I now basically never see any commercials unless I'm watching TV News. I find them psychologically manipulative and unnerving. Each one is louder or crazier than the one that came before, and after five minutes of that it's difficult to get back into whatever you were watching.
My least favorite commercial in recent memory is the one for STAPLES where the two men shout "WOW, THAT'S A LOW PRICE!""I KNOW!" at the top of their lungs for 30 seconds. The crass and cynical desperation that commercial represents, having the actors shout shrilly simply because the company knows that it will result in people looking at their screens, kind of convinces me that commercials are wholy toxic and should be avoided at all costs
PS I recently saw a commercial for some kind of insurance company that featured Bob Wiltfong! I last saw him in a Dominos commercial where he said that the family could turn on the lights now that Dominos saved them money on Pizza. However, that was at least two years ago..
He is my second favorite Daily Show contributer of all time, having worked on the show back when I watched it every day... which was aprox Feb 2004- Jan 2006. He was a comic genius that had some kind of falling out with Jon Stewart and was unfairly axed. They let his contract expire but refused to put him on the show anymore. I wrote him a letter one time offering my support, and he actually wrote back. He is extremely classy, so keep an eye out for this commercial. He is some kind of insurance fixer, who comes into peoples homes and offers reduced deals, often after checking on the phone with headquarters. I will update this post if I can remember what company it's for
EDIT: I guess I should add that the letter he wrote me was actually fairly lengthy, a full page of text!
