I got a message from BBC OS asking for an opinion on this commercial. (to be fair, it was a mass message so it doesn't mean I'm some special correspondent or anything)

Personally, I would not have been offended by this. To me, it's women in a Dove commercial for beauty. I get the message. The delivery was probably poorly executed in light of heightened racial tensions in the US. People responded to what Dove did the responsible thing as they have already done in previous situations and will continue to do in future ones.

This got me thinking about a couple of commercials I saw some years ago that just made me balk and gag and in come cases turned my stomach. Let's start with the one that made me balk...then we'll move to gag.

Orville Redenbacher Popcorn commercial - 2007

When I saw this, I think my jaw dropped. I might have uttered WTF a few ... hundred times as I wondered WHY? Who thought this was a good idea and have they been fired?
For those of you who may not be familiar. Orville Redenbacher is a popcorn brand. The creator of the same name did his own commercials for decades. We were used to seeing him.
He died when he was about 100 or close to it. It was a bit sad but, it's the way of us all, right?

Then I see this commercial about 10 years after he died and I couldn't believe someone got paid to do this and that the company thought it was a good idea to run it. No one thought it was , you know, kinda CREEPY?!?
Bringing the man back from the dead via CGI? Really awkward and obvious CGI and just...I have never forgotten it. While I was neither a lover nor hater of the brand, I just can't get over this whole thing and turned to rice cakes or something.

Now on to the GAG!

Quiznos Subs Rats (yes, you read that right)

I have never been to Quiznos, never ate their subs but was curious about them. The commercials showed some really nice bubbly toasted subs. I was very tempted.

Then I saw this ad.

I think I threw up in my mouth a bit. Rats talking about how they loved Quiznos subs.
Talking and badly singing rats. In costumes. With guitars.

Restaurants and diners get shut down for having rats in Miami (a la Jeff Weinsier and Dirty Dining) but someone thought it was a good idea to use rats to extol the virtues of an eatery that people frequent.

No.

I couldn't look at a Quiznos without thinking about rats eating and singing about subs. I just don't understand how someone thought this was a good idea and then got paid to put it up. Hell, if they had given the money to me, I probably would have done better and given them change just for good measure.

No. No. No. Bad idea, Quiznos. VERY bad idea.

So those are my "No-mmercials" that still haunt me to this day.

What are yours? What commercials have you see that just turned you off or made you gag or worse?