# Again with the annoying commercials! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** commercials-ads\ **Created:** [June 28, 2017, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089 "2017-06-28T22:06:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 355
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7087 "2026-01-21T14:10:08Z")
Also how they casually mention obscure-sounding conditions as if they are household terms people use around the dinner table - Wet AMD, ATTR-CR, Non-small cell something-or-other (so, big-cell?), etc. And how they say “…ask _your_ gastroenterologist…” and “…ask _your_ cardiologist…” about the medication - as if we all have a personal medical team standing by at our beck-and-call. I am sure if you have a relationship with a specialty doctor they are well aware of current treatments of _your_ specific condition. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7088 "2026-01-21T14:15:35Z")
Presumably those obscure-sounding conditions _aren’t_ obscure to those who have them and they are the real target audience. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7089 "2026-01-21T14:24:47Z")
I’d like some of those. I’d like to stroll on the beach with my handsome man and bouncy dog, watching the sunset. I’d like to sit at a picnic table under a grape arbor, grinning like an idiot, with a dozen of my loving family all gather’d ‘round. Heck, I’d like to be a gay man playing in a drum circle (how come they never show any actual gay-ness in those prep commercials?)….I fear any pill they give me will only extend my miserable life a year or two as I sit listlessly, alone, in my recliner looking for something on tv. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7090 "2026-01-21T14:39:24Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > This one is entitled “Ballet”, That commercial supports my theory that the action in these commercials is deliberately generic. You could use that commercial imagery for tardive dyskinesia, psoriasis, depression, any number of things, and it would work as well as it does here. (that is, not at all) ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7091 "2026-01-21T14:44:15Z")
Look, they have to fill the screen with visuals of some kind - it usually takes at least 20 seconds to read all the potential side effects (which are required to be disclosed, AIUI). But yeah, they are generally so generic they could be interchangeable. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7092 "2026-01-21T14:44:53Z")
We saw a “mini infomercial” (one of those five minute ones) for TPUSA. Aside from hating those obnoxious fuckers on their own, this was was trying to tell us we _need_ the sabbath. No one should work on Sundays (Saturday is ignored because we’re all Christians amirite?), no job, no dishes, no nothing. Just staying home with the family, and reading the bible. BORING! If God wanted us to do nothing all day on Sunday, he wouldn’t have invented the NFL. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7093 "2026-01-21T15:13:08Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > “It’s all happening in grandma’s mind,” I suggested. “Or maybe the meds are kicking in and she’s hallucinating. They ought to list hallucinations among the side effects.” They do say it helps with “vision”. She’s having a “vision”. > [@Folacin](#): > > The ones that particularly annoy are where they don’t seem to mention the condition the drug is supposed to treat. The drug will apparently make your life a wonderful thing, but what is it curing? That’s deliberate. If they don’t mention a disease, they don’t have to list the side effects. So they hint gently at what the drug is intended for but avoid actually stating a medical condition. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7094 "2026-01-21T16:48:00Z")
Sidebar on the Direct To Consumer (DTC) drug advertising - [only two countries permit it](https://medxdrg.com/what-countries-allow-drug-ads-on-tv-a-look-at-global-regulations)… _The United States and New Zealand are the sole countries permitting direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medications on television, a practice largely banned elsewhere due to significant public health and ethical concerns. Strict regulations govern these ads where permitted, while the debate continues over their impact on patient health and healthcare costs._ ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7095 "2026-01-21T16:50:11Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > So they hint gently at what the drug is intended for but avoid actually stating a medical condition. Like the “Blue Chew” and other “manliness! I has it!” products. I want to shake the buyers of these products, slap them like Batman and Robin meme: “If this stuff worked, you couldn’t keep it on the shelves! Everyone would buy it. It wouldn’t need to be advertised!” ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7096 "2026-01-21T20:24:31Z")
