# Again with the annoying commercials! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** commercials-ads\ **Created:** [June 28, 2017, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089 "2017-06-28T22:06:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 356
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7107 "2026-01-22T06:56:16Z")
Yeah, Caleb\* is kinda done up as well. Makes you wonder about the kids that aren’t on insta or tik tok. Where are they? Either private, which I would be if my parents did that to me. I’d live in a cave somewhere far away. Or are they 🥺 perhaps euphemistically “not with us” anymore? (\* Caleb and his pal Alec are probably near 30yo, guessing) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7108 "2026-01-22T18:31:03Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Would it make you feel better to know that little dude is all pierced and tatted now? You have managed to make it far worse. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7109 "2026-01-23T14:52:59Z")
I feel bad for whatever illness Caleb has, but damned if he doesn’t have a slappable face. My new hate are the drug commercials with the “doctors” from central casting. They’re invariably females in their 20s and reasonably to quite attractive (DILFs, if you will). They’re always in their lab coats, often with a stethoscope around their neck. They go on about how great Wonderpill is and how they recommend it to all their patients. Enough! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7110 "2026-01-23T15:49:33Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I’ve Officially Had It with those little Shriners Fucks. I could put up with them when it was just around the holidays, but now it’s all day every day every channel. > > If I saw those little dudes on the street, I think I’d punch them! The Shriners Hospitals commercials aren’t as bad, in my opinion, as the ones from St Jude Children’s Research Hospital. As [ProPublica reported four years ago](https://www.propublica.org/article/st-jude-hoards-billions-while-many-of-its-families-drain-their-savings), St Jude is sitting on a fat multi-billion-dollar endowment and raised more than the next nine children’s hospitals combined. Plus there’s probably another children’s hospital closer to you, so why not give them your money? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7111 "2026-01-23T16:23:04Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > The ones that particularly annoy are where they don’t seem to mention the condition the drug is supposed to treat. The drug will apparently make your life a wonderful thing, but what is it curing? Legally, there are two ways that drug commercials are allowed to go. If they say what it’s supposed to do, then they’re also required by law to list all of the side effects and the rest of the fine print. So either they have a vague feel-good ad that at most sort of subtly hints at what it’s for, or they have one that says what it’s for and also lists all of the side effects. Different choices make sense for different commercials, and they’ll often have multiple ads of different types. > [@BobLibDem](#): > > My new hate are the drug commercials with the “doctors” from central casting. They’re invariably females in their 20s and reasonably to quite attractive (DILFs, if you will). They’re always in their lab coats, often with a stethoscope around their neck. They go on about how great Wonderpill is and how they recommend it to all their patients. Enough! For some reason, I get a lot of commercials advertising for pediatricians, or maybe it’s a hospital or insurance company that has a lot of pediatricians on staff or in network and they’re advertising how you can pick the one you like best, or whatever. All of the doctors they show in the ad are trying very hard to look cutesy and relatable to kids and so on. I mean, yeah, being relatable to children is a valuable trait in a pediatrician, but it takes a distant second to being good at curing children’s diseases and injuries. If all you have is cutesiness, then maybe you should have been a kindergarten teacher instead of a doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7112 "2026-01-23T16:54:08Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > as the ones from St Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Are they the ones that pick the most damaged, most deformed, most “I have to look away that’s disturbing!” kids in the system, and exploit them as sympathy generators? Because yes that’s worse that the Shriners. At least they are Adwroabwle. ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7113 "2026-01-23T17:27:10Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I’ve Officially Had It with those little Shriners Fucks. I could put up with them when it was just around the holidays, but now it’s all day every day every channel. > > If I saw those little dudes on the street, I think I’d punch them! Don’t do that. They have brittle bones. The only thing worse than punching a child is punching a child with brittle bones. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2026, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7114 "2026-01-24T10:28:54Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I call them A-dob-a-DEEBA-dab. Catchy! > [@DrDeth](#): > > But there are so many and if you are doing Okay but not great on your current regime, mentioning that and a new drug isnt rude. One of my coworkers decided he had plaque psoriasis, so he did ask his doctor about the drugs on TV. Turns out he really does have plaque psoriasis, and the drugs helped him! He now tells everyone at work about this. He has also accused me of having plaque psoriasis (I have a red birthmark on my right arm - sort of like a strawberry birthmark, but flat). > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The Shriners Hospitals commercials aren’t as bad, in my opinion, as the ones from St Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Agreed!! At least St. Jude finally ended the one with that godawful off-key lullaby. