Advertising is an odd beast. On one hand, we need to know what variety of products are available from which retailer. Without it, it'd be a much harder forest to navigate. On the other hand, deep down we know they're manipulating us to see things the way they want, telling us things they think we want to hear. Occasionally it works splendidly, but sometimes it tries too hard and forces people to stop purchasing your product altogether.
Reddit user, u/Osilux, wanted to know what you just had to cut from your life because of commercials when they asked:
What product did you stop buying due to obnoxious ads?
It's Booty Paper...That's It.
Charmin. I can't stand those obnoxious dancing bears that sing relentlessly about "hineys."
Bears obsessed with wiping their butts. Like wtf.
Never Quite What You Expected
Giphy
Wish.
I used to buy a few things from them but their youtube ads give me ear cancer and their products mostly suck so I gave up on them.
My girlfriends mom bought the "lego" taj Mahal from wish for like $10. It's the really tiny piece lego knock off and according to my gf the instruction manual is like a pamphlet and entirely useless. For reference, the real lego Taj mahal is $370 and the instructions are about half an inch (1.5 cm) thick
What's More American Than A Cheeseburger?
Never been to a Carl's Jr because all of the ads I've seen are just women deep-throating sandwiches.
Want To Fix Your Typos? *skip ad*
As a principle, I don't use Grammarly. Ever time I use a computer on campus of my university, their stupid ads constantly appear, and not just in YouTube ads - which really get on my nerves.
I tried using their product when I was in secondary school, but I found that it was kind of useless unless you purchased the premium version. I'd rather rely on my own proofreading of my work and using Word spell check to find grammar and spelling mistakes.
Be Honest: Who Cleans In Heels?
Any and all cleaning products where you see a woman in high heels acting as though cleaning is the greatest thing on earth. Men clean, too. Stop being bad.
I'd Rather Risk My Life Than Buy What You're Selling
Progressive's Flo commercials.
Actually all of their commercials.
They're all so godd-mn obnoxious. Genuinely switched because of them.
WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME??
"The more you know the more you Kohls"
That makes no sense! I didn't shop there anyway, but that slogan always pisses me off because its so damn stupid.
Well, That's Just Messy...
Any ad for a shake/drink/liquid product that shows the product being poured into and overflowing a container and dripping down the sides, making a fucking mess, is a 100% guarantee that I will not even finish watching the ad much less buy the product.
Decide What You Are, Then Come Back To Me
I have hated every Subway ad I have ever seen.
Seriously, their advertising department has no idea what to do with the product. Are we healthy? hip? fun? Who the fuck knows. It's just a goddamn sandwich.
Everyone Deserves A Bowl Of Sugary Goodness
Trix cereal.
I think every kid in existence just wanted to see that rabbit get a bowl of cereal.
Smell Just Like A Bowl Of Potpourri
Any. Perfume. Advert.
Stop sexualising how we smell. Please. I want to be able to smell good without someone thinking I want a shag too.
What If She Just Ate One?
That current commercial about Tide pods or detergent or whatever it is, with the people singing about their stains. That one lady singing to the tune to "Fur Elise" makes me want to cut my ears off.
877-CASH-NOW
J.G. Wentworth. I haven't ever used them, but if the occasion ever arises, rest assured those stupid opera jingles will remind me who NOT to use.
Wait until you're in a structured settlement and need cash now
Kind Of Working In The Opposite Direction With This One...
Swear to god if I see like 10-15 more Truth anti-smoking ads, I'm gonna pick up smoking.
Way Off Base
Does a free app that I ditched due to ads count?
It was an app where you made little planets and tried to match the required orbits around a black hole/gravity source. Each level had different requirements. When you tapped to make a planet it would be a random colored dot.
This game entertained a previously screaming 1.5 year old during half of a 5 hour car ride. With him just making planets, laughing at them move around and occasionally informing the car of what color they were. The problem was that ever 3 levels or so there was an ad. Normally would not be a problem but these were some of the most graphically violent ads I'd ever seen on a phone app. Machete's being thrown at clowns and embedding in their heads, men firing automatic rifles and blowing each other's limbs off with blood flying across the screen.
