Commercials are a necessary evil that most of us would rather skip through or ignore when we can. However, we can all acknowledge and appreciate good commercials whether they're funny, helpful, or even heartwarming (i.e. that Budweiser commercial with the puppy). Unfortunately, not all ads are worthy of airtime during the Superbowl and I think we can all agree that sometimes it's a better business decision to just save your money instead of making a commercial at all. Here is a list of commercials that will convince you to never use their services.
1. Geico
Hasn't the gecko bit been done to death? To be honest, I can't remember a time when Geico didn't use that annoying lizard to sell their insurance to people. I'm sure it was clever when they first started doing it back in 1999, but now I would be happy to never hear the Geico gecko ever again. Too bad I can still hear him shouting, "SOMEONE HELP ME I HAVE A FLAT TIRE!"
2. Spotify
I get that I have to listen to some ads every once in a while so that I can use Spotify without a monthly fee and I don't mind a couple of commercials now and then. But Spotify's own ads are extremely annoying. They use generic music and the same two people in every, single one and they advertise themselves all the time! Even worse is when they play the same ad twice in a row. I realize that their commercials are probably awful on purpose so we'll all get tired of hearing them and upgrade to a premium membership, but I can promise that this technique won't work on me. I'll switch to YouTube to listen to music rather than pay to listen to music I can find for free.
3. Education Connection
Did you know that you could get connected for free with education connection? Of course you did! Because the Education Connection girl sang that line about four times every time that ad came on; which was every ten minutes. While we can all agree that the dance moves are awkward and the song is annoyingly catchy, these aren't the only factors that make this ad uncomfortable to watch. In one of their ads, while the Education Connection girl is singing about her struggles to find a college, some creepy window washer is handy to tell her about Education Connection. Why is she even getting her bedroom windows washed anyway? Is that something people actually do? Either way, he shouldn't be staring in her window and listening in on her privately singing about her problems.
4. Chevrolet
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Their "Real People, Not Actors" campaign is basically a string of commercials that show a handful of well-dressed "regular folks" being overly impressed by the cars they're shown and calling the whole thing a focus group. First of all, some of the "not actors" from the beginning of this campaign have actually been proven to have had prior acting experience, including the host.
Second, these people are so unnecessary to the ad! While the host rattles off a list of awards and features, the focus group collectively oohs and aahs while show an excessive amount of excitement. Chevrolet could've saved whatever money they paid all these people and simply played an audio of the host while showing clips of the car. We don't need these "regular people" to show us how excited and impressed we should be. It's like when sitcoms play laugh tracks in the background. They're making sure you know when it's time to laugh.
5. J.G. Wentworth
I'll give them credit for getting their phone number stuck in my head but the joke is on them. 877-CASH-NOW is the number I hand out at bars when strange guys ask me for mine. However, if anyone ever told me that they had a structured settlement and they need cash now, I'll know how to respond. Unfortunately, I doubt I will have as much of an impact as the crazy-faced actors they use in their commercials. I appreciate that they've stuck with this opera and Viking theme for so long, which was a major improvement over the "It's my money and I need it NOW!" ads, but Vikings and cash advances don't really have that much in common so it's time to let it die.
6. The General Car Insurance
The General has always had the absolute worst commercials. From the helmets that these people randomly walk around with to the awful animation of The General himself, this car insurance company has always had commercials of poor quality. The latest ends with Shaq trying to take an awkward selfie (for no reason) with an animated character after a few bad attempts at humor. But what makes this commercial stand out from all of their previous ads is Shaq. How is it possible that The General can afford to get Shaq into their commercials but they can't afford to improve these awful commercials in any way at all? Do they have the money and just choose to not spend it on improving these commercials? Because that's what seems to be happening.
7. Rapid Advance
This will always be my least favorite commercial and I'm completely baffled that the all of the comments under the video on youtube are positive. There are so many reasons that this commercial is bad: the lame song, the cheesy dancing, and especially the guy at the end that says, "Your money's here!" But for some reason, all the small parts of this one add up to the one commercial I can't stand to watch. If I ever need a small business loan, I can tell you exactly where I won't be going.
