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Commercials That Annoy, Irritate or Outright Enrage


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Key rules:  Stay on topic; go to Small Talk with things not about commercials; be civil; no politics. 

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7 hours ago, funky-rat said:

Well, they don't taste as good, IMO.  They're made many hours in advance, and then have to be handled to be loaded, then unloaded, and then loaded in to the bins in the restaurant.  So to me, they're like day-old donuts, which aren't always fresh, and if they do have a run on donuts, they're out, and there will be no more because no one is making them onsite.

There is a fabulous local bakery downtown that opens at 0600 and by the time you pick them up and bring them in, they're still warm! OMG, they're orgasmically good!

6 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

"Think different."

"Differently! Differently! It's an adverb, you fucking morons!"

I love you. Also hate people saying, "take it personal" instead of the correct "personally"!

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TNT (I think?)  late at night during Law and Order plays the short Extra Gum commercial with some girl inging "Can't help falling in love" EVERY OTHER BREAK.   It's driving me crazy. I hate the way she sings it.  It sounds like she says 'moooooooooo  for I can't help...." followed by an awful melismatic run that makes me want to smash the TV.  It's more the repetition than the content itself. 

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8 hours ago, DeaconBlues said:

TNT (I think?)  late at night during Law and Order plays the short Extra Gum commercial with some girl inging "Can't help falling in love" EVERY OTHER BREAK.   It's driving me crazy. I hate the way she sings it.  It sounds like she says 'moooooooooo  for I can't help...." followed by an awful melismatic run that makes me want to smash the TV.  It's more the repetition than the content itself. 

Yeah, I've griped about that one too.  The vocal gymnastics are too much, and her voice just irritates.

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I don't understand the point of a commercial that doesn't feature the name of the product or say what it does.  It might be visually attractive, sound nice, but, if I don't know if it's a hotel, drink or credit card, how does it sale?  

I also don't care for the destruction commercials, where the truck goes over the cliff, dropped from a helicopter, the man falls through the ceiling, smashes into another car, etc.  What are they, juveniles?  lol

The latest ones that annoy me are when the kids hate or are repulsed by the adult, usually the parent. Like the child who scolds his father for ordering the wrong kind of pizza.  Really? Who's paying?  lol 

Edited by SunnyBeBe
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12 hours ago, xls said:

Panera 

breakfast made with respect 

I always think to myself, yeah because chicken & pigs are raised & slaughtered with such respect

Unless you're a vegan (and even then), everything you eat is dead.

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I've only eaten at Pantera a couple of times.......I have seen their commercials.......To me, the place is more about image, atmosphere and brand than the actual food.  At least that was my impression.  Much to do about nothing.....but, maybe, I ordered the wrong thing.  (Soup, salad and sandwich.)

Edited by SunnyBeBe
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9 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Well, this one says it's about real food, clean food.....you know....food the way it should be.  I guess, I missed that when I was there. I just thought it was okay.  

 

Panera is OK if you take it at face value, which is largely pre-made food which is a little pricey.  I like their soups, even though they're largely pre-made before coming in.  I like their baked goods (breads and sweets).  I like their selection of teas (I don't do coffee).  And I like most of their sandwiches (don't ever get the grilled cheese, though), because they do make their breads onsite.  I was NOT impressed with their pastas (which also come in pre-made, and it shows) or their salads (to fussy for my taste).  If you sign up for their rewards card, they do nice rewards for frequent visits, but what I don't like about the rewards is that they don't reward with what you buy most (I've yet to get a breakfast reward, save for free bagels).  Also, they royally screwed up a to-go order of mine once (left the egg off of both of my breakfast sandwiches) and I called to politely complain, and they said they'd take care of it.  They never did.  A 2nd polite complaint to corporate got me some rewards money on my card, but they sent it in increments, and I couldn't use it all at once, so that meant several visits where they took a little off my bill.  

