I hate knowing how much money is spent on them so that they can annoy us with every attempted second of our lives. What, you can’t use that money to better pay your workers? You can’t use that money to improve aspects of your company, so you’re going to pay these groups of obnoxious pricks whose entire existence is to annoy people with your ads?
The ads themselves are too theatric for me to care, I can’t tell you the amount of ads I’ve had to stomach hearing through Spotify that makes me care even less about a product. They just take turns outdoing themselves as to which ad is the dumber of the bunch that night. Even worse are the ads that try too hard to reach for something that was ‘hip’ to do like 5 or 10 years ago.
The lying in commercials. I’ve learned in life that some brands that aren’t even the brand of choice, the best option available. I’ve been surprised on some of the things I’ve acquired from even dollar stores that somehow are better than the name brands.
And even then, there’s still lies projected from commercials that attempt to snag you in for money.
As others have pointed out, there’s a lot to hate about ads since the industry is routinely dishonest, insulting, obnoxious, deceptive, intrusive, and all manner of unpleasant. I’ve been adblocking religiously for most of my life for these reasons.
So I think a more interesting question might be the other way around: “What do you like about commercials?”
The only commercials I’ve ever liked are the ones for local small businesses. The ones with a nonexistent production budget that aren’t beating the viewer over the head with blatant lies or dishonest sales tactics.
Adult Swim used to have faux-ad bumpers for the fictional business “Strickland Propane” from King of the Hill, featuring the honest-to-a-fault character Hank Hill as the spokesman, which I felt captured that vibe well.
Rhett and Link also made a funny homage to these kinds of commercials in this classic skit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnOyMSEWNTs
I can’t be the only person who instinctively trusts a product/brand less the more I see ads for it.
The biggest example is alcohol brands. It’s almost guaranteed that the more advertising a brand does, the more middle-low quality is. (There will always be the ultra-cheap option with no marketing of course.)
It’s mind boggling to me that in this modern interconnected era that this isn’t obvious to everybody.
Aside from what others have said about their annoying traits, popping in at inconvenient times etc.
i dont care if the product was developed by an (insert alleged expert in field), i dont want you to scare me into using your product…. i want commercials to sing to me again. i want jingles baby! we have very little silly shit like that these days.
I buy mentos not because it’s the best product, but because i remember the jingle and it makes me jazzed about getting them.
commercials need to lighten up and be casual of they want me to be content on having to watch them.
The sheer waste of technology and innovation used for marketing that could have been better used to the benefit of humanity.
I don’t hate commercials themselves, advertisement itself for me is natural, everyone advertises. My problem is when they’re unprovoked. An individual looking for a job will search for job offers, which are ads. A person who’s watching a news segment about a hurricane is not looking to also buy a smell-water-bottle.
I hate that commercials are manipulative, they exploit us with clever tricks.
That they exist and force the rampant consumerism of dying Capitalism
I’d have to say it’s the mind control that bothers me the most. When I cut the cord to my TV way back when, it really felt like most people lived in an ersatz reality where people only did things they saw in TV commercials. Whatever they see on TV is “real” and anything that capital doesn’t have an interest in promoting to them is “weird.”
If I need something, I do my own investigation and buy whatever suits my needs. I don’t need anyone to manufacture needs for me, not that it would work any way.
That, and I’m against any and all information poison and commercials are exactly that.
That people watch them. I can stop myself from watching them, but all those billions of my fellow stupid people are still being influenced, and I can’t do anything about that.
I don’t like listening to lies, and that’s what marketing often is. Lies poisons your mind, specially if repeated often so the brain starts to get used to them.
I mostly hate that they take us for absolute dimwits devoid of any kind of reflection or without a faint flimmer of intelligence.
Just pisses me off. If i happen to see an ad unwillingly, I’ll try to boycott the product. I know i don’t matter, but it’s for me.
Oh yeah I’ve noticed this tone too with them. Like with one ad, one of the Mountain Dew ones, they tell you to ‘get off your ass’ and stop putting your playlist on repeat with party remixes. Their entire message is your life and lifestyle is nothing unless you drink their shitty product. Like fucking hell I’m going to now that you’re going to assume what my life is about and that I’m not smart enough to do anything else.
It’s that kind of attitude that won’t make me boycott the product, but directly go to any marketer to personally tell them off.
I hate commercials that have NO connection to the product they’re selling. At all. Like, somebody literally wasted your company’s money to make a video about nothing.
Showing the benefits of your product is step 1 of advertising. Creativity is dead.
So beyond the fact that they are everywhere and the mass data harvesting that they incentivise I hate particular types of adverts, particularly in TV
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There’s the type that tries to connect their product to something you care deeply about, like family. A common one is the scene of a family reunion, sons and daughters coming home for Christmas, everyone is happy and indeed I connect with that deeply. Then comes the reveal, its fucking oven chips, or candles or some other inane shit. I know why they do this, but I find it deeply insulting, trying to tag their product to my fondest memories, fuck off.
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Second there’s the Freaky/edgy/bizarre ones. As desperarly as it can the advert will try to be as novel, crazy and outright surreal as to force its way into your head. They try to make the action on screen so crazy that you cant help but pay attention. This is a more brute force approach and tries to burn itseld into your memory, until you need a chocolate bar or some shit. There’s one I remember where a woman was on screen with another mouth on her forehead talking, its a memory I don’t want, again, fuck off
I hate ads because fundamentally they don’t respect you, or anything you care about, its just about the money in your wallet.
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Advertising is considered “free” but our constant bombardment with it is draining our energy and ability to engage and focus on genuine interactions.
Advertising is destroying our ability to be productive especially for those of us who are ADHD.