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2026, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7115 "2026-01-24T15:15:51Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > > > I call them A-dob-a-DEEBA-dab. > > Catchy! It goes back to… just after high school? A friend would say ‘adabbadeeba!’ as part of his imitating stupid people. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7116 "2026-01-25T06:13:21Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > That commercial supports my theory that the action in these commercials is deliberately generic. Speaking of generic, I find it grating that these oh-so-creative advertising copy writers are unable to find any better way, or any other way at all, to bridge the gap between “relatable individual talking to you on TV” and “generic range of population cases” than the phrase “my moderate-to-severe halitosis/hemorrhoids/heebejeebies/etc”. Does this person not know the severity of their own condition? ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7117 "2026-01-25T17:03:42Z")
I keep seeing this over and over and OVER. Perdue chicken commercial, lady makes chicken parm for family that ‘they may or may not deserve’. And her kids are thrashing around in a giant fish tank splashing out water like it’s a kiddy pool! If those were my kids, they would be sitting in their rooms without any chicken parm, chicken nuggets, or anything else all evening. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7118 "2026-01-25T17:11:34Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > the phrase “my moderate-to-severe halitosis/hemorrhoids/heebejeebies/etc”. The New Yorker used to fill the last half inch of a short article with “Words Never Uttered”. That became my rallying cry at the ad agency: “Look, if NO ONE would _ever_ say these words in real life, don’t you think _someone_ (ok, _everyone_) will notice that and dismiss our commercial as dishonest?” ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2026, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7119 "2026-01-26T04:23:46Z")
There’s an Alka Seltzer commercial that really annoys me. It’s date night. Oh, no, you have a cold or the flu. Take some AS and feel great. Now get out there and spread those viruses! We learned nothing from Covid. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2026, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7120 "2026-01-26T21:13:15Z")
Yes, that ad- and many similar ads are pet peeve of mine also. I think I even mentioned that ad here once. But yeah- stay home until you are no longer a disease vector. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7121 "2026-01-29T02:40:26Z")
Just saw a prescription itch cream ad that uses Black Box’s Everybody, Everybody rather prominently. Except they have completely removed the Larry Blackmon sample-- OW! Hmmm, I wonder why. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7122 "2026-01-29T03:38:39Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > (\* Caleb and his pal Alec are probably near 30yo, guessing) [~17](https://www.eastidahonews.com/2024/10/kaleb-the-adorable-boy-from-shriners-hospital-commercials-is-grown-up-and-answering-7-questions-with-emmy/) and [~23,](https://www.gilmermirror.com/2023/02/03/interview-with-alec-cabacungun-face-of-shriners-hospitals/) respectively. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7123 "2026-01-29T04:32:26Z")
This is not a commercial, but the box description. New cracker item called “Pretzelized Snacks”. These are rectangular crackers from pretzel dough. Great. The box says “Two favorite snacks in one!” Hmmm? “Our pretzel crackers unite the salty, golden shell of a pretzel with a bite-sized snacking cracker to bring you the best of both worlds in one crunchy bite.” Ok, suggests a pretzel and a cracker are different things. “Crunchy pretzel outside, real cracker inside.” Um, what? It’s not like there are two textures like with the Ritz pretzel crackers with two sides. To me, a hard pretzel is a type of cracker. Am I wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2026, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7124 "2026-01-30T02:26:02Z")
A pretzel is a mostly one-dimensional strand of dough (perhaps twisted into interesting shapes). A cracker is mostly two-dimensional, and can be used as a substrate for various toppings. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2026, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7125 "2026-01-30T07:03:45Z")
Yep, you can stack other flat stuff on a cracker easily. I usually call that breakfast (or homemade Lunchables) Stacking stuff of any shape on a pretzel is more difficult. However, both can be used as a transfer device for a variety of sauces of varying viscosities, much like chips. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2026, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7126 "2026-01-30T23:19:34Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > A pretzel is a mostly one-dimensional strand of dough (perhaps twisted into interesting shapes). A cracker is mostly two-dimensional, and can be used as a substrate for various toppings. Huh. To me it’s crunchy toasted dough. Are pita crisps crackers? Their usually warped or split - 3 dimensional. Even if shape is a determinant, how does it make sense to say “cracker _inside_”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089.md?page=355) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089.md?page=357)