Commercials that Fail

[Trekker4747]

I'm going to go in with "Virtually Every Old Navy Commercial Made, Ever."

They had one run featuring Carrie Donovan and the current one with the talking store mannequins are just bizzare and I'm not sure how they're supposed to convince me to buy a $60 polo shirt.

It's like you have to be high to understand their commercials.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

All commercials featuring the Burger 'King'.

Except maybe this one:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nopKDuydRo[/yt]

 

[Joeman]

I'm hating on the iPhone/AT&T ads that attempt to tug at my heart strings to buy their product.

One is a guy talking to his wife who just got a short haircut and he's telling her how cute it is, and her agreeing despite her obvious insecurity about it.

Another has a guy talking on the phone to his father, who just became a grandfather. The new father is asking the grandfather how it feels to be a grandfather, and the new grandfather seems to think it's really swell.

Another has a guy getting a call from his wife to let him know that she's pregnant.

Gee. If I only had an iPhone I could maybe have moments like these!

After having seen each of them about twice, I now immediately change the channel as soon as one comes on.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Any commercial where the voiceover SHOUTS AT YOU AS THOUGH YOU WERE AN IDIOT and then, in the last .005 seconds of the ad, reads what sounds like the entire US tax code. Why the hell can't they make it clear?

I hate radio ads, I don't know how many I've changed in the car because they are annoying. I mean, I should just change it period because it's a commercial but a lot of times I won't think to do it until one annoys me.

The rattling of a list at the end like you mention will sometimes do it. I also hate any ad with a list at all like there's one that goes something like "Get up. Shower. Go to work. Eat. Pay bills. Sleep. Get up. repeat.", I don't even know what the ad's for because I've flipped it before it ever finishes.

In a similar vein any ad that demonstrates annoying behavior by repeating said annoying behavior gets an immediate change.

I have no idea where this pet peeve comes from but any ad where the guys says something with "Right? Wrong." pisses me off. "Three blades are enough, right? Wrong.".

 

[Sephiroth]

don't forget the alltel ads, where alltel is represented by "Chad" your stereotypical douche bag, and all the competitors are played by a group of stereotypical dorks, the commercials disrespect D&D and Trek, too, so...*starts handing out torches and pitchforks*

 

[Dusty Ayres]

I saw a Burger King commercial that advertised Tony Stewart likes one of the sandwiches there so much, that he went and worked at a BK for a day. For me at least, this commercial is a total failure because I have no idea who this person is or why I should care that he likes a Burger King hamburger.

So what commercials fail for you?

He's a popular NASCAR driver.

Tony Stewart aka "Smoke" is a Two Time 2002 & 2005 NASCAR Winston Cup/Sprint Cup Champion, among other accomplishments

For me its that hat Dell "Lolli-Pop" comercial
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ijH3cRJ1BY[/yt]

That's my favorite commercial, how could you?

 

[Amaris]

I saw a Burger King commercial that advertised Tony Stewart likes one of the sandwiches there so much, that he went and worked at a BK for a day. For me at least, this commercial is a total failure because I have no idea who this person is or why I should care that he likes a Burger King hamburger.

So what commercials fail for you?

He's a popular NASCAR driver.

Tony Stewart aka "Smoke" is a Two Time 2002 & 2005 NASCAR Winston Cup/Sprint Cup Champion, among other accomplishments

For me its that hat Dell "Lolli-Pop" comercial

Oh, MAN don't get me started on those.
"We don't have anything useful to add to your system, but for $90 more than the competition, we'll make it a pretty color that will scratch off because the company we chose to paint the things cut corners because we picked the cheapest, least reputable company to do the job!

Lollipop!

 

[Hermiod]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0-2n8JHc1M[/yt]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcKV1FwAugI[/yt]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qK_hv2mXp0w[/yt]

 

[Dusty Ayres]

Okay, here's mine:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pg6y_fHYso[/yt]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSQVVHyvOZU&feature=related[/yt]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nBIpwnMW9s&feature=related[/yt]



This guy is annoying, per se and then some.

 

[The Grim Ghost]

Hardees commercials. I'll never eat there just because I hate the commercials so much.

TV: The jerk guy is going out with 3 women so he takes them to Hardees to save money.

TV: The guy is too stupid to open a cannister of biscuits.

TV: The firemen all sit around eating hot burgers, sweating, and sipping their drinks loudly to show how hot they are. haha.

