With the exception of a handful of arguably entertaining commercials — and even those tend to grate over time — TV commercials are the bane of a TV watcher’s time in front of the boob tube. This is why we invent technology to skip over ads, or mute buttons to quiet them, or sudoku games to play while they are on. It’s also why Consumerist is announcing its third-annual Worst Ad In America awards!

So once again, it’s time to take all that hatred, anger, disgust, rage, nausea, dizziness and bleeding you might feel every time certain ads interrupt your favorite shows, and focus it into nominating those spots for any of the coveted titles available to these truly terrible TV spots.

Last year’s big loser was the “Poop, There It Is!” ad from Luvs diapers, which featured adorable cartoon babies competing in an American Idol-like competition — to fill up their nappies with as much excrement as they could hold.

We haven’t seen that spot in quite some time, so it’s time to find another ad that deserves the title of Absolute Worst Ad In America.

And there are other categories for those ads that may have particularly irritating features, but might not merit the big award.

Here are the categories from last year… We’re open to changing these and/or adding new ones, so don’t limit yourself:

Most Grating Performance By a Human
Group That Ought To Go Its Separate Ways
Trend That Needs To Stop Being A Trend
Most Irritating Animated Actor
Worst Abuse Of An Existing Song
Original Jingle That Should Be Junked
Celebrity Who Could Probably Use A New Manager
Creepiest Commercial Of The Year

In terms of eligibility, the rules are pretty simple. The ad must have aired on U.S. TV stations (cable or broadcast) in the last 12 months.

To nominate an ad, mention it in the comments below or send an e-mail to tips@consumerist.com with WAIA2012 in the subject. You can nominate as many ads as you like, in as many categories as you see fit.

All nominations must be posted or sent by 5 p.m. ET on Friday Aug. 31.

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