Ads are everywhere we go, online and off. Fortunately, it hasn’t yet reached Minority Report proportions…although, it somehow feels like we’re not far off.
Sometimes these ads amuse and entertain us, even if they never sell us whatever it is they were supposed to.
Who can forget the Taco Bell chihuahuas? Although the commercials did cause some controversy, and I’m fairly sure they did nothing to increase sales, they did have that “awww” and humor factor. Especially this one:
And my personal favorite:
Although I can never remember what the heck they’re advertising, this commercial never fails to crack me up. And it’s entered our family vernacular. For example, trying to wrangle the kiddos in a grocery store can be like herding cats. Trying to get all the relatives in one place and sitting still for an annual family portrait…you get the idea. Herding cats just says it all.
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And then there are the commercials that annoy us, tick us off or just make us go “ewwww.”
Some of my least favorite:
Pretty much any ad where the parents or the husband are morons drives me nuts. Or where women shop uncontrollably.
Even though I have an Android phone (not the same one, thankfully), this ad gives me nightmares (which I pass on to you…you’re welcome):
Ads for *ahem* intimate products of any kind. They’re just incredibly icky. Seeing people cavorting on an ad for tampons/ED medications/hemorrhoids creams do not give me the warm fuzzies about the product. They just give me uncomfortable associations to the actors…like Joey (from Friends) with the VD ads.
Do we even need to talk about the Charmin bear ads? You know the ones I mean. Especially this one:
They’ve actually given me an aversion to the product. Now, I just see the package in the store and shudder, thinking of bears and left behind bits. Definitely not what I want to be thinking about when selecting a toilet paper.
What about you? What are your most and least favorite commercials/ads? Why? Do entertaining commercials really make us want to buy the products they advertise or just leave us loving the commercial itself?
Sonia G Medeiros 
I hate the kit-kat commercial where they break the kit-kats and it sounds like the old jingle (from like 1970’s – time for a new song). The sound of it just grates on my nerves! I have to change the channel immediately! besides, a kit-kat never makes a sound when you break it.
Most fav – Geico Cavemen! They need to bring those back!
Least fav – Geico lizard ARGH that thing makes me want to kill it, and I’m an animal lover!
I also can’t stand commercials showing children screaming, throwing tantrums, being spoiled, precious, precocious, etc. I mute 99% of commercials anyway, I don’t understand why many people don’t.
Two words: Old Spice. They’re so good, they sell themselves in other people’s commercials.
On the other hand, that Charmin commercial is one of my all time least favorites as well. I’m very happy I’ve only seen it once or twice
I’ve never forgotten the Life Saver commercial jingle!
I absolutely despise the Energizer bunny. Can we PLEASE get rid of that campaign?
My favorites are all old commercials I remember from childhood–like Levi’s 501s, Coca-Cola, and Malt-o-Meal. I also loved the Magic Fridge Bud Light commercial (http://youtu.be/hf0s2clGVN4), even though I hate beer.
My favorite advert ever is either the PG Tips chimps piano ad, or the “For mash, get Smash” aliens (both ridiculous, and both for products I actively dislike, though awesome in their own ways).
My least liked ad (and I’ve never actually seen it run on television, only on YouTube) is the entirely distasteful WWF one…
It is enough to make me want to kick a panda, just to annoy the WWF.
@Parlor: It’s like the Rice Crispies ads. LOL
@Cynthia: Hear you on the kiddos. I’ve heard enough tantrums already. LOL The Geico lizard kinda cracks me up…sometimes.
@Josh: Oh yeah. Love those Old Spice ads. The dead pan delivery really gets me.
@Patricia: Lifesavers totally remind me of being a kid. 😀
@Julie: Oh yeah, the Bunny creeps me out. Reminds me of those monkeys with the cymbals which remind me of Monkeyshines. Stephen King ruins something else. LOL Love that Magic Fridge commercial! I haven’t seen that before. Hilarious.
@The PGTips and Smash commercials are so funny! I hear you on the 9/11 commercial. Wow, how incredibly insensitive.
There are not many commercials out there that I do enjoy, but if I did have to pick; I’d say the GEICO one with the rowing guinea pigs, or any of the Allstate mayhem commercials. They really do crack me up! In my least favorite category I’d probably say everything else out there, haha. I can’t stand commercials all together, so that’s why I finally decided to get a Hopper whole-home DVR. My coworker at Dish told me it included the Auto Hop feature, so it was a no brainer to get it. I record primetime shows with PrimeTime Anytime, and then I’m able to watch them next day completely commercial free! Most of what are watch are those shows on primetime anyways, so it’s proven to be a huge time saving benefit! 🙂
@Kay: Oooh, that hopper feature sounds fab. I do hate commercials in general. I don’t think I’ve seen the Geico guinea pigs…I do like the car commercial with the guinea pigs though. Cute and weird.