# Advertisers: please stop using alarm clock noises in commercials **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 1, 2005, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391 "2005-10-01T23:32:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jhinman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/779978/32.png) [@jhinman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jhinman)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2005, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391/21 "2005-10-02T07:02:05Z")
> [@zagloba](#): > > I say remove all sound from advertisements! This would most likely result in more advertisements featuring mimes. Are you sure this is better? ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2005, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391/22 "2005-10-02T07:26:03Z")
> [@Rufus Pfukke](#): > > 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. What really bothers the fuck out of me is that you know exactly what they’re doing, and they’re doing it on purpose - they know it will cause you to jump and skip a heartbeat and start frantically looking around for the damn snooze button. But they figure what better way to get your attention than recreate your morning heart attack? I think we should list all products that do this here and write angry letters. But naturally I can’t remember any offhand. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2005, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391/23 "2005-10-02T07:58:04Z")
> [@uglybeech](#): > > I think we should list all products that do this here and write angry letters. But naturally I can’t remember any offhand. :mad: Rest assured: if I ever move to Argentina I will not buy that brand of detergent. They have just lost my potential business should I ever decide to move to a country thousands of miles from here where I know nobody. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2005, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391/24 "2005-10-02T08:26:35Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > 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.) My dog seconds the removal of doorbell sounds from commercials. Also, gameshow buzzers that sound like doorbells (Damn you, Ben Stein!). ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2005, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391/25 "2005-10-02T23:08:05Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > My dog seconds the removal of doorbell sounds from commercials. Also, gameshow buzzers that sound like doorbells (Damn you, Ben Stein!). ARRRG! The Dominoes commercial has MY doorbell! The dog jumps up running and barking, I’m halfway out of my chair, Then I feel like a jerk. Tomorrow, first thing, Home Depot for a new bell. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2005, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391/26 "2005-10-02T23:54:10Z")
That damn Dominos commercial had my dogs freaking out thinking some EVIL EVIL PERSON is at the front door every time it played for six fucking months. Fortunately, even they, rocket scientists that they aren’t, finally figured out it was the stupid TV. And yeah, I’ve nearly driven off the road at a siren on a radio commercial enough times that these days I’ve solved the problem by simply not listening to the radio in my car any more. I just listen to DVDs. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391/27 "2005-10-03T00:02:13Z")
Great Google ads for this thread… ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391/28 "2005-10-03T00:14:06Z")
Make that I listen to **CD** s. _…bonks self on head repeatedly…_ ---
**Author:** ![thursday\_next](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@thursday\_next](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thursday_next)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391/29 "2005-10-03T18:37:13Z")
“Eyes match your PJs? There’s a Visine for that!” Not in my house you bastards! There’s anything but Visine for that here. I do so love that they tend to play the commercials during the 2 AM showing of Crossing Jordan on A&E, when I’m trying to quietly watch TV. \ ***BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!** \* :smack: I would also like to support the soundless commercials, or at least commercials that aren’t much, **much** louder than the show I’m actually watching. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391/30 "2005-10-03T18:48:43Z")
The only sound that particularly bothers me is emergency sirens on the radio, but that bothers me a lot, and I agree that it should be banned. I’ll be driving, I’ll hear the siren, and look around to see whether or not I need to pull off the road. And then I realize it’s coming from the damned radio. For awhile local school buses were equipped with a blue-white strobe on top; I guess the idea was that you’d see them a bit sooner, and drive safely nearby. (Like you can’t see a big yellow schoolbus a fair piece off as it is.) Problem was, at a distance and if you weren’t looking right at them, it was easy to mentally register them as a cop’s flashing blue lights. So I’d go through this ‘is there an accident ahead? what lane do I need to be in?’ thought process for a second or so, and then I’d realize it was a schoolbus a quarter-mile ahead. Fortunately, the buses seem to have abandoned the strobe. I don’t like it when emergency vehicle lights and sounds get hijacked; they should be sacrosanct. If they’re used for other things besides actual emergencies, people will tend to ignore them, with predictable effects in actual emergencies. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391/31 "2005-10-03T18:53:56Z")
> [@](#): > > The only sound that particularly bothers me is emergency sirens on the radio, but that bothers me a lot, and I agree that it should be banned. Train whistles, too. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391/32 "2005-10-03T19:11:04Z")
And car horns! I was driving home the other night and a car horn blared. Took me a few minutes to realize it had come from the radio. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391/33 "2005-10-03T19:51:47Z")
> [@Rufus Pfukke](#): > > 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. If you want some relief from that horrible noise, you can now get alarm clocks that are kinder and gentler. I’ve heard one called the “Zen Chimes” alarm; it’s a light chime that gradually gets louder to ease you out of sleep, instead of blaring at you. You can also get ones that give off sounds of the ocean and birds. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391/34 "2005-10-03T19:55:58Z")
I should add that you might not like the Spongebob Squarepants alarm clock. A little plastic Spongebob jumps around and yells, “It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up!” Until you smash it into a million pieces. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391/35 "2005-10-03T20:08:29Z")
> [@Amazon Floozy Goddess](#): > > I should add that you might not like the Spongebob Squarepants alarm clock. SpongeBob himself has a foghorn for an alarm clock. Consider yourself lucky. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391/36 "2005-10-03T20:26:47Z")
> [@Amazon Floozy Goddess](#): > > A little plastic Spongebob jumps around and yells, “It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up!” Until you smash it into a million pieces. So it’s a single-use alarm clock? Personally, I just laugh at my dog when she barks at doorbells on the TV. I’ll even knock on the wall just to set her off. [Eustace Bagg] Stupid dog. [/EB] ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391/37 "2005-10-03T20:29:51Z")
Goddamn, I fucking hate the alarm clock noises in commercials! And they always pick the same one–I had that alarm clock, too **Rufus**! I would love to take an axe to the head of the marketing jerkwad who thought that would be a good idea. But instead, I’ll just boycott any product that uses that particular advertising technique. ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391/38 "2005-10-03T20:40:53Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > So it’s a single-use alarm clock? > Personally, I just laugh at my dog when she barks at doorbells on the TV. I’ll even knock on the wall just to set her off. > > [Eustace Bagg] > > Stupid dog. > > [/EB] I agree. Most dogs are not the sharpest knife in the drawer, I’ll come back from a walk, and ring the doorbell. Then, I’ll release the leash and open the door. My dog will then run through the rooms barking, and looking for the person who rang the bell. Her nick name is ‘Duh’. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391/39 "2005-10-03T20:47:34Z")
For a while there, Toys 'R Us had a paging system that consisted of a single tone… which happened to be exactly the same tone that the alarm clock I grew up with used. I couldn’t go into the store- every minute or so someone would page someone else in the store, and my heartrate would triple. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391/40 "2005-10-03T20:55:13Z")
When I was in college I purchased the Rolling Stones CD Let it Bleed. One song on there has a car horn at the end or the beginning. I lived in a noisy neighborhood so it took me about six months to realize that it was on the CD and not cars outside. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisers-please-stop-using-alarm-clock-noises-in-commercials/324391.md?page=3)