Worst/Best Radio Ads

Our man in Havana · 14-06-2006 6:28am

I am surprised no one has mentioned that ad for that play Dandelions. I am so sick of it, "You cook and wash, clean and wash etc!". If I ever see that cow I will not be responsible for my actions.

scargill · 14-06-2006 10:04am

ANY ad with fake French accents annoy the hell out of me. Surely they could find some French actors to do the ads???

"Ah Ah Ah, ze washing up!" :mad:

Sizzler · 14-06-2006 10:32pm

New addition! That SHOITE ad for HP Integrity servers. Anybody heard it? Its on every focking ad break during the last word. Its the ad where some scrib is being "questioned" by his boss about the best type of IT solution for their business. Pile of shoite.

"oh but there is NO other option".....Ask me bollix.

Mr E · 15-06-2006 1:03pm

Do bosses really address people by their surname? Terrible ad.
I can just picture the employee stopping mid-sentence for the intel jingle

Another ad yesterday made me laugh out loud. Its for one of Tower Hotel Groups hotels, where they say "you can relax and get a facial, and give him a weekend to remember". Is there a screening process for these ads?

Tallspoon · 15-06-2006 1:38pm

Sizzler wrote:

New addition! That SHOITE ad for HP Integrity servers. Anybody heard it? Its on every focking ad break during the last word. Its the ad where some scrib is being "questioned" by his boss about the best type of IT solution for their business. Pile of shoite.

"oh but there is NO other option".....Ask me bollix.

Ah but O'mara...havent I told you to compare like with like...for example this advert and a steaming bucket of dog terd.
Anything to do with the play Dandelions makes me want to stick knitting needles in my eyes or go out and burst gerry ryan like a balloon, maybe he would go flying around the room. Now that is what I call entertainment!

On a lighter note...any advert that offers facials makes me smile. I used to watch rugby league on Sky sports and the expert was an ex rugby league player who is built like a brick shtihouse called Stevo. He has his own unique take on the English language but one of my faves was whenever the ball carrying player was tackled by two or more opponents and had his head shoved in the dirt Stevo used to say they were giving him a facial...It always brought tears to my eyes!

Tobias Greeshman · 30-06-2006 10:44am

"ooh pot noodle, ooh pot noodle,.... [Welsh accent]Fuel of the nation isn't it?" :mad: Aarrrghh!! stupid add does my head in!!

DublinWriter · 30-06-2006 9:16pm

silas wrote:

"ooh pot noodle, ooh pot noodle,.... [Welsh accent]Fuel of the nation isn't it?" :mad: Aarrrghh!! stupid add does my head in!!

I think that it's one of the funniest the most original ads doing the rounds currently, it reminds me of some of those crazy Tango ads of the 90's.

After all, what unique selling points can you sell Pot Noodle on?

Our man in Havana · 30-06-2006 10:35pm

That new Dandilions ad is almost as bad as the first one. Makes me switch over the radio every time it is on.

Nalz · 30-06-2006 10:42pm

"Harvey Norman Superstores.......go harvey go"

ah acant stand it

J.R.HARTLEY · 01-07-2006 10:50am

Bond-007 wrote:

That new Dandilions ad is almost as bad as the first one. Makes me switch over the radio every time it is on.

agrees 100%
also the terrible NTL digital ad where the woman is bawling cause she just saw gardeners world and is traumatised, people actually pay ad agencies to put these ads on, that then obviously discourage the customer, only in f'in ireland.:mad:

Genghis · 03-07-2006 9:20am

Just read through the entire thread - excellent commentary indeed.

Can I just echo some of the thoughts? Don Wycherley and his endless series of myhome.ie ads - the voice is the essence of smugness, and it just grates me anytime I here it.

On a similar note, I hate carzone ads at the minute, how someon supposedly crawled through hundreds of garages and thousands of cars, but is now invigorated having found his car on carzone. Grrrr. Just annoys me, not sure how, maybe its the 'Yippeee' he shouts.

