# Things advertised so much it makes you suspicious **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 16, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085 "2011-11-16T02:53:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085/41 "2011-11-16T19:57:11Z")
> [@Silver\_Tyger](#): > > They’re just slightly less obnoxious than Zoosk who makes me want to destroy my TV. Yeah, my first thought on seeing one their ads was, ‘Mute button, mute button, where the hell is that remote?’ My second thought was, ‘There is no way in I’m looking for a date on a site with “ZOO” in the name.’ ---
**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:** [November 16, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085/42 "2011-11-16T19:58:32Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > Gold. I can hardly go a day without seeing a pitch to buy gold. I don’t need any gold. I can’t eat it or really do anything with it, except invest money. And it doesn’t seem to be that great of an investment, adjusted for inflation. But the media is practically screaming to buy it. I’m suspicious. Gold ads are a funny thing. The gold sellers have been a constant presence on daytime news television (such as CNN) for decades. When the economy’s good, they tout gold as a predictable, stable part of your portfolio. These days, they tout gold’s growth in price over the past decade (not to mention preying on fears of a worldwide economic collapse). Regardless of what the economy is doing, the gold bugs can think of a good reason why you need GOLD! ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085/43 "2011-11-16T20:06:26Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Regardless of what the economy is doing, the gold bugs can think of a good reason why you need GOLD! I’d say that, if the people selling the product think it’s the answer to every possible problem, that’s a good sign that the product is a scam, or at the very least overhyped. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085/44 "2011-11-16T20:09:22Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > **Education Connection** I was okay with these until [Shannen Doherty](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&cp=9&gs_id=y&xhr=t&q=shannen+doherty&tok=PIb1FRwP7bGRpU15XuaAwA&safe=off&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&biw=1600&bih=799&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi) started shilling for them. Not a product, but I am getting sick and tired of [Mike Rowe](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&cp=9&gs_id=y&xhr=t&q=shannen+doherty&tok=PIb1FRwP7bGRpU15XuaAwA&safe=off&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&biw=1600&bih=799&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi#um=1&hl=en&safe=off&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=mike+rowe&pbx=1&oq=mike+r&aq=0&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_sm=c&gs_upl=55052l60670l0l62260l20l13l0l0l0l3l236l1646l4.5.3l13l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=cbcb99cdeb113c03&biw=1600&bih=799)’s constant appearance in almost every commercial known to man. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085/45 "2011-11-16T20:16:29Z")
> [@campp](#): > > Local cable TV. _Gee, never thought of that._ Not just cable TV, the AT&T vs Comcast total cable, on demand, internet, phone, and jack-off services, all for one low, low price (for six months). I get junk mail from AT&T every single day. They could cut their prices in half. Gold, as mentioned. The latest one tells you what kind of gold to buy. If I had any gold I’d be selling, for a sure sign you’ve hit the top of the bubble is when people market to the boobs. Before the bubble, home equity loans, which just proves the point of the OP. Now, legal services to help you renegotiate your loan after you listened to the ads from before and are now about to be foreclosed on. One thing in the Bay Area at least - home solar. Somehow the meeting I was going to go to about this never happened, but the deal here is that you pay monthly for your solar cells and cut down on your electric bill. My suspicion is that the cost of the cells is about to crash, so this locks you into a relatively high priced contract, but it might be legit. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085/46 "2011-11-16T20:33:11Z")
Viagra/Cialis/Etc. I never understood how there could be such a tremendous demand for this stuff that there is advertising 24/7 for it. Targeted at old dudes who can’t get it up I wonder if it’s primarily for their satisfaction since at the same time older woman are going through menopause and probably aren’t as hot and horny to get boned by their hubby as they used to be. Him-“I can’t get it up anymore.” Her-“Doesn’t matter, I don’t want it anymore.” Him-“But I still want it.” TV-“Ta-da! Viagra!” Him-“All right!” Her-“Aw shit.” ---
**Author:** ![Lightlystarched](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Lightlystarched](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightlystarched)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085/47 "2011-11-16T20:35:08Z")
Those horrible jewelry commercials. The old guy telling you that you can’t possibly love your girlfriend/wife/mother/dog without buying her a diamond. And these new “designs” for jewelry put out by celebrities are _ugly_. That “open heart” one looks like buttocks. Those commercials make me want any present that is NOT jewelry. ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085/48 "2011-11-16T20:42:50Z")
AFLAC! So, I give you money, then if I get hurt so badly that I can’t work at all, you give some of it back to me. No matter how many times you pollute our collective unconcious with your ads, I will never think that’s a good deal. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085/49 "2011-11-16T20:57:19Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > **Education Connection** Surprisingly, if you go to those websites, it will almost always tell you the best match for you is a for-profit school which does most of their business online. Hmmm, I wonder who is behind Education Connection? ---