They do well here because we have two local colleges who attract an affluent crowd, and that is their target audience.  I also see a lot of local businesses having informal meetings there.  They do indeed provide a nice relaxed atmosphere to hang out and relax, or do some work.  But I do chuckle at their commercials, because they really are just glorified fast food.  But again, take it for what it's worth and don't expect anything more, and it's a nice alternative when you don't mind spending a bit more.

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1 hour ago, funky-rat said:

(don't ever get the grilled cheese, though),

Ugh.  Unfortunately, I did.  Once.  Never again.

 

1 hour ago, funky-rat said:

I also see a lot of local businesses having informal meetings there.

 Yes, that happens a lot at the one I frequent, so much that I've stopped going as much as I used to.  Sometimes those people get too loud and I've even overheard interviews being conducted.  It's embarrassing because you can hear some personal information from the interviewees.  I think that's a trend now for businesses to conduct business in coffee shops (don't even get me started on people making business calls and speaking loudly on their cell phones) but, frankly, I wish it would stop.  

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Most of my complaints are about singing in commercials, and I have another gripe.  As a rabid Bowie fan, the Heineken commercial featuring some woman butchering "Heroes" makes me so angry...the way she belts/yells/croaks "you.....you WHEEEEEEEEGLGGGLGHGHGHGHGGHHGHG be queen!!!!" is just friggin abysmal.  I mean damnit, show some respect for one of the all-time great rock songs.  Just awful.

young-bowie.jpg

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On 2/4/2018 at 6:45 PM, mojoween said:

I went to Dunkin‘ Donuts about two weeks ago and they didn’t have any...donuts.  Not a one.  And this was about ten o’clock in the morning.

 

Yes!   I encountered this same problem a month ago.   Not a single donut.   The teenager behind the counter goes, "Oh, well, we had a busy morning."   I said to her, "This is complete mismanagement.   No donuts at Dunkin Donuts?   That's like going to McDonalds and they say sorry we have no hamburgers."   She says, "Yeah.  Do you want a muffin?"  No I don't want a muffin.   I want the manager's name (there were no managers on duty at the time).   "Mark," she says.   "But he probably won't care what you say.   He's kinda mean."

I went back there a few days later and complained to a guy who looked like a manager and he tells me the lack of donuts was on account of "something happened in the back."  And just like that I'm in an episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm."  So I ask him what happened in the back.    And he says, "Um, a fire."   "Nuh-uh.  I was here.  There was no commotion, no aftermath, no smoky smell.  The girl told me you ran out."    He shakes his head.  "No, that didn't happen."

What drives me nuts is that Dunkin Donuts killed all the mom and pop bakeries and other places that used to sell donuts in my area -- and now, after eliminating all other donut possibilities,  they just don't give a shit about carrying enough product to meet the demand.   I went back last week for a jelly donut (one of my few vices) and they had none.  "Sorry, we ran out."

I called the Dunkin customer service line to complain about this store and they told me it was out of their hands, that the stores are independently owned and it's up to the owner how to run them.

Edited by millennium
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The commercial annoying me today is from Acadia Pharmaceuticals, the one where they dramatize a Parkinson's sufferer experiencing hallucinations.   "My secret visitors ... what plots they unfold .."

I'm not unsympathetic but if you're so ill that you're hallucinating, are you really waxing prosaic at the same time?  "What plots they unfold?"  Who writes this shit?

And describing hallucinations as "visitors" seems weird.   The spot recommends some drug so "that my only visitors are the ones I want to see." 

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Lotta anger toward advertisements in this thread.  Obviously, since that's the point.  But the advertisers are really doing their jobs well.  The point of advertisement is to create brand awareness by being memorable.  And you can do that equally well by being either really creative or really obnoxious.  It's basically trolling, but it works!  I carry GEICO for my auto insurance, and before that I carried Progressive.  I hate every ad those companies did, but they both stuck out the most in my brain.

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2 hours ago, millennium said:

The commercial annoying me today is from Acadia Pharmaceuticals, the one where they dramatize a Parkinson's sufferer experiencing hallucinations.   "My secret visitors ... what plots they unfold .."

