"Bob"

I watch/listen to CNN a lot. I think if I have to listen to one more "Bob" commercial I will just shoot the television!

Don't you just want to wipe that grin off his face!?

I totally understand. He's on Foxnews too. About every 5 minutes! Ugg!

Why do the commercial writers think all men would want to be like "Bob"? Ewww...

This message was edited Sep 13, 2005 9:10 PM

I can't stand him either. He is good looking until he puts on that phony way too long lasting grin. An his 'wife' & the neighbor couple are some of the phonist looking 50s people I have ever seen. Some of the incidents tho are almost funny. Like when his trunks remain in the pool. Not funny if it really happened , but since we all know that it is all put on it is. And that dance he and his wife and the neighbor and his wife do is from back in the 50s for goodness sake.

And why do they feel the need to play two 'Bob' commercials back to back?

I lead a shelter life who Bob?
i only watch about two hours a week i am a reader and no time till snow hits in, for TV . Maybe Bob will be gone.Every one laughs at us because we don't have cable .
I am going to pay for the stuff thats on the air ? (( no way ))

I am seriously considering getting rid of cable myself. I can still get the major networks and PBS, so what more do I need. Oh wait! the U.S. Open Tennis Matches were on USA. And I like the Animal Planet. and er, HBO and .....oh well.

Oh Tazzy I envy you!! Before I got married I didn't have a TV. Reading, music, and the internet were my 'at home' activities. Well in addition to gardening anyway.

Now we have a 60" TV overwhelming our living room and Direct TV. No HBO or premium channels but there are still a ton of stations!

If it's on I will watch it. Can't read in front of one either. Then there's the 3 year old that needs me.

I finally finished a book on the way to the beach last month. I was on the last paragraph and after the 3rd interruption from my son I said, "Would you mind letting mommy just finish this teensy part?" Arrggh!

I miss it!

Nicole

Well, you know folks - you can't blame TV for this. It's just a machine. Whether or not you have cable (I have satellite - pretty much the same thing) you CAN control what you watch. I myself like BBC America for the wonderful British mystery programs, the Biography channel, The Food Network, & my all-time favorite - Turner Classic Movies, since I'm a big-time old-movie buff.

But if I want to read a book or relax to music - I . . turn. . the. . TV. . off.

Sorry - don't see where the problem is here.

I would love to switch Bob's "happy pills" with salt peter! Oh how I hate those commercials.

Wish I could get BBC America and the Biography channel. I have satellite but no control as my landlord pays the bill

Breezy, why are you so confrontational? Must you put a negative spin on everything?

Take a step back and a deep breath. This is a fun site, no need to be negative and omnipotent!

Nicole

PS - I never said having a 3 year old and married life was a 'problem' anyway. I LOVE IT.

HI everyone I have a story about the Bob commerial My daughter takes my grandson to counseling and the lady asked him how he felt well he thought about it and said like the man on the commerial that always smile well the lady just about died right there and my daughter didn't get it and asked him what man on the commerial are you talking a bout and he said you know Bob he's always smiling and waving then he asked whats that commerial for anyway??? Well about that time they both where trying not to break out into laughter and my daughter was beside herself ......Sharon

Sorry - I didn't mean to sound "confrontational" & apologize if my comment came off that way.

Thanks!!!

Nicole

Breezy and Nicole... Words on a screen don't really convey emotions but rather, tend to come off different than intended. I've asked Dave repeatedly for 4+ years if we could have smileys added. I think it could help what we are trying to say in some situations.

My personal view is that the commercial is aired too much, and I find the commercial irritating, but there must be lots of profit in the product. But from a marketing view, that commercial certainly has people remembering it. How many other commercials do you remember?

sassygranng, great story about the grandson and the commercial!

Well, frankly, I thought I was broad-minded. But I really am a bit squeamish about ads for feminine products, especially douches, for crying out loud, and for propholactics and male enhancement.
But nothing makes me angrier than the ads for prescription drugs. I don't think patients should be going to doctors insisting on a drug that may not be right for them. The drug companies claim that their costs are so high because of research, but they spend way more $$$ on commercials than on research.
darius, I know the long, hard wait is stressful, but keep your chin up.

The drug companies claim that their costs are so high because of research, but they spend way more $$$ on commercials than on research.

