I watch a lot of TV. I'm unemployed right now, so my viewing actually has increased over the last few weeks. Also, I don't sleep well and I'm up at least three times throughout the night. I see a lot of commercials. There are some amazing commercials on TV right now, but for the most part, they suck. There are a few things that piss me off about commercials, though.

1. I can't stand precocious children. 
2. I hate the way men are portrayed as bumbling fools. 
3. I get very angry with the way women are always shown as wise, caring and knowing what to do in all situations. 

There are other things that bother me, but I'll leave it with that list. I play a little game with commercials that feature some product that's "not available in stores." I try to guess the price first, and then I try to guess if they're going to "double the offer" or "make a payment" for me when it comes to products that require "easy payments" applied to my credit card.

When it comes to prices, I'm right about 90% of the time. And when it comes to doubling the offer or making that payment, I'm right almost every time. The thing that I find humorous is that people fall for the double offer, as long as they "pay separate shipping and handling." Generally S&H charges on these commercials is from $7.99 to $9.99 per order. Hmmm...one has to wonder if that doesn't cover the cost of that free one, plus a little profit for the company. Do people really think they're getting that good of a deal? Are they so naive that they think the company is actually giving them a good deal? You can be certain that the extra payment the company is making was factored into the price to be eliminated without beginning to affect the profit earned on the product.