# 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:** 375
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2026, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7489 "2026-07-15T17:00:54Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > You don’t need the umlaut. YA, I NEEEED ZE OOOM-LAÜT! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2026, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7490 "2026-07-15T23:08:56Z")
Before I met them, my Girl Scout leaders (husband and wife, still living and still married) took a child, whom I never met, to Shriners for treatment, and while she died when she was 12 from a secondary cancer caused by one of the drugs she took for her rare form of leukemia, they had 6 extra years with her, and for most of that time, she lived a relatively normal life. I came here to say that earlier today, CNN aired a commercial for this not-new medication TWICE IN A ROW. It has been out since 2023, designed to treat severe postpartum depression on an inpatient basis, and I’m guessing it was approved for outpatient use and that’s why it’s being advertised. (Have I ever said I hate prescription drug advertising?) > **[FDA Approves First Oral Treatment for Postpartum Depression](https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-oral-treatment-postpartum-depression)** > > The FDA approved Zurzuvae (zuranolone), the first oral medication indicated to treat postpartum depression (PPD) in adults. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2026, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7491 "2026-07-15T23:49:40Z")
Let me guess; if I take this, I’ll be running through the park (and oh, look! I’ll have a clean-cut husband and Stepford kids, one of each flavor, and a golden retriever … who doesn’t shed!). And all I have to do is Ask My Doctor About Zurzuvae®! ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2026, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7492 "2026-07-16T15:01:04Z")
I’ll be strolling the beach with my still-hunky husband, and later we’ll be at a big family cookout with all our adoring kids and grandkids, a big jolly loving mob, having the best time! ---
**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:** [July 17, 2026, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7493 "2026-07-17T12:57:29Z")
I’ve always wondered how something as idiotic as “We are farmers, dum da dum da dum…” got the greenlight, and then it plays so often one gets inured to it, like all overplayed jingles. Now Farmers has gone too far with a campaign wherein they add “lyrics” to the jingle, sung by a choir all in pink, standing in front of of a pink background. It’s all pink 🤢 ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7494 "2026-07-17T13:08:08Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I’ve always wondered how something as idiotic as “We are farmers, dum da dum da dum…” got the greenlight, and then it plays so often one gets inured to it, like all overplayed jingles. Those lyrics are a marketing masterpiece compared to the Liberty Insurance jingle. It’s every bit as witless and devoid of any expenditure of thought as the commercials themselves: _Liberty liberty liberty…liberty._ Whenever I hear that, I think of this Simpsons ‘Poochie naming’ scene: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Pk8grGedzAw/maxresdefault.jpg "The Simpsons - proactive paradigm pootchie boardroom meeting") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk8grGedzAw&t=47) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7495 "2026-07-17T16:52:47Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I’ve always wondered how something as idiotic as “We are farmers, dum da dum da dum…” got the greenlight, and then it plays so often one gets inured to it, like all overplayed jingles. Speaking as an advertising guy: it’s a _very_ sticky little audio logo (it’s not long enough to truly be a jingle). You may find it annoying and idiotic, but it has worked very well for Farmers, and it’s doing exactly what they want it to do. ---
**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:** [July 17, 2026, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7496 "2026-07-17T17:22:15Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > You may find it annoying and idiotic, but it has worked very well for Farmers, and it’s doing exactly what they want it to do. How would they know if that jingle was responsible for growth in revenue, and not just something else they were doing right? Did they focus group the newly insured and ask them if they were persuaded by that obnoxious jingle to throw their hard earned money at Farmers? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7497 "2026-07-17T17:28:15Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Did they focus group the newly insured and ask them if they were persuaded by that obnoxious jingle to throw their hard earned money at Farmers? It doesn’t work that way. Advertising is not 100% transactional, and “did this convince you to buy from us right now?” is not the only reason why companies advertise. That jingle helps keep Farmers top-of-mind for consumers, and does very likely help build a positive image of the company/brand in people’s minds (though, clearly, not in _your_ mind). Thus, when a consumer decides, “hey, I’m not happy with my current insurance company, maybe I should switch,” Farmers is more likely to be one that they might consider. I can guarantee you that they have done extensive testing on that jingle and their advertising campaigns (both qualitative research (e.g., focus groups), and quantitative research (e.g., surveys)), and that, _ **overall** _, they are meeting their marketing goals for the jingle and ads. You find that jingle to be obnoxious; I can also pretty much guarantee you that, among consumers who have auto and home insurance, you are in the minority in that opinion. If the jingle wasn’t working, and if most of their target audience hated it, they would not have stuck with it for over a decade now. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7498 "2026-07-17T18:21:03Z")
Hubster insists on listening to this really bad “classic rock” station when we go somewhere. I swear it rotates maybe 50 songs. Anyway, there is a rolaids commercial that I think is supposed to be for manly men. The guy announces that he moves mountains for a living so he doesn’t carry hand lotion. Seriously? What does that have to do with anything? He also speaks in perfect radio voice diction. He says moving not movin’ and mountain not mountn as we mostly do in this region especially we working class people like a mountain mover would probably be. I find the whole manly man and perfect diction incredibly jarring and stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7499 "2026-07-17T19:16:50Z")
FWIW, I tend to listen to [seventies/eighties rock](https://wvli927.com/) while working; their national ads are pretty much limited to Saturday afternoons, during Dick Clark top 40 replays. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7500 "2026-07-18T00:54:14Z")
This station is just bad. So repetitious. I prefer not to listen to the radio when I’m driving. The space is just too small for me. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7501 "2026-07-18T01:13:04Z")
> [@Sylvanz](#): > > Hubster insists on listening to this really bad “classic rock” station when we go somewhere. I swear it rotates maybe 50 songs. That does sound like the stereotypical classic rock station, all right. Not only do the unimaginative program directors limit their playlists to a narrow range of artists, but also a really narrow selection of songs by each of those artists. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7502 "2026-07-18T01:20:23Z")
You nailed it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7503 "2026-07-18T12:46:01Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I’ve always wondered how something as idiotic as “We are farmers, dum da dum da dum…” got the greenlight, and then it plays so often one gets inured to it, like all overplayed jingles. It’s a perfect advertising jingle. It’s stuck in your head, you remember it, and you know exactly what company it’s for. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7504 "2026-07-18T15:18:16Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Dick Clark top 40 replays. That should have been Casey, of course. Got my music guys mixed up. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7505 "2026-07-18T18:29:51Z")
The mention of obnoxious jingles and classic rock reminds me that Safelite has stepped up its annoyance game with a commercial that plays its idiotic doggerel twice with a desecration of “Any Way You Want It” sandwiched in between. ---
**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:** [July 19, 2026, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7506 "2026-07-19T14:10:22Z")
Their earlier commercials made it sound like you didn’t even need insurance to get your windshield replaced. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2026, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7507 "2026-07-19T15:34:50Z")
> [@colinfred](#): > > Fair enough advert logic, except **you can’t buy Walkers in America**. What the hell is that rando shopper buying with the Walkers label? Shortbread? Walker’s shortbread is pretty ubiquitous. You can find it in run-of-the-mill supermarkets. ---
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2026, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089/7508 "2026-07-19T15:37:13Z")
Walker’s with an apostrophe is a completely different company than the Walkers owned by Frito-Lay [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089.md?page=374) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-annoying-commercials/790089.md?page=376)