Well, folks, it's November 6, and you know what that means... it's Christmastime! Just like the last few years, stores, manufacturers, and the makers of sappy holiday CDs have decided to get a jump and started airing holiday-themed commercials as soon as the calendar flipped from October to November.There's one ad that's out I'm already sick of; it uses the song "Carol of the Bells" to extoll the virtues of one chain's wide selection. It's irritating as all hell, but for the life of me I can't remember what store it's advertising. Is it Wal-Mart? Target? Something else? If anyone remembers, let me know in the comments. Luckily there are other versions of the song out that will help me forget about this annoying usage of it.
Starting holiday ads this early seems counter-productive to me. Even a Scrooge-like guy like myself tends to get that warm, fuzzy feeling about a week before Christmas; but lately, the two months' worth of Christmas ads, Christmas displays, and Christmas carols being piped into every retail establishment I walk into has made me sour on the holiday even before I sit down to my Thanksgiving turducken. Why would retailers want people to be sick of the holiday by the time they get around to actually shopping for that holiday, making that task more of a chore than it should be.
What do you think? Am I just one of those people whom Stephen Colbert thinks is practicing "Humbuggery?" Let me know in the comments.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-06-2006 @ 2:17PM
David said...
I'm glad I'm not the only one that hates these ad. Thanksgiving time is when the Christmas ads should start, not before Halloween!
But it is a reminder to myself that I have to go Christmas shopping soon before all the crazy assholes hit the stores. I don't care if I save $20 on a TV I don't want to put up with the Christmas assholes using their wellfare money on a Wii or PS3 to entertain there 6 kids when they are i nthe bedroom making another kid and bothparents are only 20!!!
What were we talknig about again?
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11-06-2006 @ 2:24PM
ferley said...
aaa ok buddy but now it is my turn.
Last night i saw maybe six different ads and it was making in sick. My lesson to be to learned was do not watch live tv, wait ten minutes and watch it on tivo, silly me.
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11-06-2006 @ 2:57PM
Littleoldman said...
Myself, I believe holiday tie-ins, commercials, and specials should be limited to 30 days prior to the event. With the sole exception being the original "How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)", that one should be allowed at any time.
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11-06-2006 @ 2:59PM
Sam said...
Hey, I'm Jewish. I'm *always* sick of Christmas ads.
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11-06-2006 @ 3:26PM
Dani said...
I used to work in retail (8 years ago) and fortunately I was in charge of the muzak. Holiday music started the morning after Thankskiving and was turned off at 9pm on Christmas Eve, no exceptions. Don;t get me wrong I enjoy Christmas music but repeated airings of Christmas in Kilarney can make even the most sane person snap!
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11-06-2006 @ 4:09PM
Tony B. said...
What happened to Thanksgiving. Its a perfectly good holiday in and of itself. There needs to be an order to life and in the holiday scheme of things its Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and then New Years Day. At the grocery store I saw Egg Nog on the shelves already. I am a Christian and I think Christmas as a holiday has lost its focus as the birth of Jesus.
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11-06-2006 @ 9:37PM
Harry said...
The ad using Carol of the Bells is for a Garmin dashboard GPS. I just saw it about a half hour ago. I can see how it will get annoying as I hear it 1,230 more times this month.
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