# More very hate-able commercials **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 14, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663 "2015-04-14T17:48:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 44
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663/861 "2016-04-17T06:40:38Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > The one I’m hating right now is for (I think–I keep blocking it out) LG phones? Some Android cell phone. The one with the creepy bearded guy whose face is on everybody in the commercial. It starts out in a subway car, and eventually he ends up standing astride a couple of bulls in a “running of the bulls” thing. I don’t know if I’m supposed to know who he is, but I don’t, so I just find him annoying and the commercial thoroughly moronic. The music’s annoying too. > > Okay, I hunted it down. [Here it is](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOpsnNf9Wj0). I kinda like it. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663/862 "2016-04-17T08:21:32Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > The one I’m hating right now is for (I think–I keep blocking it out) LG phones? Some Android cell phone. The one with the creepy bearded guy whose face is on everybody in the commercial. It starts out in a subway car, and eventually he ends up standing astride a couple of bulls in a “running of the bulls” thing. I don’t know if I’m supposed to know who he is, but I don’t, so I just find him annoying and the commercial thoroughly moronic. The music’s annoying too. > > Okay, I hunted it down. [Here it is](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOpsnNf9Wj0). You don’t know who Jason Statham is? Current action movie star. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663/863 "2016-04-17T11:38:31Z")
I have no idea who Jason Statham is - I don’t watch action movies and this is the first place I’ve seen his name - but I thought the commercial was hilarious! ---
**Author:** ![BrianJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/54ee81/32.png) [@BrianJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrianJ)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663/864 "2016-04-17T13:08:59Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > An auto parts chain is running a series of commercials that are designed to appeal to manly, manly men: > > ``` > Closeup of some mechanic's manly grease-covered hands doing something with a wrench, accompanied by a gravel-voiced narrator from a Viagra commercial. > > "Are the these the hands of a man who would use a (spits in disgust) *discount card*?" > > Apparently they aren't, because throwing a discount card in the console of your manly pickup isn't going to leave room for your shotgun and a case of Lone Star. Or something like that. > > ``` > > I’m not sure why this commercial irritates me so much except that it’s so _obviously_ pandering to the notion that only blue collar good old boys with lines of grease in their hands who earn their living by the sweat of their brow are Real Men. > > Which brings us to [this commercial:](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJBRpylC9-Q) in which focus groups are asked whether the guy in front of the pickup truck is more manly (spoiler: the answer is “hell yeah”). Seriously? They might as well just run the commercial with a tag line “Your penis is too small, you should buy a truck.” Doesn’t matter if you don’t actually need to tow stuff or carry stuff – buy our [18mpg vehicle](http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2015-chevrolet-colorado-v-6-4x4-test-review) because you’ll look cooler in it than in a Toyota. Oh god, those ‘focus group’ people. Yeah these are real people. _cough_ In one, a kid is asked what kind of pet the truck guy has. He says “a German Shepard dog”. Real people don’t talk like this, and yes, marketing people, we all know that a German Shepard is a damn dog. You don’t have to tell us. And yes, I’m saying marketing people are not real people. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663/865 "2016-04-17T13:30:36Z")
> [@BrianJ](#): > > Oh god, those ‘focus group’ people. Yeah these are real people. _cough_ > > In one, a kid is asked what kind of pet the truck guy has. He says “a German Shepard dog”. Real people don’t talk like this, and yes, marketing people, **we all know that a German Shepard is a damn dog.** You don’t have to tell us. > > And yes, I’m saying marketing people are not real people. 😃 Might be [a person.](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PWBEyqFcN5A/maxresdefault.jpg) First Female to win German Herding Trials-German Shepherd Legends - [Nancy Denecke](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWBEyqFcN5A) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663/866 "2016-04-17T15:19:43Z")
> [@BrianJ](#): > > Oh god, those ‘focus group’ people. Yeah these are real people. _cough_ > > In one, a kid is asked what kind of pet the truck guy has. He says “a German Shepard dog”. Real people don’t talk like this, and yes, marketing people, we all know that a German Shepard is a damn dog. You don’t have to tell us. > > And yes, I’m saying marketing people are not real people. 😃 I think that’s the actual name of the breed - German Shepherd Dog. Sounds stupid to me too, but that’s what the people who breed them call them. Kind of like a Portuguese Water Dog. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663/867 "2016-04-17T16:13:23Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > You don’t know who Jason Statham is? Current action movie star. I’ve heard of him, but I didn’t recognize the guy in the commercial as him. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663/868 "2016-04-17T22:42:36Z")
> [@movingfinger](#): > > A irritating one is for some pretzel company with a horrible woman who looks like a death camp commandant’s wife. I sure as hell would’t buy anything she endorsed. _“The category and the brand (Snyder’s of Hanover) had through the years kind of a slightly boring reputation and we found there was absolutely no reason for that,” said Barton F. Graf Chief Creative Officer Gerry Graf. He said the agency wanted to give the brand “swagger,” perhaps channeling the attitude of someone like Telly Savalas or Charles Bronson, but decided it would be more interesting to have a woman with swagger in the spots than a man, he said."_ There’s a difference between “swagger” and “creepily unpleasant to the point of making you switch channels”. But I’m sure they’ll hit that sweet spot in their next ad. :dubious: ---