I'm not unsympathetic but if you're so ill that you're hallucinating, are you really waxing prosaic at the same time?  "What plots they unfold?"  Who writes this shit?

And describing hallucinations as "visitors" seems weird.   The spot recommends some drug so "that my only visitors are the ones I want to see." 

I so agree! And the last line really does undercut the message of the whole commercial, because it essentially implies that if you take their drug you can construct the hallucinations of your choice.

"Hey, I really miss my childhood dog Champ who got hit by a car when I was twelve. Here, let me pop this pill!"

Edited by Eliot
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1 hour ago, Thrifty said:

Lotta anger toward advertisements in this thread.  Obviously, since that's the point.  But the advertisers are really doing their jobs well.  The point of advertisement is to create brand awareness by being memorable.  And you can do that equally well by being either really creative or really obnoxious.  It's basically trolling, but it works!  I carry GEICO for my auto insurance, and before that I carried Progressive.  I hate every ad those companies did, but they both stuck out the most in my brain.

If an ad pisses me off I go out of my way to stay away from that product or service. Even if it hurts. I hate trolls! 

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4 hours ago, millennium said:

No donuts at Dunkin Donuts?   That's like going to McDonalds and they say sorry we have no hamburgers."

Locally, you can't count on getting a donut at DD at night, and if you can, you probably don't want it; the racks aren't set up to keep anything fresh (grocery stores do better). Despite their name, Dunkin Donuts considers themselves to be a coffee shop. I don't know how long that's been the case, but I recall it being part of the news stories when Krispy Kreme went public about 18 years ago. On DD's web site. they call themselves "America's favorite coffee shop", and I think I've seen that phrase in some of their ads.

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1 hour ago, LoneHaranguer said:

Locally, you can't count on getting a donut at DD at night, and if you can, you probably don't want it; the racks aren't set up to keep anything fresh (grocery stores do better). Despite their name, Dunkin Donuts considers themselves to be a coffee shop. I don't know how long that's been the case, but I recall it being part of the news stories when Krispy Kreme went public about 18 years ago. On DD's web site. they call themselves "America's favorite coffee shop", and I think I've seen that phrase in some of their ads.

Our local Walmart does fresh donuts daily.  Better than DD.  Heck, if you wait until the next day, they're marked way down and aren't really stale.  Not for the donut connoisseur obviously, but still pretty darn good.

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2 hours ago, LoneHaranguer said:

Locally, you can't count on getting a donut at DD at night, and if you can, you probably don't want it; the racks aren't set up to keep anything fresh (grocery stores do better). Despite their name, Dunkin Donuts considers themselves to be a coffee shop. I don't know how long that's been the case, but I recall it being part of the news stories when Krispy Kreme went public about 18 years ago. On DD's web site. they call themselves "America's favorite coffee shop", and I think I've seen that phrase in some of their ads.

Yep, they sell their coffee in grocery stores not their donuts. 

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3 hours ago, LoneHaranguer said:

Despite their name, Dunkin Donuts considers themselves to be a coffee shop. I don't know how long that's been the case, but I recall it being part of the news stories when Krispy Kreme went public about 18 years ago. On DD's web site. they call themselves "America's favorite coffee shop", and I think I've seen that phrase in some of their ads.

DD is currently in the midst of a "rebranding" designed to focus more on the coffee side of the business.  It recently opened its first test location carrying just the "Dunkin" name in Quincy, MA, with the hope to transition more of their locations in the near future.

https://www.necn.com/news/business/Dunkin-Drops-Donuts-From-Name-at-New-Quincy-Store-469531223.html

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What is going on with daytime commercials?   I swear every single one is for prescription medications.  Knowing how much prescriptions cost us here in the US, and knowing how much networks charge to show these commercials, it really hacks me off to see that nearly every commercial on daytime is for drugs.  How about spending less on commercials, and cutting the cost of drugs?   Hell, my doctor wants me on a drug for osteoporosis which would cost me $2490 a month—and insurance doesn’t cover. My dad was on a drug that was $679 a pill—two pills a day.  So yeah, I’m bitter and I hate pharmaceutical companies, and I get really pissed at all their commercials.  

