and everyone should kiss the TV when they see it. MacGyver is god.
Worst commercials of all time.... the light beer commercials where they talk about all the great taste. uh, no. They all taste exactly the same, and that taste is urine.
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quote:I hate the Burger King guy though. He freaks me out really bad. Ugh.
I like those. Not my favorites, but above par. I really like the one with the King and the construction worker working on a skyscraper. At the end the king does a playful shove, almost knocking the worker off. Then they both start laughing. I found it incredibly silly.
I hated the "McDonald's is going gourmet" commercials for their new chicken sandwiches that showed a bunch of hot twenty-somethings walking around with their pinkies in the air. They made me want to go on a finger-breaking spree.
Posts: 2907 | Registered: Nov 2005
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Thanks to you all for reminding me why I don't have a Television. (The machine is hooked up to VHS-DVD but no antenna.)
Posts: 1167 | Registered: Oct 2005
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The best commercial right now is the Volkswagon Passat one. That's probably the only car commercial that's ever actually made me interested in the car being advertised (though I'm not in any position to buy it, though maybe in the future). All of the other car commercials are so unoriginal. They're basically a car going really, really fast and then a funny joke about how fast the car went (e.g. a mime saying "whoa" or the car stops and you hear the noise a couple seconds after). The Passat had a really great, original commercial, though.
edit: by the way I'm talking about the one where all of the other car drivers are yelling things about of a megaphone.
Posts: 2054 | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Noemon: You know, I don't think that I've felt uncomfortable watching a commercial as an adult. Bored? Yes. Amused? Sure. Incredulous? Occasionally. Angry? Once in a while. Uncomfortable? No.
How about those new Sprite ones. Sublymonal advertising? I have to look away and do something else.
I hate all Old Navy ads.
There have been good car ads over the years. One in particular that stands out to me is Isuzu's "Go Farther" ads. The first one was this guy hearing a whispered voice, Field of Dreams style, saying "Go farther." He jumps in his Isuzu SUV and goes to increasingly remote, hard to reach spots, and keeps on hearing the voice, until the point where he is poling his SUV down a river on a raft, right toward a waterfall, at which point the voice whispers, "Too far." (The only problem with this ad campaign was the way the slogan "Go Farther" would appear on the screen, quickly falling in one letter at a time. I'm a quick reader, and so I would invariably parse the letters as they were falling, instead of after they were on the screen, and so "Go fart her" seemed like a truly odd slogan to me.)
quote:Originally posted by Juxtapose: I was looking for a newer Sony Cybershot commercial involving a fairy and a jealous coworker,
"My camera came with a wizard." "That's the dumbest thing I ever heard."
FYI, that's not a real ad. That's a clip from the hilarious Dudley Moore movie Crazy People.
I hate those Dodge ads about how, no matter what the car is, it's *not* cute. Um, huh? Who the hell cares?!
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