# Commercials that BUG you **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 11, 2002, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-bug-you/108505 "2002-05-11T15:52:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-bug-you/108505/1 "2002-05-11T15:52:09Z")
Here are the latest that leave me scratching my head: **Sears** - Lady comes in asking about pricing guarantee, salesman tells her we match competitors prices, she leaves. She returns with dark glasses and a dark raincoat asking the same question, salesman answers, she leaves. She then returns AGAIN with a black wig and says, “I’ll take it!!” Why all the coy disguises? Is she afraid the salesman won’t sell her a fridge? _I just don’t get it!!!_ **Pepsi** - Cindy Crawford glides out of her car, shutting the door behind her, sashays over to the Pepsi machine and lovingly drinks every last drop of a can of the foul beverage. The little boys behind the fence comment about how beautiful the new Pepsi can is. She then sashays back over to her car, and flings open the door to reveal her two children strapped into the back seat!!! This bugs me to no end…who were the ad geniuses that thought it was OK to leave kids in a car when we hear about kids and pets dying every year in cars? OK, maybe they were only in there for a few minutes, but it _really bugs me_!!! **Some Paper Towel Commercial** - Kid sits eating BBQ chicken with sauce all over his face and hands. He proceeds to wipe sauce on napkins and throws them on the floor, creating a huge pile of soiled napkins. This is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen!! One viewing was enough to make me gag. ---
**Author:** ![berdollos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@berdollos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/berdollos)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-bug-you/108505/2 "2002-05-11T16:06:13Z")
Yes, the Computer Professor ad in which they read HAND-WRITTEN letters from satisfied users! Alsom any add in which people derive pleasure from the (often painful) death of bugs. ---
**Author:** ![berdollos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@berdollos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/berdollos)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-bug-you/108505/3 "2002-05-11T16:08:33Z")
Really gross are those ads picturing a hairy back with hair being removed! It makes me want to vomit!!! ---
**Author:** ![Melandry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Melandry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melandry)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-bug-you/108505/4 "2002-05-11T16:57:17Z")
The Aleve commercials where people send Aleve email just by typing the word “Aleve” into the To: field. Yes, there are some scenarios where that could work, but in general, just typing the name of a product into the To: field will not magically send them email. Grrr. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-bug-you/108505/5 "2002-05-11T18:01:04Z")
Taking the title of this thread literally, I hate this one. It begins in various ways. One version looks like a cruise ship commercial. Another is apparently supposed to be for romance novels or something. And in the middle of the supposed commercial, a cockroach starts crawling around the screen, looking like it’s actually crawling ON your TV. Then the Orkin man (I think it was Orkin) appears, with the fake commercial still going in the background, and sprays the bug, which drops off dead. This scared the hell out of me the first time I saw it. I thought we actually had a cockroach. And it still BUGS me when I see it. jayjay ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-bug-you/108505/6 "2002-05-11T18:47:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jayjay \* > \*\*Taking the title of this thread literally, I hate this one. > > It begins in various ways. One version looks like a cruise ship commercial. Another is apparently supposed to be for romance novels or something. And in the middle of the supposed commercial, a cockroach starts crawling around the screen, looking like it’s actually crawling ON your TV. Then the Orkin man (I think it was Orkin) appears, with the fake commercial still going in the background, and sprays the bug, which drops off dead. > > This scared the hell out of me the first time I saw it. I thought we actually had a cockroach. And it still BUGS me when I see it.\*\* Ah, you ain’t the only one. The campaign began in 2000, and it seems that it returns with new ads every April Fool’s Day (how clever). Whether thr roach invades an ad for fabric softener, or the new show _Timmy Townsend, P.I._ starring Gary Coleman (playing himself), the Orkin Man® will get the job done. It’s the old “Energizer Bunny” gag-with a new twist. One that worked well-too well, in fact. > [@](#): > > Matt, from Tallahassee, Fla., wrote to Orkin, saying he had > just stepped from the shower when he saw the roach on his TV set. "I immediately snatched my towel off and proceeded to snap > the roach with the towel,’’ he wrote. "He did not die or even get > knocked off the TV. I thought it was SuperRoach or something. Then to realize that it was just a commercial, well, I felt dumb. But > got a great laugh out of it.’’ > A woman from Greensboro, Md., said she woke up two neighbors late at night to come to her house to hunt and kill the roach until one of the visitors figured out the bug was from the commercial. > > ‘‘I felt really stupid for getting my neighbors out of bed in the middle of the night,’’ she wrote to Orkin Pest Control. ‘‘You really got me!’’ > > An irate Tampa, Fla., woman who tried to kill the roach by tossing a motorcycle helmet at it and instead broke her TV screen demanded that Atlanta-based Orkin buy her a new one. Another man said his set was damaged after he threw a shoe at it. Sorry, the Orkin Man doesn’t do TV repair. > _©2000 The Associated Press_ > [@](#): > > Lesa Epperson thought she was seeing something terrifying–a breakout by her family’s new pets, a family of Madagascar hissing cockroaches, which can grow to about three inches long. The Covington, Ind., woman had the roaches in a cage above her TV set. “I thought it was one of the babies getting loose,” she says. “I panicked, because if those things get out” they can breed like, well, roaches. > > About 300 viewers have called or written in, some to complain that they were sickened by the sight, or that their dogs and cats have lunged at the set. So far two people have broken their TVs by throwing objects at them, including a woman who threw a motorcycle helmet, according to the company. > _©2000 Washington Post Co._ For the record, I’ve only seen one commerical and one time only, but I think this is funny. Orkin even had a contest in 2000 where people wrote in their Roach Fighting stories-with the winner getting a new TV. The [agency](http://www.ketchum.com/about/atlanta/cases3.shtml) says it worked. I nominate this for Most Effective Ad Campaign Ever. A simple statement (“Got roaches? Call Orkin.”) becomes a hilarious gag-made even funnier by those who play off it. (Apparently, the same rocah-on-screen gag was done in the “War of the Cocophages” episode of _The X-Files_, but they weren’t selling anything, so…) (Sorry bout the length. I just find this so interesting.) ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2002, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-bug-you/108505/7 "2002-05-12T01:25:55Z")
One word… **AFLAC!** ---
**Author:** ![Gregor\_Samsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@Gregor\_Samsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gregor_Samsa)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2002, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-bug-you/108505/8 "2002-05-12T03:52:15Z")
There’s a fast food commercial (I think it’s for Wendy’s) where the narrator comes on and says something to the effect of, “A lot of our competitors have started carrying some pretty strange things on their menus…”, at which point they cut to various fast food order desks, and have employees say things like, “Fish cakes?” “Melon balls?” and the like. Well, at one point they cut to a shot of what appears to be a female employee of sub-human intelligence who says, “Grilled cheese?” Everytime I see that commercial, I think, “What’s so strange about a fast food place carrying grilled cheese sandwiches? A lot of people would order grilled cheese sandwiches. Why is that so weird of an idea? Is there something I’m not getting here?” ---
**Author:** ![Seraphim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Seraphim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seraphim)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2002, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-bug-you/108505/9 "2002-05-12T05:29:47Z")
The new Burger King ads that feature a bunch of people suddenly clucking like idiots before they run off to buy a chicken sandwich. Even more annoying is the tagline: Cluck and save 50 cents! Is that all they think my dignity is worth? And I second that towel ad with the greasy fat kid! AAAAA!!! I **HATE** ads with sloppy eaters! ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2002, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-bug-you/108505/10 "2002-05-12T05:48:23Z")
The new one for a Mitsubishi vehicle with some dance music in the background and a woman in the passenger seat who moves and jerks around slowly, or as if she’s got some kind of neuromuscular problem. I don’t mind the music, but she annoys me no end. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2002, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-bug-you/108505/11 "2002-05-12T05:50:19Z")
(In no way should my previous post be interpreted as a swipe at people with such very real problems. ) I just mean that there are many other, more effective ways to “dance” in a moving car than what is shown in that ad. ---
**Author:** ![Zap\_Rowsdower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3da27b/32.png) [@Zap\_Rowsdower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zap_Rowsdower)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2002, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-bug-you/108505/12 "2002-05-12T14:24:56Z")
I think it is a VW car commercial, it begins at the breakfast table, the father is looking for his keys, finds them. The camera sweeps to the table to show that the kid that was there is no longer. Go outside where the father is slowly driving the car, looking to the sidewalk. Then you see the kid on his bike “racing” the father. Both keep looking at each other then back to the road/sidewalk. This incredibly unsafe for both. The father is not paying attention and could hit someone or something on the road. The kid is riding fast on the sidwalk, which is more dangerous than riding on the street. Cars backing out of the driveway may not see the kid and the kid may not see the car. etc. I generally hate car commericals, but this is one of the worst!! ---