It bamboozles me why such a tame game would run ads like that and I had to remove it.
APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE FOREHEAD
As soon as Head On started those commercials my friends and I stopped using it.
*crunch* *crunch* *CRUNCH*
Kit Kat had a commercial where they used the sound of people chomping into their candy bar to the tune of their jingle. I'm extremely sensitive to the sound of people chewing so when this commercial would come on I'd have to dart for the remote before it sent me into a blind rage. Haven't eaten a kit kat since.
WE PROMISE. THESE ARE NOT ACTORS.
Giphy
Chevy "real people not actors" 🙄
OH MY GOD WE ARE AT A CAR STORE IN A CAR FACTORY AND OH MY GOD CARS APPEARED WHO WOULD HAVE GUESSED
The excuses people use to dismiss behavior range from mundane and meaningless to the sort of leaps normally reserved for kangaroos and Olympians. It's sometimes amazing that these excuses work - but they do.
Some of them work so well that they're just sort of "accepted." That, obviously, kind of sucks and is something we should avoid - so let's talk about 'em.
Can't swerve around what you don't see, ya know?
Reddit user TMTtasmachine asked:
What's the biggest excuse used for a-hole behavior that shouldn't be accepted as much as it is?
... and away we go.
Jerk Privileges
" 'That's just how they are.' "
"One of the biggest enablers for tantrum throwing, bullying, etc. is that they get treated with kid gloves to avoid dealing with them." - alexrt87
"Oh my God you hit the nail on the head. Whenever someone says 'that's just the way they are' I say:"
" 'Yes, that's the point! Glad you noticed too! Now is it okey-doke for them to be jerks they have special jerk privileges? Or maybe they are just people and should treat everyone else as such?' " - notatrumpchump
"It depends on how it's said."
"People are the way that they are, and you shouldn't be surprised when they continue to be that way."
"This, obviously, doesn't excuse it - but people also shouldn't be surprised when a bad person continues to make bad decisions. Neither should we waste space in our minds being bothered by it." - unlawfulfoxy
Harassment Isn't Humor
season 2 lol GIF by ShamelessGiphy" 'It's just a joke, bro.' Harassing people isn't humor." - loading__99
"Schrödinger's Douchebag"
"A guy who says/does offensive things and decides whether he was joking based on the reaction of people around him." - Eatsleeptren
"Dude, legit had someone come up to me and start shouting in my face, calling me Madison, pretending I was cheating on him. Literally the most crowded location outside a theater, everyone staring at us, looking at me like I was some horrible cheater while I was out with my then fiancé."
"I started hyperventilating, my fiancé nearly decked the dude, and then someone shouts 'CUT' like this is some big 'YOU'RE ON CANDID CAMERA' moment and everything's supposed to be okay."
"I burst into tears."
"It was the most humiliating moment of my life, and thank god my then fiancé, now husband is not the type to overreact or jump to conclusions, or be abusive. Imagine how bad that could have been for someone with an angry or abusive partner."
"Prank videos are a plague on the internet and there is a REASON so many of them are fake, or involve actors." - Darkovika
Stay Sober, Then!
Drunk Drinking Beer GIFGiphy" 'I was drunk / high / etc.' "
"Then don't drink?! Stay sober if you can't NOT be an a**hole!" - BasedBenjamin
"Alternately, I hear a lot of 'I'm a happy drunk!' "
"Yeah, according to your drunk a$s. That doesn't mean you're not an ahole. Not remembering is not an excuse either." - PepeBabinski
"I was that guy. I swore I was a 'happy drunk' - and I was. It was everyone ELSE who was miserable while I was happy."
"I was also loud, obnoxious, and I wouldn't remember sh*t the next day."
"Quitting drinking has been one of my best choices of my life." - TTungsteNN
"Help"
new girl coach GIFGiphy" 'I'm just trying to help you' " - Miserable-Air1234
"Every time I've heard this, they're manipulating me while helping only themselves." - mykittenfarts
"My Mom to a T. Everything she does is better than anyone else's and she always gets pissed that people don't praise her for 'helping.' "
"She's now a certified (by herself) psychic and I have come to the conclusion that she's not a covert narcissist but an obvious one. I really wish I was joking." - Silent_Discussion657
Parenting Problems
Leave Me Alone Run GIF by TLC EuropeGiphy"Any variation of 'I'm a Mother/parent.' "
"Had some lady cut me in line at a coffee shop and she hit me with 'I'm a single Mom of 3!' as her excuse."
