movies/tv Anypony else think today's commercials are kind of...bad?

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,695]

It's something that's really galled me the last five or so years. I don't mean to say commercials were all so great when I was a kid. They had a lot of annoying ones then, too. But it seems so much worse now. They all seem really condescending and snarky, like they're trying way too hard to be funny and link their products to a lifestyle I don't identify with.

 

I'll give you a few examples. I don't watch a lot of current television; I've never seen Lost, 24, Jersey Shore, Revolution or other popular shows. But I do watch football and I see a lot of commercials for DirecTV, Geico, and NFL merchandise. So I'll stick to those. DirecTV is a satellite TV provider that competes with cable, Geico is an insurance company. They both have a bunch of gimmicks they put in their commercials (Geico has the lizard, caveman, and like a dozen more), and everyone else seems to think they're hilarious. News flash...they're not.

 

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH1Zree44ec

 

This stuff is just lame. It generates no interest in the product and it's wearing out the "mute" button on my remote. Never--not once--has one of these ads made me want to buy satellite TV service or a new insurance policy, and I don't see how such hollow gimmicks could possibly work on anyone else. But I'm a tad more cynical than the average person, and since I was a kid I have seen commercials for the calculated money grabs they always are. It just seems that in recent years, their calculation has been poor. They can't just come out and say what's good about their product anymore, they have to make every ad into a bad comedy sketch...and since the 90's, there's been way too much bad comedy in this world already.

 

 

So I'm not really wowed by this kind of approach, but it seems to be more popular than ever.

 

Anypony else think this style is getting old? http://mlpforums.com/public/style_emoticons/default/dry.png

Edited October 15, 2012 by TailsAlone

[Fox 5,330]

Some are bad...

There are some good ones too. One of my favorite come from Old Spice. The original one before everyone was re-using/stealing the idea from the original Old Spice commercial.

[Hakureimiko 96]

I know what you mean. There are to many annoying commercials in this day and age. There is one commercial I find annoying as hell. I don't know why people love this commercial but this has to be the most overrated commercial of all time.

I hate how high pitched it sounds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_240939&feature=iv&src_vid=0aL9afAiGLg&v=BxBBGG76hU4

[Retro*Derpy 3,185]

Well you can tell commercials are successful because you can remember about the Geico commercial. They do it so it gets stuck in your head, even if they do become repulsive, they don't care. But yes, I do agree most of today's commercials are just ether stupid or boring.

[Inngy 18]

Todays commercials are just terrible compared to the commercials you would see back when I was really young. I'm 16, and sometimes I'll go on YouTube and search for some really old commercials that came before my time, unfortunately. I'm talking about the ones where the picture is a little fuzzy, and there's that constant buzzing in the background. Toy and food commercials were the best. I wish companies would just stop trying with commercials these days, since they obviously know how everyone who watches TV hates commercials. But that's not going to happen anytime soon.

[null1 606]

I'm fine with all the car insurance commercials. Geico is always pretty funny if they try hard enough, and Flo from Progressive is hot. Otherwise I don't really pay attention to what they have because I more than likely don't care about it.

[Titan Rising 2,156]

Todays commercials are funny. They try to be smart and clever and stuff but the truth is I'm never able to tell what 75% of the ads are even advertising anymore

[Flicker Sweet 3,391]

I agree, most commercials do suck alot

but then you find some good ones

 

if you want a good honest commercial check this one out

 

 

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,534]

The commercials nowadays are horrible. Most seem to aim at some type of stupid comedy that barely even tells you why you should use their product or service.

 

The Geico commercials are the WORST. So unfunny and annoying, for the most part. There are a couple that made me chuckle.

[AegisReflector 886]

I don't care what anybody says, no commercial today has a chance against the class and legacy that this commercial has come up with.

 

 

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL TV COMMERCIALS!

Edited October 15, 2012 by AegisReflector

[NotDavid_ 62]

Yes they are... Geico should really come up with better ideas then doing the same thing over and over again... ENOUGH WITH THE CAVE MANS WE NEED BILLY MAZE!!

[Batbrony 16,055]

Eh, I'm not saying it can't get annoying, because it most certainly can, but there are also a number of funny commercials out there, such as the Old Spice commercials that have been coming out for the last year or so. Either way, good or bad, I've simply accepted it at this point as a reality of modern-day advertising; companies use anything they can, including humor, sex, or attention-grabbing imagery (often involving humor or sex) to grab potential customers' attention, and that's not going to change anytime soon.

