Advertisers: please stop using alarm clock noises in commercials

The BBQ Pit
1

For the past 8 years, I’ve used the same alarm clock to wake me up at 7:00 am. When I wake up, the first thought that goes through my mind is “Goddamnit.” It is not a pleasant feeling. Thus, every time I hear any sound that resembles an alarm clock, I am wired to think “Goddamnit.”

This feeling does not make me want to purchase your product. In fact, it pisses me off and I usually turn off the TV and do something else. All because you felt the need to put that obnoxious sound in your commercial.

2

A-freaking-men.

3

We have a commercial here in Canada for drunk driving that is nothing but 30 seconds of a baby crying, and then the words ‘Emily’s mother was killed by a drunk driver.’ I’m sorry, but I don’t think many people want to listen to a baby cry for 30 seconds straight. Nothing against babies, but I’d think most people would agree that the sound of a baby crying is a bit agggravating.

4

Also please remove all honking car sounds from radio commercials. They scare the crap out of me every time I hear them.

5

Me (at stoplight): “Who’s honking?”
Beloved Wife: “I don’t know!” (looks around in panic)

Stupid ad ends on car radio.

Both: “Aww FUCK!”

6

Or, what whiterabbit said…

7

You people are my heroes.
End Dangerously Familiar Noises in Commercials Now!
(Stupid carwash ad. Always ‘honkhonking’. Through my rear speakers, nonetheless. Grrrr. Moan. Whinge. Malaise)

8

Remove police and ambulance siren noises from radio commercials also. They are a PITA to hear when I’m driving.

9

And brake-squealing and car-crash sound effects, also.

10

Smoke alarm noises. I wear headphones when I’m riding my bike to work, and any alarm/smoke alarm noises pierce right into my eardrums, even if I’ve got it on a pretty low volume.

11

And telephones!

12

I did a Pit thread about those a while back. They can be a driving hazzard as well as annoying. I shudder to think what will happen when I am driving in downtown Boston at one of the places that you have to merge and cross-over three lanes of traffic at full speed to turn and one of those things comes on. There has to be some wrecks somewhere that were caused by those things.

I am all for free speech but I do, in fact, believe honking, skidding, and crashing sounds are the same as yelling “fire” in a crowded theater.

13

Nothing to contribute, but I second every one of y’all.

14

There is a stupid Argentinian commercial that they show on cable TV here that keeps repeating an alarm sound that sounds exactly like my door bell. It bugs the crap out of me.

15

The Bat-Phone on the old TV show sounded exactly like my alarm clock. I’d get home, turn on the TV and fall asleep. I’d get about an hour’s nap.

Stupid, but true.

16

I say remove all sound from advertisements!

17

As a mother I despise this commercial. It’s very hard for me to sit there and listen to this crying (so I always turn it off, then go hug my baby).

18

My husband tells me that humans are hard-wired to hate the sound of a crying baby, so we’ll go look after whatever it is that the baby is crying about. Not the greatest choice for advertising. I think that commercial would be a lot more effective if they had the baby being so cute you can’t stand it, then tell us that her mother was killed.

And I must also register my support for all familiar, action-prompting sounds being removed from commercials (including doorbells - how many of us have gone to the door when an ad had a doorbell sound? All of us? Thought so.)

19

Second the motion. All in favor . . .?

20

Yey!