History Main / AbusiveAdvertising

* On ''WesternAnimation/MuppetBabies'', the babies play at running for president. Piggy made an election ad about why they should vote for her, ending with "and if you don't... '''You'll be sorry!'''"

[[quoteright:320:[[ComicBook/SensationalSheHulk https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/she_hulk_abusive_advertising_0.jpg]]]]

* ''ComicBook/SheHulk'': On the cover of the [[http://www.comics.org/issue/46244/cover/4/ first issue]] of ''The Sensational ComicBook/SheHulk'' She-Hulk addresses the reader, saying that if her book gets cancelled she'll destroy all your ''ComicBook/XMen'' comics. Then on [[http://www.comics.org/issue/93403/cover/4/ the last issue]] she [[BrickJoke demands]] you turn over your ''X-Men''s for destruction.
* The 1988 ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'' [[TheChristmasAnnual Christmas Annual]] had a ''National Lampoon'' [[https://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/n_iv/600/595057.jpg parody cover]] with [[Comicbook/AndersonPsiDivision Judge Anderson]] and [[Comicbook/StrontiumDog Johnny Alpha]] threatening the Mighty Thargg and saying "Buy this comic, or we shoot the Betelgeusean!"

(''a hand holding a gun reaches into the frame and shoots Wontkins dead at point-blank range'')\\

Then there's these. With Abusive Advertising, there's no question whether you'll buy this product. '''You will''', and if you don't there will be dire consequences before you end up buying it anyway. Whether a mascot coming to beat you up or divine misfortune to wreck one's day, the customer is promised a nasty end if they don't haul their butt to a store ''right now''.

[[caption-width-right:350:She sure did keep her promise...]]

* On ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' bully Nelson Muntz runs for Class President on the platform of "Vote for me or else."
** Also in "The Haw-Hawed Couple", Nelson gives his fellow students invitations to his birthday party while saying "Come to my party or die."

* There was this one motor oil brand advert where customers who claimed synthetic oil functioned the same as the name brand (whatever it was called) were roundly whipped by a ViolentGlaswegian with a dipstick and berated to “''Think wit’ yuir dipstick, Jimmie!''”

* There was this one motor oil brand advert where customers who claimed synthetic oil functioned the same as the name brand (whatever it was called) were roundly whipped by a ViolentGlaswegian with a dipstick and berated to “''Think wit’ yuir dipstick, Jimmie!''”

-->[-Captain Fishface has ''your'' children. If you want them back, send two thousand wrappers from Fishface cod pieces... -]

* Back in 2006, Chica’s website had been shut down so when you visit it it says his website has moved, it shows a picture of an anime girl with a reptilian like nose, and then it says but where to? And shows a GIF of a 16 bit anime catgirl searching left and right. And after the link, it says that whoever linked his website in the past needs to update the link or he gets eaten. It shows an alligator close to him

** This was strangely inverted in the American commercials for the Saturn, which implied that playing the console would cause sensory overload, nervous breakdowns, and [[BringMyBrownPants involuntary bowel movements]]. Guess which country it was more successful in?

Most commercials try to sell their product by making it look appealing, desirable, a must-have even if customers didn't think before that they needed it. Commercials like such try to be friendly and informative, appearing to have your best interests at heart.

Compare AppealToForce, DisproportionateRetribution, PublicServiceAnnouncement, TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou. InvertedTrope of OurProductSucks. Often a form of SpaceWhaleAesop.

* There's the classic "[[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c1/Natlamp73.jpg If You Don't Buy This Magazine, We'll Kill This Dog.]]" cover run by ''Film/NationalLampoon'', which showed an appealing dog with a large hand-gun pointing at it.

