Aspects of ads that irk you

Not in any kind of order, ads I don't like at all.

"It's new, and improved." So, the former one was old and useless? This usually only means a new package. But...

"New package, same great BS inside".


Ads for kitchen gadgets that promise to "replace a drawer full of these.."

All kitchen gadget ads.

Ads for feminine hygiene products of any kind.

Ads for male hygiene products of any kind. New to this genre is a shield and guard. It protects a guy if he takes a shot to the groin and pees himself, at the same time.

Talking, walking, singing candy or food.

The Pillsbury Dough boy.

A local car dealer who is just annoying if he speaks. He does. A lot.

Ads for diarrhea meds.

Britton30 said:

Not in any kind of order, ads I don't like at all.

"It's new, and improved." So, the former one was old and useless? This usually only means a new package. But...

"New package, same great BS inside".


Ads for kitchen gadgets that promise to "replace a drawer full of these.."

All kitchen gadget ads.

Ads for feminine hygiene products of any kind.

Ads for male hygiene products of any kind. New to this genre is a shield and guard. It protects a guy if he takes a shot to the groin and pees himself, at the same time.

Talking, walking, singing candy or food.

The Pillsbury Dough boy.

A local car dealer who is just annoying if he speaks. He does. A lot.

Ads for diarrhea meds.

How about the endless onslaught of pharmaceutical ads?

Lava King said:

...How about the endless onslaught of pharmaceutical ads?

Annoying but ignorable.

Lady Fitzgerald said:

I must be weird, then, because the quickest way to turn me off on a product is using stereotypical commercials. Something new and fresh, as long as it isn't overdone, is far more likely to favorably get my attention.

To me I think it's more that stereotypical equates to a certain level of "quality/professionalism" as opposed to "budget" ads that don't instil you with a confidence in the company. It's part of the "conditioning".

By and large, unless I was planning to buy a product anyway, I sometimes go out of my way to not buy a product because of an ad.

As for new and fresh - they can become stale very, very quickly. Worse is that if "popular", they milk an idea for all it's worth. A 2-3 ad campaign suddenly has another 3-6 subsequent ads in the same style created. Especially mascot/"character" campaigns.

Over 10 years ago I gave cable/satellite tv the boot. This thread confirms people are way too attached to media. People have time to watch some pos phony reality - game show they have time to use for something more important in their lives. Get something done that doesn't expose you to these ads for gods sakes. Seems some people would rather willingly be brainwashed by the media telling them what they should pay attention to. Oh but they don't want to hear that. And the 'powers that be' certainly want your attention for advertising space.

smarteyeball said:

Lady Fitzgerald said:

I must be weird, then, because the quickest way to turn me off on a product is using stereotypical commercials. Something new and fresh, as long as it isn't overdone, is far more likely to favorably get my attention.

To me I think it's more that stereotypical equates to a certain level of "quality/professionalism" as opposed to "budget" ads that don't instil you with a confidence in the company. It's part of the "conditioning"...

For me, a poorly done low budget ad will instill a lack of trust in a company (it suggests they are unprofessional and/or cheap). However, commercials I enjoy or, at least, not be offended or annoyed by, will not necessarily make me want to buy the product or service; they are merely entertaining and/or informative. The product has to stand on its own merits. For example, I enjoy the most of the Progressive, Farmers, and Geico commercials and love the beautiful, deep, resonant voice of the actor who narrates the Allstate commercials. Does that mean I'm going to run out and buy their insurance? No way, José! I wouldn't trust any of those companies any farther than I can spit upwind in a stiff breeze.

smarteyeball said:

...By and large, unless I was planning to buy a product anyway, I sometimes go out of my way to not buy a product because of an ad...

The same here. Even if I would have used a product otherwise, an obnoxious commercial will often cause me to boycott the company with the commercial. I also let the company know that I am boycotting them because of their offensive commercial; otherwise, how will they know that their commercials are offensive? True, I'm only one small voice but, if enough small voices sound off, companies are far more likely to pay attention.

Lady Fitzgerald said:

For me, a poorly done low budget ad will instill a lack of trust in a company (it suggests they are unprofessional and/or cheap). However, commercials I enjoy or, at least, not be offended or annoyed by, will not necessarily make me want to buy the product or service; they are merely entertaining and/or informative. The product has to stand on its own merits. For example, I enjoy the most of the Progressive, Farmers, and Geico commercials and love the beautiful, deep, resonant voice of the actor who narrates the Allstate commercials. Does that mean I'm going to run out and buy their insurance? No way, José! I wouldn't trust any of those companies any farther than I can spit upwind in a stiff breeze.

Me too, I like Flo although many don't. Farmers and Geico seem to have gone out of their way to make several version of their ads, not repeating too often. The gecko, Cave Man, 15 minutes themes, etc.

Flo had to grow on me. The concept of seeing insurance as boxes in a physical store was a bit far fetched. Flo was able to pull it off and make it work. Shortly after Progressive started the store ads, Allstate tried the same thing. It went over like a lead balloon. I love Geico's lizard; the cave men, nowhere near as much.

I don't have that problem. 10 years ago I stopped watching TV in the US - because of the ads. Most are an insult to my intelligence. Have 3 TVs to give away for free, but nobody wants them because they are not flatscreen.

In Europe I have at least 50 channels without ads - and I only pay about $20 per month. There I watch TV. I also have channels from a dozen countries including the US. The American channels have few ads in Europe and I think a lot more sophisticated ads.

- UK TV is currently besieged by a huge number of gambling ads
- be it the National Lottery, Scratch-cards, Bingo or whatever..
- it only started a few years ago, now it's getting worse..

- I notice they only ever portray winners..
- never a mention of the countless thousands of losers..

- I find that very annoying..
- in fact, it's a bit disturbing..