# Commercials that make you want to change the channel **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 8, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841 "2008-11-08T20:58:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mshar253](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@mshar253](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mshar253)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841/21 "2008-11-09T12:27:48Z")
> [@Atomicktom](#): > > There’s a car commercial I keep seeing that advertises 0% financing. It really gets to me, because the jingle sings zero as “zeeee ro” over and over. I don’t know why it annoys me, but it’s like nails on a chalk board, and I literally do lurch for the remote whenever it comes on tv. As a Phillies fan, I had to endure this commercial at least once per break throughout the entire playoffs. They even put it on the _radio broadcasts_, so it was truly inescapable. By the middle of the World Series, I was ready to lose my mind when this commercial came on; I was even dreaming about it. Such annoying, brainwashing commercials have the exact opposite effect on me that they’re supposed to: I actually want to boycot the products to spite the companies. I guess everyone isn’t like that, though, or else they wouldn’t make commercials like that. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841/22 "2008-11-09T12:53:40Z")
> [@Rayne\_Man](#): > > How about this from a UK window company :- > > [http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=XIs0oQcK0K0](http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=XIs0oQcK0K0) > > Honestly would you buy anything from somebody who asks you to “pick up the pigging phone” ? That is a bizarre commercial. Were they going for a Benny Hill vibe? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Socks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a8b319/32.png) [@Captain\_Socks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Socks)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841/23 "2008-11-09T13:10:48Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > We’re not just talking about bad ads, but those that make you jump for the remote and find something else to watch. > > My nomination: the really depressing one showing puppies at animal shelters, with Sarah McLachlan in the background: > > \*In the arms of an angel fly away from here > From this dark, cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear > You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie > You’re in the arms of an Angel; may you find some comfort here \* > > I lole dogs., and have two of them, including a rescue. I’m a member of the Humane Society of the United States. I can’t bear to watch the puppy beating commercial, and I flip the channel whenever I hear “In the arms of an angel”. I hate this commercial, because it always wakes me up in the ungodliest hours of the morning. I often keep the TV on at night, for reasons I have no idea, and I always have some vague consciousness that it’s on, even when I’m dead asleep. It really sucks being awakened at 2:30 in the morning to images of abused animals and this maudlin song. Of course, at this point, I am angry at Sarah McLachlan and, and for some reason, the animals, for waking me up. I sit and stew for a few minutes and then go back to sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841/24 "2008-11-09T13:12:05Z")
The windows commercial features the so-called “comedians”, Cannon and Ball, the only comedy duo I know of with two straight men (i.e. not funny). The guy in the red cape, who I think is an ex-wrestler, has made other commercials for the same company, equally bizarre. The only example of this I can find is a remix of the advert, but it does show how strange the guy is. A few months ago I had a salesman from the company knock on my door trying to sell me some windows. I told him I would never buy anything from a company which employs such idiots for its advertising. :- [http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=x-pY8d1bnSg&feature=related](http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=x-pY8d1bnSg&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![nikonikosuru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@nikonikosuru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikonikosuru)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841/25 "2008-11-09T18:15:31Z")
Just wanted to add that I also hate the Sonic’s commercials. They’re uncomfortably corny at best and at worst I feel dirty if I watch the whole thing. What kind of people think that watching two guys play horribly bad puns on the food they just bought is good advertising for their fast food chain? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841/26 "2008-11-09T18:15:35Z")
My wife and I hate the one that is in black and white, and has the CEO of some company sitting in a diner. He looks at the camera and say, “Can you believe we still call these phones, considering all they can do?” He’s so smug, we change the channel every time he’s on. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841/27 "2008-11-09T18:41:27Z")
> [@nikonikosuru](#): > > Just wanted to add that I also hate the Sonic’s commercials. They’re uncomfortably corny at best and at worst I feel dirty if I watch the whole thing. What kind of people think that watching two guys play horribly bad puns on the food they just bought is good advertising for their fast food chain? So sorry, but I like those commercials. I think the dialogue is funny. Or maybe I just like to feel dirty. [QUOTE=purgatory creek] On the flip side, I kind of like the Shamwow guy. I’d like to see him quietly slap the crap out of Billy Mays. [/QUOTE] I think he looks like Steve Buscemi’s better-looking brother. ---
**Author:** ![Fritz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Fritz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fritz)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841/28 "2008-11-09T18:44:24Z")
The “Shamwow” guy. I’d like to slap his headset off. And Billy Mays. ---
**Author:** ![Charger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@Charger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charger)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841/29 "2008-11-09T19:22:27Z")
> [@Atomicktom](#): > > There’s a car commercial I keep seeing that advertises 0% financing. It really gets to me, because the jingle sings zero as “zeeee ro” over and over. I don’t know why it annoys me, but it’s like nails on a chalk board, and I literally do lurch for the remote whenever it comes on tv. “Saaaaved by zeeeeeero!” And they\* start\* the commercial with that. I hear it all day on the radio and then hear it practically every commercial break. It’s Toyota. Boycott them. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841/30 "2008-11-09T19:30:12Z")