* Advertising/SegataSanshiro, a Japanese martial arts mascot for the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn. Many of his commercials depicted him breaking into random houses and beating up anybody who wasn't playing a Saturn. He could be anywhere, whether out of an alley, or at a dance club, or even disguised as SantaClaus. Thankfully he wasn't all mean; he gave some terrified kids a free Saturn for Christmas, coached a soccer team, is sweet to his girlfriend, and in his last commercial [[spoiler:made a HeroicSacrifice for Sega by catching a missile and flying it into space.]] In fact, only two of his commercials have him act in tune of the trope, but they still kinda stand out, considering his own BraggingThemeTune imply that he's still doing that off screen.

* Around election time in ''VideoGame/{{Tropico}} 4'', the [[AnnouncerChatter in-game radio station]] Tropico News Today sometimes runs the advertisement "People are demanding elections, and El Presidente demands your vote! Vote El Presidente-- '''[[ImpliedDeathThreat or else]].'''"

* Around election time in ''VideoGame/{{Tropico}} 4'', the [[AnnouncerChatter in-game radio station]] Tropico News Today sometimes runs the advertisement "People are demanding elections, and El Presidente demands your vote! Vote El Presidente--'''or else.'''"

'''Wilkins:''' This has been a public service!

Compare AppealToForce, DisproportionateRetribution, PublicServiceAnnouncement. InvertedTrope of OurProductSucks. Often a form of SpaceWhaleAesop.

* Back in 2006, Chica’s website had been shut down so when you visit it it says his website has moved, it shows a picture of an anime girl with a reptilian like nose, Nd then it says but where to? And shows A GIF of a 16 bit anime catgirl searching left and right. And after the link, it says that whoever linked his website in the past needs to update the link or he gets eaten. It shows an alligator close to him

[[folder: Comic Books]]

[[folder: Food]]

[[folder: Magazines]]

[[folder: Other]]
* In one "Gorilla Glue" ad, a householder is contemplating re-hanging a garden gate, considers what fixings to use, and a very large gorilla walks up and just stands there looking down at him meaningfully. The threat is implicit, and the gorilla is visibly happy to see him using the ape-approved glue on the repair. However, the gorilla isn't always so threatening in other ads; sometimes he just hands them a free can of his glue.
* Use of SeanConneryIsAboutToShootYou posters could be considered a form of this, though it might also just because [[RuleOfCool the gun-toting pose looks cool]].
* For a long time, [[Advertising/GetRidOfCable advertisements]] for [=DirectTV=] all followed the same line of showing, through a line of InsaneTrollLogic and [[RubeGoldbergHatesYourGuts Rube Goldberg-esque events]], how not having [=DirectTV=] would ruin your life entirely (such as being bored with regular cable would make you a deficient juror, [[RageAgainstTheLegalSystem which would make the man your judgement put in jail decide to break out and seek revenge...]]).

[[folder: Radio]]
* Many guests on ''Caged Heat Radio'' make jokes at the listener's expense but Wrestling/KevinSullivan and Steve Corino in particular threatened bodily harm on those who did not tune in.
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[[folder: Video Games]]

[[folder: Webcomics]]

[[folder: Web Original]]

[[folder: Comic Books]]

[[folder: Comic Strips]]

[[folder: Film]]

[[folder: Live Action Television]]

[[folder: Video Games]]

[[folder: Web Original]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

[[folder: Other]]

* InUniverse on ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' In "Douche and Turd", P. Diddy's "Vote or Die" campaign is taken to its literal extreme--if you don't vote, P. Diddy will hunt you down and kill you. This was based on a real campaign during the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election, although obviously P. Diddy is not known to have pursued anyone with a 9mm. [[spoiler:After a whole barrage of miserable moments courtesy of his reluctance to vote between the two titular (equally horribly awful) mascot options, Stan is allowed entrance into the complex of PETA members that began the whole mess... [[BrickJoke and sure enough]], P. Diddy comes looking for him because he didn't voted. The ensuing massacre of PETA members ends up solving the dilemma (well, [[ShaggyDogStory kind of]]).]]

* ''WebAnimation/HarryPartridge'': One video had him proclaim "Follow me on Twitter, or I'll do ''terrible things'' to this cockney orphan!" Oh, he may be animated, but the pain will be more than real...