**Author:** ![airdisc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19adc/32.png) [@airdisc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/airdisc)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2002, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-bug-you/108505/13 "2002-05-12T16:43:46Z")
That damn stoner idiot that advertises the Dell computers. For those commercials, I will never, ever, EVER buy a Dell. I also hate that fucking commercial on ABC with the two women playing golf, and one of them runs, with her butt wiggling everywhere, to the golf cart to take a piss. I especially hate the song that goes with it. I’m also tired of that nunfucking Horizion commercial that says “Times may change” “Our audiance may change” “We’re still pioneers” NO YOU ARE NOT FUCKING PIONEERS! YOU ARE A FUCKING PHONE COMPANY! ---
**Author:** ![Cockatoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Cockatoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cockatoo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2002, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-bug-you/108505/14 "2002-05-12T16:55:36Z")
Another disgusting sloppy eater commercial featuring a “cute” kid: the one for white cranberry juice, where the kid is trying to drink from a glass and he pours it all over himself, then picks up the bottle and starts chugging from it as his mommy’s voice is heard in the background. Can’t help but think what will happen next: she’ll have to clean up the mess. This is supposed to make me want to buy something? ---
**Author:** ![Cockatoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Cockatoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cockatoo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2002, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-bug-you/108505/15 "2002-05-12T16:56:43Z")
Another disgusting sloppy eater commercial featuring a “cute” kid: the one for white cranberry juice, where the kid is trying to drink from a glass and he pours it all over himself, then picks up the bottle and starts chugging from it as his mommy’s voice is heard in the background. Can’t help but think what will happen next: she’ll have to clean up the mess. This is supposed to make me want to buy something? Maybe it’ll sell more of those paper towels! ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2002, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-bug-you/108505/16 "2002-05-12T20:42:06Z")
The commercial for Stanley Steamer (steemer?) Carpet Cleaners. Shows a kid in a white room (white carpet, sofa, etc) eating ice cream with chocolate syrup on it and _jumping up and down on a bottle of chocolate syup and squirting it all over everything._ The voiceover says something about “Are your kids being kids?” S’cuse me? If I’d done that, I’d have been a dead kid. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2002, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-bug-you/108505/17 "2002-05-12T20:49:22Z")
And to continue on the subject of annoying kids… There’s a commercial for a local country and western radio station, KZLA, that runs about thirty times a day–with way too many kids lip-syncing c&w songs. I’m not anti-kid, but there’s something just too cutesy about this. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2002, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-bug-you/108505/18 "2002-05-12T23:05:34Z")
Imagine if you will, a young woman with a Brookyln accent pitching subs-in an annoying manner. “Hereza clu fer anyone born befo’ 1980…Subway smalla’-Blimpie BIGGA’…cheezes wit’ names…Blimpie IS da big one. Anythin’ else…is a BIG MISTAKE!” Annoying to say the least. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2002, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-bug-you/108505/19 "2002-05-12T23:17:54Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by HelloKitty \* \*\*Here are the latest that leave me scratching my head: **Pepsi** - Cindy Crawford glides out of her car, shutting the door behind her, sashays over to the Pepsi machine and lovingly drinks every last drop of a can of the foul beverage. The little boys behind the fence comment about how beautiful the new Pepsi can is. She then sashays back over to her car, and flings open the door to reveal her two children strapped into the back seat!!! This bugs me to no end…who were the ad geniuses that thought it was OK to leave kids in a car when we hear about kids and pets dying every year in cars? OK, maybe they were only in there for a few minutes, but it _really bugs me_!!! I have to say that even my safety-conscious hair-trigger doesn’t go off on this one. The woman walks 30 feet to a soda machine, remaining in full view of the car all the time? This is a far cry from leaving the kids in a car on a hot summer day. I think you’ve got to relax some. ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-bug-you/108505/20 "2002-05-13T00:29:38Z")
\*Originally posted by Finagle \* \*\* > [@](#): > > I have to say that even my safety-conscious hair-trigger doesn’t go off on this one. The woman walks 30 feet to a soda machine, remaining in full view of the car all the time? This is a far cry from leaving the kids in a car on a hot summer day. I think you’ve got to relax some. \*\* Well, it still bugs me, I mean, what if she locked her keys in the car or something? And, she was wearing shorts, so it was probably at least warm out. It would have just made me feel better if her husband was in the front seat, too, that’s all. 🙂 Just saw another one, for **Sensodyne** toothpaste, I think. A woman walks up to her desk, obviously in an office environment and sets her full to the brim glass of iced tea down right next to her computer! I’ve worked in many offices, and none of them would allow open drink containers right next to computers, especially not breakable glasses!! And, even if she was the boss or something, it’s just not a good idea. I think I’m watching too much TV!!!😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-bug-you/108505.md?page=2)