# TV commercials for businesses which don't exist in your area. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 19, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-commercials-for-businesses-which-dont-exist-in-your-area/547266 "2010-07-19T20:13:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-commercials-for-businesses-which-dont-exist-in-your-area/547266/1 "2010-07-19T20:13:34Z")
From Jacksonville, Florida, here. I routinely get ads from a quasi-fast food chain called “Red Robin.” Problem is their nearest location is in the Tampa Bay area (not that I am much tempted by their heart-attacks-on-a-plate, mind). I guess it is a national series of ads which originate at the network level and thus are broadcast nationally. In fact feel free to fight my ignorance on which entities can throw an ad up there; sometimes I see one ad on for a split-second, only to be pre-empted by another-I assume the local cable company did that. But I’m sure there’s other restaurants which have nation-wide ad campaigns that I don’t ever see at all (like Jack and the Box)-maybe the network gives different feeds depending on which state they’re going to. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-commercials-for-businesses-which-dont-exist-in-your-area/547266/2 "2010-07-19T20:17:45Z")
I keep seeing commercials for Dave and Busters down here in Tampa, only thing is the closest one appears to be in Jacksonville. No way am I driving four to five hours to go to a grown-up arcade. And Tampa doesn’t have a Red Robin’s just yet. It is slated to open Fall of this year over at the Citrus Park Mall. ---
**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:** [July 19, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-commercials-for-businesses-which-dont-exist-in-your-area/547266/3 "2010-07-19T20:24:54Z")
They are establishing a name before they enter that particular market. Somebody has read a biography of Edison. And Red Robin makes great burgers! ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-commercials-for-businesses-which-dont-exist-in-your-area/547266/4 "2010-07-19T23:20:48Z")
Sonic. Been seeing the adverts for years, but have never seen one in real life. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-commercials-for-businesses-which-dont-exist-in-your-area/547266/5 "2010-07-19T23:41:06Z")
You’re not missing anything, **Khadaji**. I prefer McDonalds to Sonic for food. Sonic is only good for the drinks. Mm, Ocean Water and Cherry Limeade. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-commercials-for-businesses-which-dont-exist-in-your-area/547266/6 "2010-07-19T23:46:03Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Sonic. Been seeing the adverts for years, but have never seen one in real life. That’s the one I was going to mention. We didn’t have any in the North Jersey/NYC area until recently, but before that they were airing commercials for it for quite some time. Tried it when they got it here and it was unbelievably horrible. ---
**Author:** ![xnylder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbce88/32.png) [@xnylder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xnylder)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-commercials-for-businesses-which-dont-exist-in-your-area/547266/7 "2010-07-20T00:01:03Z")
I regularly see Red Robin commercials on TV in Montreal, Quebec. The only Canadian locations are in Alberta and British Columbia. I suppose I could drive down to Buffalo, New York, but that would be quite a ways for a burger. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-commercials-for-businesses-which-dont-exist-in-your-area/547266/8 "2010-07-20T00:04:20Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > You’re not missing anything, **Khadaji**. I prefer McDonalds to Sonic for food. Sonic is only good for the drinks. Mm, Ocean Water and Cherry Limeade. What is this “McDonalds” of which you speak? Do they serve Irish food? ---
**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:** [July 20, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-commercials-for-businesses-which-dont-exist-in-your-area/547266/9 "2010-07-20T00:07:34Z")
Sonic here. The nearest one is 55 miles away. Not TV ads, but you can see billboards for Howe Caverns hundreds of miles away from it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-commercials-for-businesses-which-dont-exist-in-your-area/547266/10 "2010-07-20T00:07:55Z")
> [@AWB](#): > > What is this “McDonalds” of which you speak? Do they serve Irish food? Don’t be silly. McDonald is obviously _Scottish._ ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-commercials-for-businesses-which-dont-exist-in-your-area/547266/11 "2010-07-20T00:19:22Z")
Seems like we in San Francisco aren’t the only ones who’ve never seen a Sonic. Though it appears there now are a couple in the Bay Area, but that’s a fairly recent development. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-commercials-for-businesses-which-dont-exist-in-your-area/547266/12 "2010-07-20T00:20:15Z")