The HP ad is hugely irritating and so un-real. 'Perhaps you know of another product, with cler roadmaps, etc.' Now I don't buy these products, but is 'clear roadmap' an actual prodcust specification (like processor speed, memory capcaity, etc). I could be wrong, but it sounds very vague to me, pure crap.

It also reminds of the very poor attempt at comedy that was Vodafones advert where the boss was looking to cut costs, and he asks round his team of witless co-workers. This leads to a classic advert tactic - by comparison to ludicrous situations (as opposed to competitor offering, real life, or anything of sense), the featured product is a clear winner.

Hence, the Vodafone offer, when compared to skateboards for stockrooms and heating the office via toaster makes sense. The killer part is that it is the bosses son who makes the suggestion.

I gotta give a good ad before I go. I like the one for MSL Volkswagon featuring a Nortsider and Southsider. It is clever in that the ad takes a potshot at both stereotypes, but in such a way that both sets of listeners come away laughing at the other, and not seeing the implied insult in the ad for them. It could have been bad if the ad managed to piss everyone off.

sudzs · 03-07-2006 10:33am

mikesee wrote:

has anybody heard the new tv licence ad. this one takes it to a new low. some fellow badly acting 3 or 4 different accents and a few changes of tone and pitch thrown in.they are basically saying we are going to annoy the sh**e out of ye and we don't care. i have e-mailed them today to say that i am going to boycot rte until it is pulled.

maybe its just me!!

p.s. i also hate the phonewatch " burglers" ad

Nope, it's not just you! I can't bloody stand those stupid TV licence ads... With that gob****e trying unsuccessfully to sound like Graham Norton.. aaaaargh!

Hate all Barrys tea ads... eeeeuch!

And as for the Phonewatch ads... burgalars watching you're every move day and night.. huh?! Do they really think they can terrorise us into paranoia to the point of spending a heap on an Eircom Phonewatch system??????

I'll stick with a dog thanks! Any burgalar will tell you that's the only thing that'l put them off!

Genghis · 04-07-2006 3:37pm

Another one that gets me at the minute is the son seeks fatherly advice one from Sage. The bit that grates me is the crappy way the ad writer tries to insert some piece of biog into the character.

"I've been financial controller for more years than I care to remember, son".

Obviously, Sage want us to think that the voice on the radio is a real person, with a real experience and a real testimony and that his word is therefore worth something. They even have a phone ringing in the background as though it were in a real busy real office.

But - reality check.

He is talking to his son. His son is struggling with the books. His son has called him for financial advice. And yet his father has to tell him that he is a financial controller 'for more years than I care to remember'.

Imagine if your Dad was a mechanic and you needed help with, I don't know, a fan belt. So you ring up your Dad, and he begins - 'Well son, I am a mechanic for many years'. You'd think - I fcking hell, why'd you think I called, Dad. And you'd probably make a mental note to mention your fathers sanity to your mother later that day.

And then the final cheerful chuckle - 'tell them I sent you'. Yeah, just like you tell the mental home, Dad.

mikemac · 04-07-2006 3:50pm

HP seem to have a be on a run at present with bad ad's

Following up from the O'Meara ad is the new one with two guys playing golf. It's to do with printers. Rubbish ad.

FlutterinBantam · 04-07-2006 4:49pm

That ad for Athletes foot stuff with a host of so fockin bad accents I nearly yank the tranny from the wall and cant her over the next roof...... What the fuggg is it all about anyway... the red mist comes down half way through??

tbh · 04-07-2006 4:53pm

It's for anger management classes

mikedragon32 · 04-07-2006 5:02pm

I hate that ad for Pat McDonald Paints... The jingle is just so terrible. Even thinking about it is annoying!

The ads for Nescafe on Today FM are aweful too (the sleepy DJ one springs to mind...). Like that crap will perk you up in the morning!

Another particular hate of mine is ads for live comedy shows where they don't even play a soundbyte of the comedian, just some voice artist saying "[comedian's name], live at Vicar Street..." with silly music and canned laughter playing in the background...

I can't think of any ads on radio that I like.