I have interviewed with drug companies, and had an in-person opportunity to see how many people (& how many years) it takes to develop on antibiotic to treat the latest, strongest infection, I wonder how many people in this world really know what it takes to make all those medicines. It seems like we all want modern medicine to "cure all that ails us", but don't want to pay for the work. A lot of the "base-level" employees at drug companies (like Merck, for example) only pay around $35,000 annually for a BS Chemist to spend all of their work week doing nothing but small-scale reactions for research. I found the job descriptions to be a little too depressing - trying 1 million chemicals, just to find out at the end of a fiscal quarter that none of them turned into anything useful. I can't imagine waking up every morning & getting paid to potentially ruin someone's life with a drug that gets through the FDA and ends up being fatally harmful.
Without running the risk of making the "Bob commercial fun thread" into a political argument, I think the general population doesn't always understand the time & paychecks required to generate the drugs in the commercials.

point taken. I was only going by an article with a scale on it and it explained a lot. Also, some information in Consumer's Reports.
I still don't think prescription drugs should be advertised to the general public. The drug companies do enough advertising and sending out samples to doctors. Prescription drugs used to never be advertised. That doesn't mean I don't think the public should be uninformed, but not susceptible to advertising. A competent doctor will prescribe what's best with the least side effects and drug-combination problems.

Angelsong - then perhaps the drug companies should be channeling all the money they're spending on commercials that are virtually worthless back where it belongs. Prime-time TV spots can cost millions.

And let's face it - how many people really march into their doctor's office & ask to be put on some drug simply because they saw it on TV? It's ridiculous, & if the drug companies are so concerned about drug development funds perhaps they should wise up & spend their money more responsibly.

This message was edited Sep 16, 2005 10:42 AM

I remember the commercials with the catchy tunes:
I wish I was an Oscar Meyer Weiner or
Alka-Seltzer, Speedy Alka-Seltzer
and some ads are just plain funny. Advertisers during the early days of Saturday Night Live used to have ads as funny as the show.
BTW, it looks like Wrightsville Beach is Ok and the cottage I am staying in did not flood.
My cousin, who lives inland about 10 miles said that she just lost a little siding and some limbs off branches in her front yard. So I'm off in the morning for a week.

I can't stand the Directv guy that sings. I immediately put him on "mute".

my fave, anothing that shows puppies and kitties

Do you mean Jeff Green for DirectTV's "Sunday Ticket" football channel?

I actually find that commercial very funny - especially all the football guys chiming in, doing the jumping jacks, etc. But then, I like Jeff Green from the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" show with Larry David.

I can't stand the Tylenol commercial where the camera is off center and right up in the woman's face. That is annoying enough. But to hear her first say "I get headaches a lot. Sometimes everyday. So I was always reaching for something." and then she goes on to say how aspirin can damage your stomach even if you don't feel it and she says "I'm not ok with that." I normally scream at the TV "BUT YOU ARE OK WITH HAVING A HEADACHE EVERY DAY? SOMETHING IS WRONG THERE SISTER AND YOU NEED TO GO TO THE DOCTOR!!!!" Ha! See, that really gets to me.

My husband hates the Applebee’s commercials b/c their little catch phrase is "eating good in the neighborhood." He just goes off about how stupid that is and it doesn't even make sense, just because "good" and "neighborhood" rhyme doesn't mean the statement is logical. He just mutes the TV until it's over. HA! Funny how we find ourselves irritated by certain things huh? But like y'all said, it certain does the job of making you remember the product!

Oh, and I agree- seeing Bob Dole advertise Viagra is a bit more than I can take!

Hmmm, I'm finding this thread funny in more ways than one. I have to agree with most of the people here about "Bob". I find myself itching to give him a swift kick. On another angle --- my husband keeps telling me that I shouldn't judge by my own reactions to things because mine don't tend to be the "normal" ones. I find that I remember whatever the really irritating commercials are selling AND absolutely refuse to buy that brand, but when it comes to the ones I find really funny or otherwise amusing, I tend to forget what they're advertising!

Oh, we want to mute annoying ads? HOW ABOUT THE KIA ADS THAT SCREAM AT YOU? They also do those ads back to back a lot.
The secretary at work is a single mom with 3 boys: 13, 5, 4. She bought a Kia. It gave a lot of trouble right away so she returned it and got a van. These people also sell Toyotas and I advised to get of those but.....noooooo, she got the Kia van. It has about 5,000 miles on it. She has already had to take it to get the transmission replaced, the rear end placed and now the transmission is jumping out of gear again. When we all rode with her to lunch, I opened the front passenger side door and the entire rubber gasket around the door fell down. What a piece of s***. But they love to scream about their 100,000 mile guarantee. They'll never get one to go 100,000 miles.

Jamie you are so funny. LOL I had thought the same about that girl (duh? how about having a chat with the brain surgeon???) but she doesn't annoy me as much as she does you. LOL

thinking about other annoyers, the spokesman for OXYCLEAN is another "mute-worthy" guy. He yells like he's talking to an audience of deaf people. I have to hunt for the remote and lower the volume 3 notches just so my ears don't hurt!

And poor DH. He bolts out of the room everytime the two ladies come on talking about feminine itch. LOL Like somebody running their nails on the blackboard.

That guy who sells the orange cleaner of some kind is one reason I would refuse to buy it no matter how good it is. I'm not deaf and don't like to be yelled at by anyone. Maybe he is the one with a hearing problem.