> [@Amp](#): > > No way am I driving four to five hours to go to a grown-up arcade. I have two words for you: Drunk. Skeeball. ---
**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:** [July 20, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-commercials-for-businesses-which-dont-exist-in-your-area/547266/13 "2010-07-20T00:29:49Z")
Sonic _was_ the big one here in the Chicago area. They had two years worth of commercials when the nearest one was downstate in Bloomington. They finally started opening a handful of them in the area a year or so ago. Personally I went once when I was passing by one and that’s it – there’s one in town but it’s not on my usual traveling path. Now we get Jack-In-The-Box commercials and they’re even _farther_ away than the nearest Sonic used to be (200 miles from my house, south of Springfield). ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-commercials-for-businesses-which-dont-exist-in-your-area/547266/14 "2010-07-20T00:38:53Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Don’t be silly. McDonald is obviously _Scottish._ I hear their McHaggis Nuggets are particularly tasty. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-commercials-for-businesses-which-dont-exist-in-your-area/547266/15 "2010-07-20T00:42:19Z")
The nearest Olive Garden is like 3k miles away from me. I also get weird adverts from California businesses on Fox Sports West. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-commercials-for-businesses-which-dont-exist-in-your-area/547266/16 "2010-07-20T00:44:39Z")
Most of them? There’s many national retail and restaurant chains that steer clear of Buffalo, even though there may be locations in Rochester, Erie, Pittsburgh and Cleveland. We just got our first Chipotle a few months ago. The biggies: - Sonic (no locations in the region) - Papa John’s Pizza (no locations in the region) - Schlotzsky’s (no locations in the region) - Jimmy John’s (no locations in the region) - Domino’s Pizza (only a few locations) - Pizza Hut (only a few locations) - Quizno’s Subs (only a few locations) On top of that, commercials for Canadian chains often air on Buffalo television stations. I’ve recently seen ads for Harvey’s, Future Shop, The Brick, and Rona, along with Canadian-market Ikea commercials. The local Fox affiliate, WUTV 29, is notorious for the number of Canadian-market commercials it airs. Buffalonains don’t seem to hate chains, considering the long waits at local Olive Garden and Applebee’s locations, but the chains seem to hate the area, outside of the basics you’ll find in any small town, Tim Hortons, and a few oddballs like Jack Astor, Bar Louie, The Cheesecake Factory and Hyde Park. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-commercials-for-businesses-which-dont-exist-in-your-area/547266/17 "2010-07-20T00:50:13Z")
Buffalo has a low income level so that might be a reason for the lack of chains. > **[List of United States metropolitan areas by per capita income](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highest-income_metropolitan_statistical_areas_in_the_United_States)** > > Population > Figures are from the United States Census, 2010. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-commercials-for-businesses-which-dont-exist-in-your-area/547266/18 "2010-07-20T00:56:52Z")
I see ads for Joe’s Crab Shack all the time on my local cable. The closest one is over 200 miles away in Pittsburgh. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-commercials-for-businesses-which-dont-exist-in-your-area/547266/19 "2010-07-20T01:09:13Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Most of them? > > There’s many national retail and restaurant chains that steer clear of Buffalo, even though there may be locations in Rochester, Erie, Pittsburgh and Cleveland. We just got our first Chipotle a few months ago. > > Buffalonains don’t seem to hate chains, considering the long waits at local Olive Garden and Applebee’s locations, but the chains seem to hate the area, outside of the basics you’ll find in any small town, Tim Hortons, and a few oddballs like Jack Astor, Bar Louie, The Cheesecake Factory and Hyde Park. Just out of curiousity, have you been to Hayes Seafood House in Clarence? I’ve been there a few times and I really like it. ---
**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:** [July 20, 2010, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-commercials-for-businesses-which-dont-exist-in-your-area/547266/20 "2010-07-20T01:12:03Z")
There are only 3 Sonics within 20 miles of Cleveland, versus over 40 McDonalds, and I’d say that the Cleveland TV market gets as many Sonic commercials, if not more. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-commercials-for-businesses-which-dont-exist-in-your-area/547266.md?page=2)