DublinWriter · 04-07-2006 7:39pm

Genghis wrote:

"I've been financial controller for more years than I care to remember, son"
...
He is talking to his son. His son is struggling with the books. His son has called him for financial advice. And yet his father has to tell him that he is a financial controller 'for more years than I care to remember'.

I think the line is "I've been using Financial Controller for more years than I care to remember, son".

Great product, shite ad.

mountainyman · 11-07-2006 5:06pm

Italian Tile and Stone Terenure:
Craziest marketing promotion ever.

MM

Tobias Greeshman · 11-07-2006 6:34pm

DublinWriter wrote:

I think that it's one of the funniest the most original ads doing the rounds currently, it reminds me of some of those crazy Tango ads of the 90's.

After all, what unique selling points can you sell Pot Noodle on?

Ah now those Tango adds were cool (You know when you've been tangoed )... I blame the Welsh accent, it does my head in

Wertz · 11-07-2006 7:59pm

That ad for a night at the dogs (ie greyhound racing) is particulalry pissing me off ATM...yer wan is buying some vittles at the local supermarket and all her vitamin pills and energy drinks are apparently no match for going out to watch a procession of canine athletics and probably loosing most of her week's salary.

But "you never know, you might get lucky" :rolleyes:
The sexual connotations in this sentence are annoying as hell...yes love, you're going to be bedded by the guy in the cloth cap who just blew his last tenner on trap 5...lucky you.

Oh and that fecking Eurospar ad (there may be a series of them), the one with superman "flying" round the shop and making bad puns about...there's another one in which the husband/boyfriend is revealed as apparently being the owner of a dress?
Utter tripe, the lack of imagination in trying to advertise a simple minimart is astonishing....do these people actually get paid?

DublinWriter · 11-07-2006 9:52pm

Wertz wrote:

That ad for a night at the dogs (ie greyhound racing) is particulalry pissing me off ATM...

And when they mention gourmet food? WTF? I've been on several corporate jollies out in Shelbourne Park recently and the most I got was currychips in a plastic-punnet.

She should just cut out the middle man (or dog), take a Dart out to Bray and play the slots.

Wertz · 11-07-2006 9:59pm

To be fair, I got some top notch food in the stadium in Dundalk last time I was on a night out there (the advert is regionalised depending on where you hear it, local radio, Dublin stations etc), and IIRC it wasn't overly expensive.
That aside the advert certainly wouldn't hold any sway with me were I in a position to be making corporate bookings...

IronMan · 12-07-2006 12:18pm

There is one on newstalk frequently at the moment, and it drives me nucking futs. It’s for MLT Volkswagen dealers, and its one of those embarrassing ‘look at the difference’s between Southsiders and Northsiders, isn’t it hilarious’ type jobbies. It bandies out every tired old cliché and I hate it very very much.

And another one is Old Mr Brennan, why won’t that old baxtard just drop dead, and do us all a huge favour. I hope he chokes to death on his own stodgy bread.

I’d also like to weigh in behind those who hate the myhome.ie ads. The voice of that smug git. When I hear his nasal tones, I am reminded of overpriced coffee, panini’s, MPV’s, working in the IFSC, Renards, small cocks, 40 year mortgages and a child called Sorcha.

garred · 12-07-2006 12:54pm

Like the McDonalds add with Micko and bringing the pain....class!

Max_Damage · 12-07-2006 6:27pm

I've noticed that they've brought back that awful NTL ad, the 'sloppy note' one, on FM104. Joy!

mavikiz · 12-07-2006 8:13pm

Surely the tv license ad. warning people about having to 'wear a suit instead of burmudas' because they will 'have a day in court' as they need another licence for the tv in their holiday homes.

I think the guy is trying to imitate Richard Wilson from One Foot in The Grave...so many annoying things about these advertisments I think they make more people more determined to never get a tv license.

Big Tone · 13-07-2006 9:56am

All those radio commercials for the TV licence are crap!! Of course if you own a radio but not a TV you dont need a licence!