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20 minutes ago, KLovestoShop said:

What is going on with daytime commercials?   I swear every single one is for prescription medications.  Knowing how much prescriptions cost us here in the US, and knowing how much networks charge to show these commercials, it really hacks me off to see that nearly every commercial on daytime is for drugs.  How about spending less on commercials, and cutting the cost of drugs?   Hell, my doctor wants me on a drug for osteoporosis which would cost me $2490 a month—and insurance doesn’t cover. My dad was on a drug that was $679 a pill—two pills a day.  So yeah, I’m bitter and I hate pharmaceutical companies, and I get really pissed at all their commercials.  

Every single ad on the ABC network news at night is either an ad for a medication or for one of ABC's shows.

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1 hour ago, KLovestoShop said:

What is going on with daytime commercials?   I swear every single one is for prescription medications.  Knowing how much prescriptions cost us here in the US, and knowing how much networks charge to show these commercials, it really hacks me off to see that nearly every commercial on daytime is for drugs.  How about spending less on commercials, and cutting the cost of drugs?   Hell, my doctor wants me on a drug for osteoporosis which would cost me $2490 a month—and insurance doesn’t cover. My dad was on a drug that was $679 a pill—two pills a day.  So yeah, I’m bitter and I hate pharmaceutical companies, and I get really pissed at all their commercials.  

You are singing my song. I have the tv on during the day and I like old cops shows so I'm on oldies channels. I'm usually on my computer and just have the tv on in the backround. I keep the remote right next to me and the second I hear a drug, life insurance, reverse mortgage, Medicare supplement or ambulance chasing lawyer commercial - BOOM- muted. And you are right I about how frequent they are, I can handle commercials for cosmetics, house hold products, foods, whatever but I cannot and will not expose myself to that crap because it enrages me. The healthcare situation in this country is a scandal.

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On 2/6/2018 at 1:27 AM, DeaconBlues said:

TNT (I think?)  late at night during Law and Order plays the short Extra Gum commercial with some girl inging "Can't help falling in love" EVERY OTHER BREAK.   It's driving me crazy. I hate the way she sings it.  It sounds like she says 'moooooooooo  for I can't help...." followed by an awful melismatic run that makes me want to smash the TV.  It's more the repetition than the content itself. 

I hate those ads b/c I find the guy the girls givesca piece of gum to leaving the wrapper with a drawing of her giving him the gum where she can find it rather creepy.

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7 hours ago, LoneHaranguer said:

Locally, you can't count on getting a donut at DD at night, and if you can, you probably don't want it; the racks aren't set up to keep anything fresh (grocery stores do better). Despite their name, Dunkin Donuts considers themselves to be a coffee shop. I don't know how long that's been the case, but I recall it being part of the news stories when Krispy Kreme went public about 18 years ago. On DD's web site. they call themselves "America's favorite coffee shop", and I think I've seen that phrase in some of their ads.

These are the same assholes who ingrained "Time to make the donuts" on my generation.   So they'll just have to suffer my indignation.

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Two Sundays ago my son came home from work and said “I want a steak, I’m taking you out to TGI Friday’s.”  And it made me realize that I hadn’t seen a Friday’s ad in a really long time and I got nervous because often that means the company is going belly up.

Well, be careful what you wish for.  Since 7 p.m. tonight, I have seen the same Friday’s ad twice during every ad break on both CBS and FOX. 

WTF.  Yes, I like steak.  No, I don’t want two of them.

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8 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Our local Walmart does fresh donuts daily.  Better than DD.  Heck, if you wait until the next day, they're marked way down and aren't really stale.  Not for the donut connoisseur obviously, but still pretty darn good.

