# Brands That DON'T Advertise? Why Not? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 9, 2014, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395 "2014-01-09T22:09:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395/21 "2014-01-10T01:35:10Z")
> [@Bellhorn](#): > > BP’s “advertising” is just phony PR. They may not have been able to clean up the spill, after the explosion, but they sure can clean up their image. I’m talking about ads for the gas stations that don’t mention the spill at all. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395/22 "2014-01-10T02:29:51Z")
Some brands are well established in small niche markets, so they don’t advertise. For instance, there’s Williams Shaving Soap. It’s a very old brand (from 1840) and hasn’t advertised in a century (though their [old ads](http://img1.etsystatic.com/018/1/7077909/il_570xN.522346835_ftaa.jpg)are classic). The market for shaving soap is tiny, but nearly all chain drug stores have it on the shelves for the handful of people who still shave with a mug.\* There’s no reason for anyone to spend the money to break into the market – they’d lose a fortune even if they put Williams out of business. And with no competition, Williams doesn’t have to advertise, either. \*There seems to be a movement for upscale shaving equipment and soap, but that’s separate. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395/23 "2014-01-10T03:16:11Z")
Kodak gets at least one episode of each _Celebrity Apprentice_ season, doesn’t it? (A challenge is based around marketing a Kodak product). ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395/24 "2014-01-10T03:38:14Z")
There are a whole bunch of products that don’t do traditional (i.e., mass media) advertising and do quite well. Some of them rely on public relations to maintain word-of-mouth, but most of them use “trade channel marketing.” In non-marketing speak, that means they push their product through the distributor-wholesaler-retailer system with price breaks (rebates, stocking allowances, etc.), incentives, trade shows and other stuff that’s basically invisible to you, the consumer. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395/25 "2014-01-10T04:37:07Z")
As far as gas stations go, Chevron definitely advertises heavily. As does AM/PM. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395/26 "2014-01-10T06:32:28Z")
Falken Tires has been the title sponsor of a racing team (operated by Walker Racing) in the American Le Mans series for several years now. Their very distinctive [green and blue Porsche](http://cdn-7.motorsport.com/static/img/mgl/1600000/1620000/1623000/1623500/1623567/s1_1.jpg) has generally been quite competitive in the GT class recently. They’ve also run television commercials - I believe I saw them primarily during ALMS race broadcasts. Now that ALMS and the Rolex Grand-Am series have merged to become the United SportsCar Series in 2014, [Team Falken Tire](http://www.imsa.com/teams/team-falken-tire) has an entry and is scheduled to participate. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395/27 "2014-01-10T10:29:11Z")
I don’t know if they’ve changed since VW and BMW bought them, but for decades Rolls-Royce/Bentley didn’t advertise. When they finally started (just before they went under and were bought out) they advertised in one magazine - Robb Report. Some of their dealers would advertise, but not the company themselves. Of course, BMW sold more Rolls-Royces in their first year than the company had sold in about a decade, but that wasn’t all due to advertising… ---
**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 10, 2014, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395/28 "2014-01-10T13:01:10Z")
Speaking of which, [Robb Report](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robb_Report) is a hilarious magazine. It’s meant to give rich people ideas for where they can spend their money. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395/29 "2014-01-10T14:25:25Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Their products include baking/pancake mix, brownie mix, pie crust mix, and cake mix – in addition to corn bread mix and different muffin mix flavors. They compete with some of the most well known brands in their aisle – Betty Crocker, Aunt Jemima, and Duncan Hines. > > Chelsea Milling Co (aka “Jiffy”) [owns 58% of the baking-mix business](http://www.twst.com/interview/15378) and there is one simple reason: they are the cheapest, sometimes by a 60% margin. There two reasons their product is the cheapest. 1. they produce every part of their product inhouse: they make their own packaging, and mill their own wheat (and sell the bran they don’t need to Kellogg’s) and 2. [they don’t advertise](http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/08/20/chelsea-milling-jiffy-cornbread-mix-small-business-success/). Advertising usually doesn’t drive up the price of your product. They don’t advertise because they think they don’t need to. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395/30 "2014-01-10T14:36:40Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Speaking of which, [Robb Report](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robb_Report) is a hilarious magazine. It’s meant to give rich people ideas for where they can spend their money. Because rich people don’t go to the mall. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395/31 "2014-01-10T14:42:48Z")