Wertz · 13-07-2006 6:54pm

New pet hates:

Easy Living magazine, mr and mrs middle class swap pleasantries about their lovely home and how much better said mag can make it...cringeworthy.

GE money; the henpecked guy's mate calls him about the trip to prague, he needs to take a break from his debt....by accruing more! Brilliant!
Shove your loan up your arse.

DublinWriter · 13-07-2006 8:00pm

Screw this.

*every* ad I hear either on RTE or Newstalk whilst stuck in traffic is like a rusty nine-inch-nail being slowly hammered into my skull.

Compare and contrast with how creatively they can produce radio ads in the states.

Mr E · 14-07-2006 4:53pm

SSIA ads are getting worse too.
"You should see my impression of a one legged donkey".

Another ad (I think its for a broadband company) involves someone doing a tarzan yell that becomes a scream (because the line is missing - oh the hilarity). Very bloody annoying....

J.R.HARTLEY · 14-07-2006 9:07pm

what gets my goat is the companies that create these ads are being paid a fortune, for what, putting people off the product? how the Flip does that help? and just what passes for a sense of humour in advertising these days, the funny ads are annoying not funny!

Sizzler · 17-07-2006 8:12am

J.R.HARTLEY wrote:

what gets my goat is the companies that create these ads are being paid a fortune, for what, putting people off the product? how the Flip does that help? and just what passes for a sense of humour in advertising these days, the funny ads are annoying not funny!

Its very apparent these days that media agencies do NOT road test these ads with the general public. Judging by the "quality" of the shoite thats being aired at the moment it woud suggest theres a lot of back slapping their own offices and once they think its good then they feel it must appel to the general populous.

Bollox.

SprostonGreen · 17-07-2006 7:40pm

When possible turn over/off the radio when the ads come on, thats what I do. Life seems a lot less annoying ever since.

DublinWriter · 17-07-2006 9:25pm

Sizzler wrote:

Its very apparent these days that media agencies do NOT road test these ads with the general public. Judging by the "quality" of the shoite thats being aired at the moment it woud suggest theres a lot of back slapping their own offices and once they think its good then they feel it must appel to the general populous.

Most ads on RTE Radio are done by their own production team for buttons for Irish SMEs buying adspace - agencies usually aren't involved.

I usually flick between RTE 1, RTE 2 and Newstalk and don't manage to hear most of the ad breaks.

Wertz · 17-07-2006 9:45pm

New annoyance:

Clearwire Broadband....some smug yank telling us that his company alone will breach the gap left by eircom et al, no phone line etc....aye no feckin' server/client activty of any kind on their precious network either, but they forget to mention that little bit of detail.

Oh and whilst we're on the subject of Eircom and broadband, that particular ad of theirs that promotes eircom.net as being akin to having your very own telly that gets programmes before any of your mates (thread about this in the broadband forum)....it's almost as if they're promoting p2p and illegal file sharing, without actually doing so...it really shows what a bunch of f*cktards they are when they can't sell what is almost a service utility without promoting it as being some new way of watching TV....maybe their time and money would be better spent elsewhere trying to enable exchanges for the 1,000s of people crying out for a viable DSL service in this country...

Mr E · 26-07-2006 6:03pm

There is an MBNA ad on the radio with a guy demanding Ryder Cup tickets.
Who is it suppose to be? Michael Caine? Keith Richards? Someone else?

(I think its safe to say that when you have people asking 'who is that?', then the impersonation is pretty poor....)

SprostonGreen · 26-07-2006 7:16pm

Wertz wrote:

Oh and whilst we're on the subject of Eircom and broadband, that particular ad of theirs that promotes eircom.net as being akin to having your very own telly that gets programmes before any of your mates (thread about this in the broadband forum)....it's almost as if they're promoting p2p and illegal file sharing, without actually doing so...it really shows what a bunch of f*cktards they are when they can't sell what is almost a service utility without promoting it as being some new way of watching TV...

Agreed, what also annoys me about them is their presumption that their target audience is stupid. Like, get broadband so you can find out lots of recipies for eating alfresco, you mean you cant do that on dial-up, pricks!