Walmart has out of this world donuts! :P

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The Kay Jewelers ad where the one bro throws the basketball at the windshield of a tractor trailer cab is one of the most irresponsible things I have ever seen.  Also, it has jack to do with buying jewelry.

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5 hours ago, Ubiquitous said:

I hate those ads b/c I find the guy the girls givesca piece of gum to leaving the wrapper with a drawing of her giving him the gum where she can find it rather creepy.

??? He's illustrating their entire relationship.

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1 hour ago, mojoween said:

The Kay Jewelers ad where the one bro throws the basketball at the windshield of a tractor trailer cab is one of the most irresponsible things I have ever seen.  Also, it has jack to do with buying jewelry.

That ad bothers me so much!  Imagine if kids copycat that!

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22 hours ago, Thrifty said:

Lotta anger toward advertisements in this thread.  Obviously, since that's the point.  But the advertisers are really doing their jobs well.  The point of advertisement is to create brand awareness by being memorable.  And you can do that equally well by being either really creative or really obnoxious.  It's basically trolling, but it works!  I carry GEICO for my auto insurance, and before that I carried Progressive.  I hate every ad those companies did, but they both stuck out the most in my brain.

I don’t think most of us are unaware of the aspect of advertising you refer to.  It goes back to that old saw that there’s “no such thing as bad publicity.”  

 

A few responses...

 

1 - it isn’t true.  Ask Harvey Weinstein.

 

2 - even if it is true that bad/annoying commercials are doing it intentionally, the problem with many of the ads we hate is that they are both annoying AND they do a terrible job of getting the brand stuck in your brain.

 

3 - as noted by somebody else, some of us (myself included) actively avoid products that have really annoying ads.  I recently bought a car.  I didn’t for one second consider a Chevy.  

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32 minutes ago, Zevious Zoquis said:

I don’t think most of us are unaware of the aspect of advertising you refer to.  It goes back to that old saw that there’s “no such thing as bad publicity.”

1 - it isn’t true.  Ask Harvey Weinstein.

 

I didn't say there was no such thing as bad publicity.  Harvey Weinstein has nothing to do with advertising.

 

 

Quote

2 - even if it is true that bad/annoying commercials are doing it intentionally, the problem with many of the ads we hate is that they are both annoying AND they do a terrible job of getting the brand stuck in your brain.

 

I think the fact that you guys remembered them and cared enough to write about them means that they do.

 

Quote

3 - as noted by somebody else, some of us (myself included) actively avoid products that have really annoying ads.  I recently bought a car.  I didn’t for one second consider a Chevy.  

 

This does happen sometimes.  I do it with Old Navy.  But I think many more people are not responding this way.

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7 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

??? He's illustrating their entire relationship.

"You gave me a piece a gum the other day. Now we are lovers"

 

There's a new PSA in circulation that ticks me off in which a vampy blond I think I'm sppsd to recognise is waiting for a ride and sees all these #MeToo crap on discarded newspapers, billboards, etc. She gets in her ride and the guy leers at her in the rearview mirror while sinisterly locking the doors... Apparently the ad claims that Uber drivers put you at greater risk for being raped than a regular taxi and sure enough, the ad is sponsored by a taxicab guild of some sort. Yeah, nothing like a little fear mongering to sabotage your competition...

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33 minutes ago, Thrifty said:

 

I didn't say there was no such thing as bad publicity.  Harvey Weinstein has nothing to do with advertising.

 

 

 

I think the fact that you guys remembered them and cared enough to write about them means that they do.

 

 

This does happen sometimes.  I do it with Old Navy.  But I think many more people are not responding this way.

Yeah, but obviously this isn’t really the thread for people who don’t care if an ad annoys them they’ll buy the product anyway just cuz the brand pops into their mind.  Anyone that doesn’t want to complain about annoying ads probably can easily avoid a thread like this based on the title alone right?

 

...and I really don’t think the fact that an ad may be annoying enough that people think to complain about it in a thread like this is proof it’s a successful thing.  I mean several of the ones i’ve mentioned I can’t even figure out what the product was that they were trying to get me to buy...