Radio: The obnoxious woman calls Hardees and tells asks how their biscuits are made. Then in a condescinding voice asks if the woman rides a horse to work (trying to show just how darned old fashioned they are) barf

They seem to have decided to go after the fratboys. They share much in common with Spike TV.

I can't remember the name, but I always hear these hot sauce commercials over the radio that infer you are a sissy and or gay if you don't use their super hot sauce. I find it insulting to gay people and trying to play on some stereotypes.

 

[Jack Bauer]

The Burger King ads with that creepy King is a real turn off. It's an epic fail for me. Remember a few years ago when Quiznos did those ads with these weird rat looking creatures? It made me never want to eat there again. They were weird and gross. I don't think that campaign lasted all that long.

 

[Trekker4747]

I'm hating on the iPhone/AT&T ads that attempt to tug at my heart strings to buy their product.

One is a guy talking to his wife who just got a short haircut and he's telling her how cute it is, and her agreeing despite her obvious insecurity about it.

Another has a guy talking on the phone to his father, who just became a grandfather. The new father is asking the grandfather how it feels to be a grandfather, and the new grandfather seems to think it's really swell.

Another has a guy getting a call from his wife to let him know that she's pregnant.

Gee. If I only had an iPhone I could maybe have moments like these!

After having seen each of them about twice, I now immediately change the channel as soon as one comes on.

I like the one of the guy talking to his wife (which I thought it was a teenager/youngman talking to his girlfriend but whatever) as I do find the haircut cute which means a lot since I don't normally like short hair on women.

But, yeah, the commercials are pretty lame for the cheap sentimentality they're trying to create and the lamest one is the guy singing to his daughter to get her to smile so he can see her braces.

...

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pg6y_fHYso&feature=player_embedded[/yt]

Wait?! He'll take your jewlery and give you cash for it no questions asked?! Way to prompt possible criminal activity there, Cash Man!

 

[Bloodwhiner]

Hillshire Farms meat commercials.. A bunch of morons singing (chanting) "Go Meat! Were these ads written by the owners 9-year-old grandkid?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnHc4YJ-U0k

 

[Nardpuncher]

Any food related ones that can't come with any better idea than one guy has said food product and some other guy goes through all sorts of wacky Coyote VS Roadrunner type things to try and get it when he could go out and buy it himself.

 

[scotpens]

. . . All pharmaceutical ads. They should just ban the lot. I know they get around the loophole by saying “Talk to your doctor” but we all know that's just that, a loophole.

Yes, I'm a bit puzzled by the whole concept of prescription drug advertising aimed at the general public. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but the way I see it, my doctor doesn't tell me how to do my job and I don't tell him what drugs I think I need.

The most ignoble commercial I've seen recently is for Life Alert where the old woman slips in the shower and is lucky that her daughter stopped by that day.

Is that one of those “I've fallen and I can't get up!” ads? That campaign has been around for more than twenty years.

“I've fallen and I can't get up!”


Not commercials per se, but rather advertising slogans or taglines that just sound stupid:

Cathay Pacific Airways used the line “Arrive in better shape.” Which calls forth the question: Better as compared to what? A corpse charred beyond recognition?

And in the ’90s, Delta Airlines had the slogan, “We love to fly . . . and it shows.” If something is showing, maybe you need to zip up your fly.

Then there's United Parcel Service's tagline: “What can brown do for you?” I don't know. Maybe make my ass look thinner?

And this is going back a few years, but does anyone remember the Merrill Lynch campaign: “Merrill Lynch is bullish on America”? Come on, they must have known what people would do with that!

 

[ToddKent]

The guy in the FedEx whiteboard commercials needs to be smacked.

 

[melancholymecha]

One is a guy talking to his wife who just got a short haircut and he's telling her how cute it is, and her agreeing despite her obvious insecurity about it.

ha I just saw this one yesterday & was about to post it here! It made me cringe!

and it seems like almost all ads for local businesses are awful!

 

[Goliath]

This commercial kept me from buying Barq's root beer for more than ten years:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4DBZ2TBp-w[/yt]

 

[Rii]

Pretty much all adverts that attempt to sell a product to men.

 

[backstept]

I couldn't find any vids on the web, but what do you know there's one on their website
http://www.lamacchiahonda.com/
it's not a BYOOOOOOOOOTIFUL thing to howl like a dog

Billy Fuccillo is a moron
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXRaboSo70A[/yt]
a HYOOO-JUH moron

car salesdorks make the worst ones