SprostonGreen · 26-07-2006 7:18pm

TmB wrote:

There is an MBNA ad on the radio with a guy demanding Ryder Cup tickets.
Who is it suppose to be? Michael Caine? Keith Richards? Someone else?

(I think its safe to say that when you have people asking 'who is that?', then the impersonation is pretty poor....)

Oh I hate that too and have thought who is it also.

Another one grating me and has me reaching for the dials to turn off, is one where some twat visits a fortune teller who speaks in an EE accent only in the end to speak with a Howiya Dublin accents, oh my sides ached with laughter over that one.

Max_Damage · 26-07-2006 10:36pm

I hate the ad for Persil (or maybe it is Ariel) where they have some kids trying to read out the lines for the ad, and he can't pronounce alot of the words. Jeez, get proper actors for God sake.

Ruu_Old · 27-07-2006 12:48am

There used to be a hilarious one for Irish Pride.
woman: "I was saving it for a saaanndddwicchhh for mysellllfff" can't remember how it went but sounded like the sounded like the fella said "you totally selfish wank0r"

DublinWriter · 27-07-2006 7:05am

Ruu wrote:

There used to be a hilarious one for Irish Pride.
woman: "I was saving it for a saaanndddwicchhh for mysellllfff" can't remember how it went but sounded like the sounded like the fella said "you totally selfish wank0r"

Wagon.

Baby4 · 27-07-2006 9:06am

This post has been deleted.

swingking · 27-07-2006 10:54am

The ONLY ad I can listen to is the Evian Spring girl. I could listen to that for ages. So sexy

The condom power ad on fm104 drives me nuts. WTF they are getting someone to do the ad who hopefully should be past all the kinky stuff

AAAARGH

zuutroy · 27-07-2006 11:31am

That flippin ad with the batchelor's walk twit who's a lorry driver bringing escarGOTS into france...uughghh. I'm happy to say, I dont even know what its for!
Also, why the flurk do they have to hire Irish people to play French parts in these ads. I mean their accents are hopeless. Mine is better. The one in a recent Citroen ad sounded more Italian

Sizzler · 27-07-2006 1:06pm

What about that POXY ad for Opel where the guy is saying "tick tock tick tock...blah blah" ...."we spent all our budget reducing the ar value".

FFS ! Thats obvious mate, dont even waste your beath by pointing that out in the ad ! Insult to injury !

Sizzler · 10-08-2006 7:41am

This weeks winner, the ad for fairy liquid where some cockney kid is reading the label off the bottle or some shoite. At least have the decency to use a local kid :rolleyes:

30txsbzmcu2k9w · 11-08-2006 12:11pm

any of the adds for blanchardstown shopping centres etc get right on me tits-especially one a couple of years ago with a little prrick of a kid with a hoarse accent saying 'its all there in the square'!

Bob the Builder · 11-08-2006 4:25pm

The ones where they have two people debating:

Smart person: "Did you know you can get {insurance} for {€25}"
Eejit: "Oh No, where do i go?"
Smart person: "Just call 1850 715 465"

...and thats repeated 8/9 times per hour. Even my ass, gets sore of that....

DublinWriter · 12-08-2006 7:45pm

Honestly, these days I think *every* ad on Irish radio these days makes me want to smash the radio out of my dashboard with the sole of my shoe Homer-style.

Chief culprits include:

the current '11890-Saves' campaign
any TV licence ad ("you're a bad person and you're worse than Hitler for not paying your fair share of Ryan Tubridy's salary")
Discount Electrical\Weston Gardiner (Die Geraldine, DIE!)
the one for the hotel where the password is 'Cheers!'
every 'terms and conditions apply, global-financial-corp are regulated under section seventy-nine of the financial authority act, the ambition of global-financial-corp may not be the same as your ambitions, investments may fall as well as rise, past indicators are no indication of future performance, potential investors may lose their house and life savings and have their children sold into white-slavery".

Worst/Best Radio Ads

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