Edited by Zevious Zoquis
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15 hours ago, millennium said:

These are the same assholes who ingrained "Time to make the donuts" on my generation.   So they'll just have to suffer my indignation.

Ever notice that it was always early AM in the ad? They never explicitly said they were just catering to the morning coffee & donut crowd, but you could infer it.

Edited by LoneHaranguer
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12 hours ago, mojoween said:

The Kay Jewelers ad where the one bro throws the basketball at the windshield of a tractor trailer cab is one of the most irresponsible things I have ever seen.  Also, it has jack to do with buying jewelry.

I was just about to post about this ad.  It doesn't make sense.  Why does the driver swerve?  He knows the basketball is coming at him; it's not like he was driving down the road and a basketball came out of nowhere.

3 hours ago, Zevious Zoquis said:

Yeah, but obviously this isn’t really the thread for people who don’t care if an ad annoys them they’ll buy the product anyway just cuz the brand pops into their mind.  Anyone that doesn’t want to complain about annoying ads probably can easily avoid a thread like this based on the title alone right?

 

...and I really don’t think the fact that an ad may be annoying enough that people think to complain about it in a thread like this is proof it’s a successful thing.  I mean several of the ones i’ve mentioned I can’t even figure out what the product was that they were trying to get me to buy...

 

I agree that whether or not an ad is a successful one is completely irrelevant in a thread whose function is to complain about them.  It's like when someone says that they don't like Brussels sprouts and then someone else tells them how healthy they are.  Well they don't care if it's good for them if they think it tastes like shit and saying so can feel dismissive of their opinion.  (I love Brussels sprouts, btw.)  (In fact, though it may come up occasionally, I think whether or not the commercials are doing their jobs is actually beside the point of all of the commercial threads.)

Edited by janie jones
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4 hours ago, Thrifty said:

 

Quote

2 - even if it is true that bad/annoying commercials are doing it intentionally, the problem with many of the ads we hate is that they are both annoying AND they do a terrible job of getting the brand stuck in your brain.

 

I think the fact that you guys remembered them and cared enough to write about them means that they do.

Given that we don't always remember what the commercial is FOR means that often they don't do a good job of getting the brand stuck in our brains.

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19 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Daytime TV is somewhat skewed toward old folks - retirees like me that can have the tv on all day. The med ads are even more prominent on the retro tv channels (MeTV, TVLand, and so on.)

Well, that and those home on disability who might need a lawyer...

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Quote

- as noted by somebody else, some of us (myself included) actively avoid products that have really annoying ads.  I recently bought a car.  I didn’t for one second consider a Chevy.  

I will crawl on my knees and scrabble around the bottom of a supermarket shelf to find any toilet paper brand other than Charmin, that's how much I hate those stupid fucking bears.

I'd rather use leaves.

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Quote

Ever notice that it was always early AM in the ad? They never explicitly said they were just catering to the morning coffee & donut crowd, but you could infer it.

I found a doughnut shop in Wytheville, VA that opens early in the AM, closes when they run out of doughnuts and then re-opens at 5PM, after they've made more doughnuts. Then they stay open until *those* doughnuts are gone.  They go quickly.  ;-)

Well, now it looks like they've changed their hours and just stay open til the doughnuts are gone... http://www.olykoekbakery.com/

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21 hours ago, xls said:

Walmart has out of this world donuts! :P

No Walmart within 40 minutes of here, and even that one doesn't have a supermarket.

(Normally I view this as a good thing.)

8 hours ago, LoneHaranguer said:

Ever notice that it was always early AM in the ad? They never explicitly said they were just catering to the morning coffee & donut crowd, but you could infer it.

 

I was young then, not of working age, so the nuance was lost on me.   The commercials with the harried, weary baker left me with the impression that they made donuts according to need/demand.

The words "Time to make the donuts" still appear on the dozen box -- that is, if you can find a store that still has twelve donuts left on the shelves.  ;)

Edited by millennium
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