The 13 most annoying ad characters of all-time

Advertising is a necessary evil in this modern world of ours. Sadly, if not for the likes of Ronald McDonald and the Trix Bunny Rabbit, television would never have found its way into the living rooms of billions of homes the world over. Of course, just because we have to put up with all those ad campaigns, it doesn’t mean we have to like it. Over the years, there have been countless abrasive and incredibly annoying advertising characters cooked up by the world’s most sadistic corporate companies. Of all these advertising characters and mascots, the most annoying are listed below:

1 The Noid Domino’s

This red-suited rabbit-like character helped hock Domino’s Pizza through much of the 1980s. Stamped with the slogan, “Avoid the Noid,” it appears that even Domino’s was aware of how annoying this wretched pizza thief truly was.

2 AFLAC Duck AFLAC Insurance

Anything voiced by Gilbert Gottfried is going to be pretty damn annoying. Now the star of more than 30 unique commercials, the AFLAC Duck recently earned a spot on the Madison Avenue Walk of Fame as one of America’s Favorite Advertising Icons. I beg to differ.

3 The General General Insurance

The General is by far one of the sloppiest, most poorly created advertising mascots of all time. Seriously, when your mascot looks like he was pulled from the bulk pile of a free-use clipart program, you know it’s time to go back to the drawing board.

4 White Gold Milk

I guess this is Big Dairy’s attempt to make drinking milk cool with the kids. Unfortunately, this wannabe rocker is nothing more than a big piece of rotten cheese. The name of the ad campaign – Battle for Milkquarious – only serves to increase the level of annoyance.

5 Mr. Six Six Flags

I hate to break it to you Six Flags, but a really old man dancing to a really annoying song doesn’t really get me too psyched about visiting one of your parks. How about lowering your prices instead of trying to trick me into standing into your long lines with this abomination of a marketing character?

6 Pillsbury Doughboy Pillsbury

First off, let me just point out that the Doughboy – who is made of dough (obviously) – wants you to eat dough-based products. Call me crazy, but isn’t that cannibalism? Or, at the very least, treachery against his own people? This questionable moral code, combined with his sugary-sweet persona and high-pitched voice, roll up together to create a mascot that is, in my opinion, completely half-baked.

7 Taco Bell Chihuahua Taco Bell

This little pup wore out his welcome long before he was retired by Taco Bell. From 1997 through 2000, the Chihuahua spouted catchphrases such as “Yo Quiero Taco Bell!” and “Viva Gorditas” in an attempt to get us all to Run for the Border. Unfortunately, all he made me do was run for the remote control.

8 Chester Cheetah Cheetos

This rude with an attitude has been crunching down on Cheetos since 1986. Though always annoying, a 2000s redesign resulted in a computer-generated version of the character that ratcheted up the “baditude.” Unfortunately, it also ratcheted up the creepiness and annoyance factor.

9 The Spong Monkeys Quiznos

Remember this abortion of an ad campaign? Call me crazy, but when you’re trying to sell food, using a bunch of dirty, creepy rat-like creatures just isn’t the right way to do it. However, I must admit that the commercial did succeed in teaching me something new about Quizno’s – “They got a pepper bar.”

10 Oven Mitt Arby’s

Of all the things in the world to animate into an anthropomorphic cartoon character, an oven mitt shouldn’t be one of them. Arby’s tried to introduce this ugly little guy in the early 2000s. Couple his horrible design in with the fact that he was voiced by Tom Arnold, and it’s easy to see why he was canned shortly thereafter.

11 Mr. Mucus Mucinex

Supposedly, this low-life drop of mucus sets up shop in your nose, only to be evicted by the decongesting powers of Mucinex. However, the gruff voice and pun-heavy speech of Mr. Mucus and his family do little more than make me want to evict all disgusting imagery of him from my long-term memory.

12 Nasonex Bee Nasonex

With his come-hither eyes and sultry accented speech (voiced by Antonio Banderas), I can’t help but think that the Nasonex Bee is getting a little “rapey” with all those animated flowers after the camera stops rolling.

13 Talking Babies Various

Now here’s the unoriginal ad idea that just won’t die. For some reason, advertisers are in love with the idea of talking babies. The most recent guilty offender is E*TRADE, but there have been countless other examples of this annoying advertising ploy. I’m sorry, but taking a baby and animating his lips to say a few snarky, sarcastic comments is not the way to sell me on financial services (or anything for that matter).

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