Super Bowl Spending?

[HundredK]

I suspect that every grocery store in the U.S. had at least one display dedicated to the Superbowl.

As soon as I walked into my favorite grocery store, I came across a huge display of cupcakes, cookies, etc. all decorated for the game.

I don't even pay attention to those displays, EVER. They're filled with crap I shouldn't be eating (and are expensive anyway). I stick to the produce section. I think one year I noticed Disney advertising on cuties oranges which I remember finding odd. I have been in Whole Foods, Lowes, Home Depot, and Starbucks in the last week. Don't recall seeing anything sports related.

[HundredK]

Still, it's kind of hard to avoid things like the Superbowl because every store has a sale, supermarkets have big displays, electronics retailers have their biggest TV sales in the weeks before the game, it's all over the news on TV and newspapers, even some games I play on my phone had special promotions tied to the game and the games themselves have absolutely nothing to do with sports (like a slot machine game, for example). Any product or company that sponsors or advertised during the game puts the Superbowl logo on their product whether it's a bag of chips or a bottle of Pepsi or whatever.

The fact that you've managed to completely avoid every bit of that promotion for your entire life is incredible.

Oh, I should also add that I don't watch live TV, ever. We do have cable since it's cheaper to bundle it with internet. But we DVR everything and watch it sans commercials.

[StormRichards]

I don't even pay attention to those displays, EVER. They're filled with crap I shouldn't be eating (and are expensive anyway). I stick to the produce section. I think one year I noticed Disney advertising on cuties oranges which I remember finding odd. I have been in Whole Foods, Lowes, Home Depot, and Starbucks in the last week. Don't recall seeing anything sports related.

No matter how hard you sell it, I am not buying it. All of this is coming off like you want this persona of being completely unaware of the biggest sporting event in the U.S. every year.

Although I do indulge in some junk food, I also shop in the produce section.

[StormRichards]

Oh, I should also add that I don't watch live TV, ever. We do have cable since it's cheaper to bundle it with internet. But we DVR everything and watch it sans commercials.

What did you do before the DVR was invented? Run out of the room when the commercials came on then run back in when you heard your show again?

[disneysteve]

I don't even pay attention to those displays, EVER. They're filled with crap I shouldn't be eating

Not at any supermarket around here. The produce section always has a big football display, primarily geared around guacamole ingredients: avocados, jalapenos, onions, garlic, limes. And at Wegman's, that is right at the main entrance so you can't miss it.

[HundredK]

No matter how hard you sell it, I am not buying it. All of this is coming off like you want this persona of being completely unaware of the biggest sporting event in the U.S. every year.

Although I do indulge in some junk food, I also shop in the produce section.

Good thing that I absolutely don't care whether you believe it. The mind is totally capable of blocking something out when you actively seek to do so.

[disneysteve]

Storm, there's nothing in that display that indicates what sport it is for.

[HundredK]

Not at any supermarket around here. The produce section always has a big football display, primarily geared around guacamole ingredients: avocados, jalapenos, onions, garlic, limes. And at Wegman's, that is right at the main entrance so you can't miss it.

Yeah, I dunno. I guess it's possible they were there and I blocked it out, but I really don't think so? I shop at whole foods and the farmers market and local grocery stores. I tried when we first started budgeting our food dollars to shop at the bigger name stores, but we were not happy with the produce quality there. So now I just stick to the local places and Whole Foods when necessary.

[StormRichards]

Storm, there's nothing in that display that indicates what sport it is for.

Correct. But that cupcake display with the words Super Bowl, XLV and little footballs is still stuck in the brain when you get to the produce.

[HundredK]

What did you do before the DVR was invented? Run out of the room when the commercials came on then run back in when you heard your show again?

The only thing I remember my parents letting me watch growing up was saturday morning cartoons, and I listened to a lot of radio and played some records on their old stereo system. As an adult I never watched television until there was DVR. We had a tv, but no tv service, and only played Nintendo games and DVDs on it. Now with so many options to stream, there is no reason to watch any commercials. Sometimes when I'm out somewhere I'll see a commercial, and I'm usually dumbfounded at how stupid they are. So glad I don't have to deal with that.

[disneysteve]

Now with so many options to stream, there is no reason to watch any commercials.

Most streaming still has commercials except for paid services like Netflix. If you use your cable company's on demand service, there are commercials. If you go to network websites, there are commercials. Drives me nuts personally. It used to be that they would have one or maybe two commercials at a break. Now, they sometimes have 4-6, but somebody has to pay for all of that free content.

[HundredK]

Most streaming still has commercials except for paid services like Netflix. If you use your cable company's on demand service, there are commercials. If you go to network websites, there are commercials. Drives me nuts personally. It used to be that they would have one or maybe two commercials at a break. Now, they sometimes have 4-6, but somebody has to pay for all of that free content.

Yeah, interesting - I guess maybe the husband fast forwards through the commercials on the DVR while we are watching. I do know we never see any. Hulu, I believe from when we had it, you can buy a premium commercial free subscription. Then there's Netflix which has no commercials, and Amazon Prime. Same with individual network subscriptions - they tend to have premium versions that cost more but have no advertising. We simply will not watch something if we have to sit through commercials. Our time is more valuable than that. Everyone's time is, truly.

[HundredK]

Most streaming still has commercials except for paid services like Netflix. If you use your cable company's on demand service, there are commercials. If you go to network websites, there are commercials. Drives me nuts personally. It used to be that they would have one or maybe two commercials at a break. Now, they sometimes have 4-6, but somebody has to pay for all of that free content.

It just sunk in that you said between 4 and 6 commercials - are you serious?!? Oh my goodness, that would make me furious. You're right about someone needing to pay the bill; ain't nothing in life for free. But still, I'd rather not watch anything than have to sit through all those commercials.

[StormRichards]

Most streaming still has commercials except for paid services like Netflix. If you use your cable company's on demand service, there are commercials. If you go to network websites, there are commercials. Drives me nuts personally. It used to be that they would have one or maybe two commercials at a break. Now, they sometimes have 4-6, but somebody has to pay for all of that free content.

We still have some commercials when we watch shows on Hulu. Not that we don't value our time or anything, but the 2 or 3 short commercials is nothing compared to watching a show as it is aired on the Network. The show that I have been binge watching is Blue Bloods. The minutes per show is somewhere in the 40s compared to the 60 minutes I would spend watching it live.

[StormRichards]

It just sunk in that you said between 4 and 6 commercials - are you serious?!? Oh my goodness, that would make me furious. You're right about someone needing to pay the bill; ain't nothing in life for free. But still, I'd rather not watch anything than have to sit through all those commercials.

I personally can't imagine giving up a show that brings me enjoyment just because of some commercials. Hypothetically a show is offered (negotiated between the show and service) commercial free on the service you subscribe to. You watch the entire first season and of course it ends with a cliffhanger. Season two rolls around and it is no longer offered commercial free. "Nope, not going to watch it."