"Ok? And? I was still here first." - maid-for-hire
"I'm a single mom and I f*cking haaaate when other single moms/parents pull that sh*t to get special treatment."
"Last week, I was having a rough morning, my kid was being difficult, and I was running late. I was rude to a cashier over a minor inconvenience."
"Not only did I apologize for my shitty behavior, I wrote corporate to let them know how professional and patient she was while I acted like a f*cking toddler."
"Was being a parent part of the reason I was frustrated? Absolutely. Was it an excuse for that behavior? HELL no."
"I acted like a b*tch, and I called myself out, and I apologized. I still feel bad about that - I rarely let things get to me to the point I snap at others." - ClusterfckyShtshow
"Wow. I'm a Mom as well and tired but it doesn't give anyone a right to use it as some sort of ploy to get away with stuff."
"Like, mice become Moms about 12 times a year. You're not special 🤣" - SpoonLoops
Believing Your Boss
The Office Monday GIF by 20th Century Fox Home EntertainmentGiphy"I had a boss say some really racist sh*t around me one day and the next day, out of nowhere, he says:"
" 'Don't believe half the things that come out of my mouth!' "
"It was not really an excuse, more like trying to cover for himself after the fact, but still stuck with me." - sirlongbottom441
"Report them to HR. Seriously." - kokichi--ouma
"Looking past the racist stuff for a bit, that's not a very encouraging thing to hear from a boss…" - WonderfulBlackberry9
Bad Day Again
Bad Day Reaction GIF by Schitt's CreekGiphy" 'I'm having a bad day/week' "
"Okay, so you decide everybody that you interact with deserves the same fate? Get out of here, dude." - myordinaryexistence
"We all got stress, don't take it out on me. I get some people have stress bad enough for it to be passable every once and a while (family member passing, etc) but general, stress should not lead to you being a jerk to me." - willsimpforfree
"Damn, I'm definitely guilty of this. Usually I remember to apologize after but at this point I've learned to just avoid the situation in the first place by minimizing my interaction with people if I'm in a shitty mood." - nozzzrul
"Reminds me of when that White boy went on a murder rampage and killed a bunch of Asian women & that a-hole sheriff gave a press conference telling the media that the 'poor boy had a bad day.' "
"My idea of a bad day involves going home after a rough day at work and just staying in the house."
"Apparently, I should change my ethnicity from Asian to White and go on a murder rampage, see if my @ss gets a sympathetic sheriff to say on my behalf that I had 'a bad day.' " - kingkazul400
It's Not An Excuse
Season 2 Reaction GIF by FriendsGiphy"This won't go down well, but using depression as an excuse. As someone who suffers from it, it's still not ok to treat others like sh*t" - Rainbowwallstickers
"Could not agree enough. My partner has a 'friend' who treats everyone like sh*t all the time, has no consideration for others and openly mocks people in public."
"She gets so much grace from those around her under the guise of her 'mental health.' It's so infuriating watching an adult woman never have to take responsibility for her actions." - 34boor
"I get there are some things you can't control, but you are still responsible for keeping that sh*t in check and if you're aware of your mental illness, you should be aware of how you approach people and situations."
"I'll admit I used to be guilty of using my mental illness to be an @ss, but now I'm trying to better myself" - VeeSquibbles
Florida Gonna Florida
Looney Tunes Florida GIFGiphy"People are letting Florida off the hook way too damn much. And I live in Florida."
"Just because it's hilarious doesn't mean it isn't still completely f*cked up." - AlphaWhiskeyOscar
"The phrase 'Florida Man' is almost always followed some heinous way a Floridian is being an a$$hole." - PepeBabinski
"I'm also originally from Florida, and that state has serious problems. We need to pay attention to it." - [Reddit]
Moment of honesty ... as a Floridian ... yeaaaah, I'm gonna have to agree with that last one.