My hubby mutes nearly all commercials so I have little idea what is said on most of them. But the BOB one he seems to like to be amused by sometimes.

the only commercial I truely enjoy is the little kid selling subs (quismo subs?) But even that if you are forced to see it over and over, gets annoying! Also get a kick outta the guy that says 'I'm in debt up to my eyeballs" Wish I had the option to just program them outta my tv - I'd rather have a blank screen for a few minutes than listen to all that gibberish!

sarv- that debt one IS funny! But being an accountant, it irritates me! I just shake my head and tell him "well, sell your house and buy one you can afford, tell your wife to get a job, give up the golf club membership, and stop living above your means... moron!" As I sit here applying for a credit card debt consoliation loan. HA!

Yes Nery, she irritates me to no end! So let me get this straight.... the thought that asprin MAY BE irritating your stomach lining sends you into a meltdown, but the fact that you have a headache EVERY DAY is just no biggie?! I agree with your husband on the "itch" ones. They are so gross! And again, I think, if you are having that problem "down there" then you need to go to the doctor!!!!

I forgot about the Oxyclean guy. Ha! Or how about Tony Little and his plethorea of fitness gimmicks? He can't stand still and just YELLS at you. And now he is on that Gieco commercial? I can't get away from the guy!

Well here is my doozy of all times. The Comcast commercials. I loathe Comcast. I mean I hate them with the intensity of 1,000 suns. So that "kick the dish" thing they do irritates me. The whole "when the dog sneezed, the signal went out, when it rained, the signal went out." Well guess what? My digital signal went out in bad weather too! But at least with the dish, it all comes back on after the storm passes. And if not, their customer service department is at least friendly and can FIX THE PROBLEM. Not so with Comcast. They are rude, and clueless. And that was just the cable. Our internet service stopped working 2 days after they set it up and it took 2 MONTHS to fix it! And they tried to charge us for those months! So yes, I find myself wanting to kick in the tv screen when Comcast commercials come on. Ha!

This has turned into a pretty funny thread. Keep 'em coming!

I don't know if it's still being shown, but one of the funniest auto insurance commercials I've ever seen is the one where the 2 squirrels intentionally cause a car to swerve & crash & then give each other "high fives" afterwards. I must've seen it a hundred times & it STILL makes me laugh!

Breezy, I haven't seen that one in a while either, but it is HILARIOUS!

My current favorite is the Petsmart one with the Harlequin Great Dane named Maggie. She is sitting there and this kid has an ice cream cone and that dog wants it SO bad! Just the look on her face and the way she sort of scoots forward reminds me of my Great Dane Apollo. They even look alike. It is funny how danes all seem to have the same little quirks and mannerisms. Well, ok, since y'all twisted my arm I went ahead and attached a picture of him. :)

You know, another funny one is the A-1 Steak Sauce commercial where that guy just sits down and starts eating the husband's steak, but you don't realize it until the end. In the mean time the wife is just saying "what are you doing? Stop it! I don't even KNOW you!" and you think the whole time that he IS the husband and she is just mad at him. LOVE IT!

I also like the Capital One commercials with David Spade. :)

I dearly love my Tivo ;-)

mg

Jamie, LMAO. I've never seen Comcast commercials.
Like I said, anything w/ dogs and kitties I love. The one w/ the great dane is just precious. I grew up w/ great danes. Would like to get a black one. I didn't know about Apollo. He is absolutely gorgeous!
Love the fat guy from Capitol One.
I would like to strangle Tony Little with that ponytail of his. Watch closely on the Geico commercial, I think he's wearing false eyelashes. yeah Baby!!!!!!

For everybody's benefit. I confess, I have bee a sucker and have bought some of the products.
For example, Oxyclean. Pretty worthless. stick w/ clorox or Tide w/ bleach alternative.
Quiznos, sandwiches look so appetizing in commercials but I found them pretty gross.

Yep, I prefer Subway to Quiznos. I know a lot of people swear by Oxyclean but I don't get it. I didn't think it was that great.

They have toned down those Comcast commercials, but there were about 3 of them that ran all the time. Each one was a "real person" telling about how they had "the dish" and how horrible it was.

False eyelashes? Gross! What is with that "yeah baby" tag line he uses? Doesn't he know Austin Powers beat him to it... and is actually being funny when he says it? :)

oh so you were a sucker too, huh? I feel much much better now. (still laughing from previous posting)

Wanna hear a deeper confession? I actually bought that first set of exercise tapes Tony Little put out! My mom still has them! HAHAHAHAHA!!!! At least I don't have "the Gazelle" in my house anywhere. :)

I challenge ANYBODY to top that one...

*quietly checks clothes rack in laundryroom*

mg

I am waiting for an "ok, I bought the Gazelle" confession. :)