Greetings and salutations to my beloved and devoted Rant-Fans out there. Yes, I realize that this entry has been 3 months overdue, but my life has been pretty hectic lately. I’m sure this latest little mentally warped tirade will make up for at least some portion of my neglegence.

Since odd and poorly made commercials tend to get on my nerves, constantly. I thought I should create some kind of featured spotlight on the most annoying commercial on-air at the time of each particular blog entry. Sort of a “Hall of Shame” feature that you can enjoy me ranting about. This way, I can vent about them… and I can address other topics, as well.

So, without further adieu… here’s the current entry for:

“Jason’s Commercial Hall Of Shame”

( Today’s winner is: Valtrex® )

Valtrex® is a once-a-day genital herpes medication, for those of you who live under a rock and haven’t seen this stupid commercial at least a million times by now. The reason it’s so annoying, is because it falls under my personal pet peeve in this area. Drugs that treat embarrassing conditions don’t need to be advertised on national television. If you’re honest with yourself, you will come to see that those afflicted by any condition which is a) embarrassing… and b) in need of medical treatment… will generally seek out the treatment that they need.

This would involve speaking with a medical specialist who can prescribe the applicable medication designed to treat the condition. Never have I seen an instance where a patient could influence a doctor’s preference on the brand of medication he chooses to prescribe, based solely upon something that the patient saw on TV. If that’s the case, then why are we constantly bombarded by these stupid prescription drug commercials?!?!

Question: By and large, what is the percentage of Americans who are currenly afflicted with genital herpes? I did a little reasearch. The current U.S. Census bureau estimates a current national population of 303,035,353. As of today, roughly 45,000,000 Americans have genital herpes. That may initially sound like a lot, but it’s really only 6.73% of the entire population of the U.S. So, for the remaining 93% of Americans… this information doesn’t even apply.

Now, what REALLY makes the commercial annoying is how it’s constructed. Like many other pharmaceutical commercials, they seem to want to get down on a “neighborly” level with you. Backyard scenery… casual dress…etc. They choose actors who look like your old college roommate, your mom or… uncle Bob. Then they script stupid things for them to say, like… “I used to be ontop of my game, but now my doctor says that my diabetes may be contributing to my E.D.”

No, uncle Bob…. You used to be ontop of aunt Mildred. And I’m sure that if millions of Diabetic Americans suffer from ED, it’s a condition they’re well aware of. No need to smile and tell us about it while sitting in your golf cart. If they’re affected, it won’t take a frank and candid commercial to get them to seek medical advice.

STOP THE STUPID MEDICAL COMMERCIALS!!! …and get back to MythBusters. They’re testing the myth of someone being able to put their elbow in their own ear. Now that’s riveting entertainment!

--------------------( * )--------------------

The next topic on the plate is also related to commercials and TV, but it isn’t a rant about their content. It’s more of a puzzlement as to the trend of pricing. I’m sure you’ve all noticed a trend in advertised pricing over a period of several years now. I’m, of course, referring to the whole “.95” issue. You know… $14.95…. $19.95… $29.95

Why is it that these people can’t just round the price up to an even number? Would an extra nickel be the pivotal selling point by which their profit or loss could be calculated? If something is $14.95, you’re going to be paying over $15.00 anyway, due to the Shipping & Handling that they always want you to pay the tab on. They’re dying to sell you something, but can’t cover the shipping. That’s always been rather stupid to me.

If they’re about to have a fit over whether they sell these pieces of crap or not, then why should the shipping matter? Well, at any rate… if you’re going to price something at $14.95, just make it $15.00… tag on your stupid S&H and be done with it. Don’t insult our intelligence by coming across with a price that lets you say “…and all this for under $15.00!!!”

It’s a friggin NICKEL, you booger-pickin morons!!! We’re not getting the DEAL OF THE CENTURY here.

Ok… enough with this mess. I came, I saw, I ranted. More later. (and hopefully not 3 months later)