I’ll note that the “Unwrap Paradise” campaign has as its soundtrack the old “Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut” jingle. Now I’m going to be singing that all day. ---
**Author:** ![jrsone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jrsone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrsone)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395/32 "2014-01-10T14:49:39Z")
“Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t!” That was the Mounds/Almond Joy commercial for years. It may still be, I can’t watch the video links at work. I’ve seen quite a bit of Marathon commercials, which is a gas station chain i’ve seen pop up recently. It’s been a few years but i’ve seen Kodak advertise. The whole film and digital camera market is suffering bad. Kodak may just be hanging on. As for tires, the only one I can recall seeing a lot of is Hancook tires and Michelin. A lot of stuff is regional, some stuff depends on what you watch too. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395/33 "2014-01-10T15:08:55Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > Second, as **SpoilerVirgin** mentioned, Mounds/Almond Joy bars had a very well known commercial and jingle. In a funny little aside, my wife showed me a picture on some friend of hers’ facebook page showing their fraternal twin babies (boy/girl) dressed as Almond Joy (boy) and Mounds (girl) because… “Almond Joy has nuts… Mounds don’t!” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395/34 "2014-01-10T15:33:13Z")
A number of old, established products don’t bother to advertise anymore. Bon Ami cleanser, for example. Haven’t seen an ad for decades, but it’s still being sold at the 99¢ store. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395/35 "2014-01-10T15:59:28Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Of course, you have to be a pretty lazy cook to use a cornbread mix in the first place. It only has three ingredients. Hmmm, corn, bread…what’s the third ingredient? I may just try this myself. 🆒 I keed, I keed ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395/36 "2014-01-10T16:05:02Z")
> [@jrsone](#): > > It’s been a few years but i’ve seen Kodak advertise. The whole film and digital camera market is suffering bad. Kodak may just be hanging on. Kodak went bankrupt a while ago. They’re still hanging in there, but it hasn’t been pretty. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395/37 "2014-01-10T17:11:06Z")
It’s been a few years since I researched this but IIRC, the amount of money spent on advertising by product category ranges from less than 1% of sales for industrial commodities like steel to \>40% of sales for jewelry and cosmetics. I was a little surprised to discover that no product category actually hit 50%. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395/38 "2014-01-10T17:25:49Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > It’s been a few years since I researched this but IIRC, the amount of money spent on advertising by product category ranges from less than 1% of sales for industrial commodities like steel to \>40% of sales for jewelry and cosmetics. I was a little surprised to discover that no product category actually hit 50%. Advertising against sales is a slippery figure because it tends to be related to margin - commodities are typically low-margin while compounded products like jewelry, cosmetics and perfume maybe 90% margin. Chanel can simply afford to spend 40% of revenues on ads, and probably needs to to keep the cycle going. Advertising cost vs. manufacturing cost is probably a more interesting index. For some marketing-overload products I’d wager marketing is 5 to 10 times product cost - Monster, Dyson, Bose and most Apple products. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395/39 "2014-01-10T18:23:24Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > There are a whole bunch of products that don’t do traditional (i.e., mass media) advertising and do quite well. Some of them rely on public relations to maintain word-of-mouth, but most of them use “trade channel marketing.” In non-marketing speak, that means they push their product through the distributor-wholesaler-retailer system with price breaks (rebates, stocking allowances, etc.), incentives, trade shows and other stuff that’s basically invisible to you, the consumer. +1 What people see on TV is just the tip of the iceberg for marketing. There are companies that spend a million bucks to present their product at the North American Widget Maker’s Association annual tradeshow and who will never run an ad that a consumer sees. This million bucks in advertising is only seen by a thousand people… but they’re the thousand people who can place an order for a billion dollars of widgets that become part of a car or a blender or something. This is also true for anything you see in a grocery store. It costs money just to get on the shelf. So the fact that you see a product on the shelf means that part of their advertising budget is making sure you see a product on the shelf. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395/40 "2014-01-10T19:24:21Z")
I don’t recall seeing Rolls Royce cars being advertised. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brands-that-dont-advertise-why-not/678395.md?page=3)