I seem to recall Bobby Brainworm floating the idea of banning DTC advertising. It’s been a while, so I guess nothing came of it. Maybe he was per$uaded to drop it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7097 "2026-01-21T21:04:57Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > It’s for the Wet AMD drug _Eyelea HD_, and is, AFAIK, the second to use the King Harvest song “Dancin’ in the Moonlight”. This one is entitled “Ballet”, and it appears to be a couple of older folks watching their granddaughter (?) performing in a ballet onstage. I love that song, and yeah it is all happening in Grandmas mind. And maybe those other adult are parents, or maybe they had to work? But having watched it a couple times- do the little girls ever go _en pointe_? This is a sore point for me, having known a one time prima ballerina (or so she claimed, she was Ukrainian, and taught ballet anyway), whose feet were a horror show due to decades of dancing _en pointe_- she didnt teach that to any girls under 16 herself. (She also smoked heavily, she said it was common for young ballerinas to get hooked on smoking at an early age.) To me, the ad hovers between 'annoying" and “Okay” due to the cool tune. > [@snowthx](#): > > And how they say “…ask _your_ gastroenterologist…” and “…ask _your_ cardiologist…” about the medication - as if we all have a personal medical team standing by at our beck-and-call. Yeah, I mean i do have was kaiser calls a personal physician or something like that. > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Like the “Blue Chew” and other “manliness! I has it!” products. I want to shake the buyers of these products, slap them like Batman and Robin meme: “If this stuff worked, you couldn’t keep it on the shelves! Everyone would buy it. It wouldn’t need to be advertised!” It is a type of Viagra, and that works, or so they say. My wife hates drug ads, i dont mind them. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7098 "2026-01-21T21:19:00Z")
No pointe, at that age. Those dance recitals are not really technical. And a significant portion of Grandparents are raising Grandkids. Ya know? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7099 "2026-01-21T21:19:43Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > And a significant portion of Grandparents are raising Grandkids. Ya know? Sadly yes. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7100 "2026-01-21T21:29:10Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > I am sure if you have a relationship with a specialty doctor they are well aware of current treatments of _your_ specific condition. You know what - I have a gastroenterologist and I asked him about a particular colonoscopy prep (which I must have seen an ad for) He knew about it but didn’t mention it because what he didn’t know was the details of my insurance coverage.Apparently at that time , lots of prescription coverage didn’t pay for it and the retail price was about $250 so he just sort of assumed no one would want to pay that much. But something similar goes for “_your_ cardiologist” as “Wet AMD” - if someone knows they have AFib , they almost certainly have a cardiologist. Who might know all about the treatments, but not necessarily a patient’s preferences - maybe I’d prefer the extended release form of my blood pressure medication so I can take it once a day without worrying that I will forget my second dose. Except I can’t ask for it unless I know it exists. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7101 "2026-01-21T21:45:01Z")
I hate all the Continuous Glucose monitor ads. Don’t get me wrong, I love mine, finally. They are not painless or perfect. It sounds so great, tho’. And gives a person much more freedom. They are basically a subscription service. The monthly price is $150-to $800, (your insulin is separate). Your Insurance may or may not approve it. Even if brand is prescribed specifically. There are several. Some better than others. You gotta do your research and know what you’re asking for. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7102 "2026-01-22T03:29:06Z")
I’ve Officially Had It with those little Shriners Fucks. I could put up with them when it was just around the holidays, but now it’s all day every day every channel. If I saw those little dudes on the street, I think I’d punch them! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7103 "2026-01-22T04:05:24Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I’ve Officially Had It with those little Shriners Fucks. I could put up with them when it was just around the holidays, but now it’s all day every day every channel. I agree, but worse still is kars for Kids. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7104 "2026-01-22T04:25:14Z")
I’m kinda down on the “Christians for Jews food box”. I trust that about as far as I could toss it. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7105 "2026-01-22T05:53:03Z")
Heh, any use of Christianity to market something makes me reflexively think “This person believes I am a sucker.” It’s fine to be Christian, but using it for marketing makes me immediately distrust you. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7106 "2026-01-22T06:15:32Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I’ve Officially Had It with those little Shriners Fucks. Awww, you didn’t get your adowable bwanket? Would it make you feel better to know that little dude is all pierced and tatted now? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089.md?page=354) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089.md?page=356)