**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:** [November 16, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085/50 "2011-11-16T21:02:59Z")
> [@Lightlystarched](#): > > That “open heart” one looks like buttocks. Yes, but they look like Jane Seymour’s buttocks. Which may be the attraction, right there. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085/51 "2011-11-16T21:05:40Z")
Eharmony ads piss me off, for being patronizing. Christian Mingle is weird, and if god wants to hook me up then i will take money and not cheesy matchmaking ads, Jos. A. Bank – how do these guys make enough money to stay in business when they give away 2 shirts or pants whenever you buy something on top of paying for ads? Abilify, fuck that noise. I’m depressed because I’m unemployed and broke. I’m not supposed to be superhappy. If I owed 25K in taxes I don’t think that Denis Leary could get me to ignore the fact that i am up to my ass in debt. Sorry FX. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085/52 "2011-11-16T21:14:08Z")
I am suspicious of nearly any company that advertises heavily during News shows, especially Sunday morning shows. Often they are “Funds” and “Groups” with vague products. Those ads are not meant to reach the consumer; they are meant to give leverage for when News producers make decisions as to what to cover or not cover. ---
**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:** [November 16, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085/53 "2011-11-16T21:31:34Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I am suspicious of nearly any company that advertises heavily during News shows, especially Sunday morning shows. Often they are “Funds” and “Groups” with vague products. Those ads are not meant to reach the consumer; they are meant to give leverage for when News producers make decisions as to what to cover or not cover. More likely, it’s one of two things, both of which are based on the viewership on the Sunday morning news shows (which _do_ get a lot of viewers among wealthy Americans, as well as “inside the Beltway” politicians and influencers): - The “funds” are looking to gain attention among people with money to invest (note that they also tend to place their ads during golf coverage) - The other sorts of companies (often defense contractors and other companies which don’t directly make consumer products) are trying to gain the attention of the policy-makers and influencers who may affect those companies’ dealings with Wall Street and Washington. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085/54 "2011-11-16T21:47:37Z")
> [@anya\_marie](#): > > Jos. A. Bank – how do these guys make enough money to stay in business when they give away 2 shirts or pants whenever you buy something on top of paying for ads? Have you been in their stores? They could give you three shirts, two pairs of pants and an ocelot and it would still be overpriced. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085/55 "2011-11-16T22:14:04Z")
I have been looking for an ocelot at a bargain price. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085/56 "2011-11-16T22:26:03Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Of course, I see ads for Com Ed/Exelon which gets a large percentage (maybe majority) of its power via nuclear but they’re not explicitly showing the power plants in those spots. I was working for ComEd back during the merger, and the plan at the time was to completely divest themselves of all their coal plants and be nuke only. The one ad I hate more than any other is [FreeCreditReport.com](http://FreeCreditReport.com). They are selling something that you can genuinely get free by trying to fool you into a contract for something else. They really need to vanish from the airwaves. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Surb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Surb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Surb)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085/57 "2011-11-16T23:10:29Z")
[Ancestry.com](http://Ancestry.com) and Angie’s List. I have never used either website but, I am of the opinion that if they didn’t suck so much, they wouldn’t have to advertise so much. ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085/58 "2011-11-17T00:53:51Z")
I work at home and am allowed to watch TV, so I wind up watching about 8 hours of daytime TV every day. Stuff I see advertised aud nausium generally falls into one of more of a few categories: 1. Things with obescene profits (pharmaceuticals, lawyers soliciting lawsuits against pharmaceuticals. 2.) Things where the product or service is pretty much the same from one company to another so they advertise to “create” differences (insurance, mail order diabetic supplies) 3.) Things that range from almost useless to sleazy to downright scams (invest in gold, free credit report, natural male enhancement). 2. Services catered to the poor (settlement financing, payday loans, prepaid credit cards). As far as one of the original examples, if gold was such a great investment why are they taking your cash for it instead of keeping it themselves? ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085/59 "2011-11-17T05:29:06Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Or… [can you](http://www.businesspundit.com/10-ways-people-eat-gold/)? > > My favorite is the gold-and-diamond chocolate cake. That’s not my favorite. [Here’s why](http://www.rightdiagnosis.com/g/gold_poisoning/intro.htm). ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085/60 "2011-11-17T06:28:30Z")
Ha! I have yet to set foot in a Jos. Banks. My father never owned a suit as far as i know. I see their ads on msnbc, I should make a list and come back to this thread after i watch some tv. These that I can think of at the moment are for BlueTax, MyCleanPC and SkoreIt … all these set off my scam/shadiness detector. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-advertised-so-much-it-makes-you-suspicious/603085.md?page=4)