**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:** [April 17, 2016, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663/869 "2016-04-17T23:45:41Z")
That Snyder’s pretzel ad would be perfectly home on _Welcome to Night Vale_…not so much on Animal Planet. It’s straight-up creepy, without a trace of swagger. (Having a male actor wouldn’t add any swagger either. Why do they need swagger, anyway?) I’m annoyed by the cereal ad that has supposed employees talking about how wonderful the product is…specifically, the lady who brags that people tell her she smells like cookies when she goes grocery shopping after work. She’s wearing a hard hat, but it’s precariously perched on top of her hairnet – it’s not actually on her head. There’s absolutely no way her supervisor would allow that. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663/870 "2016-04-18T00:40:24Z")
Snyder’s makes good pretzels. Why would they need “swagger”? Even if they made bad pretzels, how would swagger help? ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663/871 "2016-04-18T05:19:24Z")
The pretzel harpy’s message is “We are the pretzel people. We are unavoidable. You cannot stop us. We will get you. Meanwhile, buy our product. No, we are not asking you to enjoy it. Just buy it. In fact, we don’t care if you even eat our pretzels. We are watching you.” ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663/872 "2016-04-18T14:17:16Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > ETA: Oh, I would watch Wendy’s Red if she was selling swampland in Florida, and I already owned some. “Watch” is not the correct verb. > [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I don’t know if this is on TV but Burger King has some Cross’anwich commercials on the radio that are awful. Someone pulls up to the drivethru and wants a Cross’anwich. The guy taking the order is like “A what?” “A Cross’anwich.” “What? What is that?” “You’ve got a poster right here…” “Oh, a CROSS’AAAAANWIIIICH!” and it just gets stupider from there. The worst part is I think they think they are fooling us that those are actually authentic drive-through conversations. > [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > “1-8-7-7 Cars for Kids…1-8-7-7 Cars for Kids” Repeat until you shoot the tv or radio. It’s [Kars for Kids](http://www.kars4kids.org/) if you want one of their spiffy tshirts. Question: did the producer really think the guys voice was good or is he meant to be as annoying as the kid? ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663/873 "2016-04-18T14:24:19Z")
University of Phoenix’s parody of “If I Only Had a Brain.” Especially the line “A degree is a degree.” Really? You mean employers regard one from a mail order diploma mill as the exact equivalent as one from Caltech??? ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663/874 "2016-04-18T14:44:49Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > University of Phoenix’s parody of “If I Only Had a Brain.” > > Especially the line “A degree is a degree.” Really? You mean employers regard one from a mail order diploma mill as the exact equivalent as one from Caltech??? Among the horrible things about that commercial (which include the annoyingly grating singing voice and the lyrics that go out of their way to insult potential employers), is that there really is a good idea for a commercial in there. I can imagine a commercial that altered “If I Only Had a Brain” to good effect using different lyrics and an entirely different singer. But they chose this piece of crap. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663/875 "2016-04-18T15:04:50Z")
I saw a commercial over the weekend (I can’t recall the product), that had a series of statements like this. If there’s a claim, stake it. If there’s a rule, break it. etc. It didn’t truly impinge on my consciousness, however, until they said “if there’s a trail, blaze it.” Well, excuuuuse me, but if there is already a trail, someone has already blazed it. It’s a stupid little thing, but it bugs me. These ads go through layers upon layers of approvals and no one catches this? Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663/876 "2016-04-18T15:17:25Z")
The casino with the surreal pretty people commercials. I guess I don’t hate them because I like looking at pretty people as much as the next guy but they always strike me as trying way too hard. Besides, it’s not as though the casino will provide me with a woman in a catsuit and nun’s habit, walking a long-haired goat on a leash so if I need to provide my own then it doesn’t matter _which_ casino/hotel I’m at. Also, despite my best attempts, I can’t remember the name of the casino in question. So it’s not even working for brand awareness. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663/877 "2016-04-18T18:33:03Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > University of Phoenix’s parody of “If I Only Had a Brain.” > > Especially the line “A degree is a degree.” Really? You mean employers regard one from a mail order diploma mill as the exact equivalent as one from Caltech??? As covered upthread, more and more prestigious Universities are offering online degrees. And, let’s not call names, Phoenix is not a diploma mill. Finally most companies dont really care. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663/878 "2016-04-18T19:10:45Z")
Another thing that bugs me about the U of Phoenix ad (besides the atrocious “singing”) is the woman is being told the library is closing, and she holds up her finger, like, “Don’t bother me, little person who doesn’t have a degree.” ---
**Author:** ![norvalnormal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@norvalnormal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norvalnormal)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663/879 "2016-04-18T21:01:35Z")
Okay–response to a few posts back (sorry!) … I do know who Jason Statham is, but I’ve seen this commercial a half dozen times and, so help me d-g, I thought it was Bobcat Goldthwait, which had me wondering why on earth he was starring in such a commercial, unless he’d directed it as well! Do he and Jason S. somewhat resemble one another? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663/880 "2016-04-19T09:32:22Z")
There’s a new UK ad for Chicago Town pizza that apparently has fallen through a wormhole from about 1992. It involves a rap, performed by a grinning idiot of a Hollywood stereotype of a rapper complete with baseball cap askew, sunglasses, gold chains and **boxer shorts**. He and a group of similarly generic 1990’s music video backing dancer rejects prance around in front of a compact car in the concrete confines of the LA River, extolling the virtues of frozen pizza. I’d think the whole thing was a send-up but there’s nothing humorous about it at all. Deeply cringeworthy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663.md?page=43) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-very-hate-able-commercials/717663.md?page=45)