Remember Brand Loyalty?

I often hear, during one radio commercial break, three commercials for three rival insurance companies.

I remember the days when tv and radio shows were not sponsored by rival companies.  Shows did have alternating
sponsors, but these were for unrelated products.  We didn't hear or see for example, a commercial for Kellogg's Raisin Bran and a commercial for Post Raisin Bran on the same show.  We weren't confused by different bran' names on one program!

It was, to use a cliché, a more innocent time.  We trusted the
tv and radio show hosts, and we believed that if they said
something was good, then it must be good.

Of course, if two or more programs we liked had rival sponsors,
things could get a bit confusing!  At least, it was confusing for
me.  I could not, as a little girl, believe that any of those hosts
would tell a lie; so I finally decided that they must each like different brands.  After all, my friends and I didn't always like the same things!

And do TV and radio hosts still influence what I buy?  Well, let me put it this way.  A few years ago, EWTN's Fr. Mitch Pacwa
was talking about Mystic Monk Coffee on one of his shows.
Guess which brand of coffee I now drink!