[CinemaBrony 1,276]

I hardly ever watch TV on TV anymore (I just stick with youtube, hulu, blip.tv, and the DVD boxsets of some of my favorite shows), but I can say a lot of ads that keep showing up whenever I click on a video link can get really irritating. On the other hoof, I always found this commercial to be hilarious for some reason:

 

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEvwjE_tPbM

[Artemisia 166]

Alot of marketing and commercials are just plain stupid, or weird if not ridiculously dumb. Like this one I can't believe it's not butter commercial. Seriously? Why do they try to make butter, no no no NOT butter, so sexy sounding. It is like what the hell?

I don't understand so many of the gimmicks and "plots" in commercials.

[ParsoOfEquestria 1,490]

there is only two ads i enjoyed

all the others to some extent have sex themes or references in them and its sickening that they show them at times when small children are watching

[Jon the VGNerd 885]

Personally, if I wanted to watch a sports or movies live on TV, they need to not add commercials AT ALL. It's just annoying that whenever I watch sports or a movie and a commercial pops up, it just pains to make me miss out the best part, which is clearly annoying. Also, most commercials nowadays lack humor (too many low-budget live action-like commercials promoting too hard to try and be funny). To be honest, I like older commercials back in the 90's, instead of the present ones. http://mlpforums.com/public/style_emoticons/default/dry.png

[Kelvocity 211]

I don't really like commercials, never really have. Although sometimes I enjoy making fun of them and over-analyzing them with my family. Occasionally you get a good one, but most of them are rather stupid.

 

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE

 

Great, now I'm gonna blame you for me watching a bunch of Old Spice commercials. I like them because they're just so in your face and make no sense whatsoever, but them pull it off well anyways.

[spas-ticShotty 3,584]

I don't really care for commercials, althought I do like some. Mostly the Allstate one's with Mayhem doing something stupid to cause trouble . I also like those Geico ones with the guy who says "Can 15 minutes with Geico really save you 15% or more on car insurance?", then says something like "Do woodchucks chuck wood?" or something like that . However, you then got dem Japanese commercials. For instance......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfP9P7f1dBU

[Dusty Soul 2,611]

Most commercials suck, because all that company wants to do is sell a product, weather it be soap or tools, they have to have a product worth selling. Now I don't like funny commercials, mostly because they try too hard usually. Plus with re-runs they have the tendency to get on my nerves.

[BlackWater 53]

I think I will agree for the most part. It irks me that companies are pushing commercials now as if the user/viewer actually wants to see them. There have probably been all of two commercials that were funny enough for me to want to watch. As far as selling is concerned, I research products before making a purchase to make sure I actually spend my money on something good. And I usually don't get what all the commercials want me to. Final note: The MLP commercials on Youtube have my full approval. xD

[Nah 3,182]

Ugh, commercials, just so stupid and saturated with stereotypes, the worst commercials are toy commercials, infomercials (so bad and stereotyped), or any commercials that are scented items (candles, plugins), and how they always take a big whiff, Mmm, UNICORN FARTS!

 

I hate it when there is a little girl in a commercial and she is so helpless, giggly, and whatnot. (I know little girls like that, they are the complete opposite), or a little boy who constantly gets in trouble.

 

That's just the way companies make more and more money each year. :/

[Steel Matt 250]

I read most of the comments here, and I agree a lot of what everybody is saying.

 

I think our generation (Generation Y and Millennials) are more skeptical of advertising in general. No matter what advertising medium is used, we are all more focused on word-of-mouth, than what an actual ad is trying to portray.

 

But adds these days (whether good or bad) want you to remember the commercial: And here are two ads that, although it could have been done better overall, you sure remember them!

 

But that's it in a nutshell

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zJWA3Vo6TU

 

This one is ridiculous...but somehow funny and memorable!

 

[CapnKrunk 307]

i don't think they suck.They just spam the internet,and the outside world a lot with ads.Which is really annoying. Literally annoying.

[DusK 1,264]

Commercials tend to get muted in my house, for good reason. Direct TV commercials in particular are so... ugh. I mean, come on guys, everything you're saying could happen on cable could just as easily, if not more easily, happen on sattelite! *shakes fist*

[~The Snowy Wolf~ 1,579]

 

I thought this one was stupid, but funny as hell. I saw this while I was watching SNL. I had to rewind to make sure it wasn't one of the skits!