> [@Atomicktom](#): > > So sorry, but I like those commercials. I think the dialogue is funny. > Or maybe I just like to feel dirty. I like the Sonic commercials, too. And I think the wife in the husband/wife Sonic commercials is kinda hot. So, yes, they make me feel dirty, too. A commercial I just saw last night that I found INCREDIBLY CREEPY was one for AT&T that was promoting their phones with full qwerty keypads for texting. The entire commercial was closeups of people using their thumbs to write text messages and THE THUMBS HAD CGI FACES IN PLACE OF THE NAILS! And they talked to each other! Totally creepy. Trust me. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841/31 "2008-11-09T19:55:22Z")
The ad for those “mini pizza roll-up” things, whatever they’re called. The woman takes them out of the oven, places them on the counter, the kids hang BURSTS through the wall to grab them…and the woman chuckles. Dunno why I found that so irritating, but it bugs me to no end. The kid just punched a hole through the wall! And she’s just mildly amused? Gah! Bugs me, bugs me, bugs me. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841/32 "2008-11-09T19:57:55Z")
The Glade commercials with the lying broad. Eff her. ---
**Author:** ![mshar253](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@mshar253](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mshar253)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841/33 "2008-11-09T20:32:29Z")
> [@Charger](#): > > “Saaaaved by zeeeeeero!” And they\* start\* the commercial with that. I hear it all day on the radio and then hear it practically every commercial break. > > It’s Toyota. Boycott them. I know I already commented on this commercial, but I feel it’s so bad that I have to add more. Shortly after doing submitting my post I read this about it in the [Bill Simmons’ most recent article](http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/081107): [Quote=The Sports Guy] Saaaaaaved byyyyyy zerrrrrr-ohhhhhhhhhh. “Now, for a limited time only, you can get amazing zero APR financing on your favorite Toyota.” Saaaaaaved byyyyyy zerrrrrr-ohhhhhhhhhh. “That’s 0 percent financing on 11 different models! Featuring Toyota’s legendary quality. No other car brand can make this offer. So hurry in now, and see how much zero can save you on a brand new Toyota.” Saved by zero! Saved by zero! (By the way, I did that off the top of my head. We are reaching the point that I am two weeks away from stopping by my local Toyota dealership, buying a brand-new Toyota Tundra with zero APR financing, driving the car off the lot, doing a U-turn, then plowing it through the front window of the dealership at 60 mph while screaming, “SAVED BY ZERO,” like the guys from “Red Dawn” screamed, “WOLVERINES!” Cut down on the ads, Toyota. We’re not kidding. You know why you haven’t see John Mellencamp in two years? He’s trapped in the basement of some frustrated baseball fan who dressed him like the Gimp and keeps him in a trunk after hearing “Our Country” for the 700,000th time. Look, we’re all ecstatic that the guys from the Fixx are getting royalties again. Just tone it down. We get it. Zero APR financing. Heard you loud and clear.) [/Quote] I thought that was pretty funny. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841/34 "2008-11-09T20:33:38Z")
> [@Fritz](#): > > The “Shamwow” guy. I’d like to slap his headset off. Are you kidding? I LOVE that guy! And I love the company for using him, and for using him with his head mike…they have managed to completely re-create the experience of giong to a home show and watching him do it in person. Because I know like I know my name that the guy in that commercial is a real home-show sales guy. They have a rhythm that you just can’t fake. He’s perfect. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841/35 "2008-11-09T20:42:59Z")
ETA: others covered “Saved by Zero” I hate those IBM “green” commercials with those joyless corporate hacks and the cartoon animals popping up. Are there actually middle management types who watch these ads and find them humorous? ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841/36 "2008-11-09T23:34:35Z")
> [@nikonikosuru](#): > > Any with the loser guy and his loser group of friends singing for [freecreditreport.com](http://freecreditreport.com), ugh! I was hoping they’d be a one-time thing. This one, because what they talk about makes no sense! If your identity is stolen, you don’t have to pay back the debt! Marrying some girl who lies about her debt and now they have to live in her parents’ basement? It’s [annualcreditreport.com](https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp), people. The rest are just trying to sell you something you don’t need (which, I suppose, is the purpose of many commercials anyway.) ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841/37 "2008-11-10T00:00:45Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > That smug Vonage bitch. I want to hurt her. Oh, how I want to hurt her… She reminds me of Juliette Lewis. I want _her_ to hurt _me_. I was just assigned a new advisor who looks alarmingly like Billy Mays. Same solid build, pale-white-guy complexion, dark cropped hair and beard. Fortunately he is soft-spoken and doesn’t try to sell you KABOOM!, Fixit!, or a Big City Slider Maker when you visit his office. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841/38 "2008-11-10T00:25:15Z")
I hate those commercials where Brooke Shields rails against people who are having babies just to get German engineering. WTF? Makes no sense and is pretty annoying. ---
**Author:** ![SharkB8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@SharkB8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SharkB8)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841/39 "2008-11-10T00:37:57Z")
> [@Atomicktom](#): > > There’s a car commercial I keep seeing that advertises 0% financing. It really gets to me, because the jingle sings zero as “zeeee ro” over and over. I don’t know why it annoys me, but it’s like nails on a chalk board, and I literally do lurch for the remote whenever it comes on tv. Infinitied. ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841/40 "2008-11-10T01:35:32Z")
The Wal-Mart ones where the mom is 1) so proud of her role in helping her son achieve in school by shopping at Wal-Mart 2) so proud of her role in helping her daughter make friends in school by shopping at Wal-Mart. I hate these commercials individually, and double in tandem. The antediluvian gender roles are thick as molasses. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-make-you-want-to-change-the-channel/471841.md?page=3)