And they're not any cheaper

The Hatemongers go after the Geico lizard and other commercial spokespeople.

I always found the gecko rather tiring myself, but I contacted Geico anyway when I moved to Maryland and needed new car insurance. I mean, cheap is cheap, and who wants to pay more for insurance? But when I found out that not only would I not save 15 percent with Geico but that it indeed charged more than other carriers, I truly began to despise the little lizard with the cockney accent.

And that's the problem with advertising spokespeople: No one would ever buy a product strictly because they fell in love with the advertising icon and many such icons are annoying in the extreme.

My current bete noire is a woman who's featured on commercials for the RoomStore, a small chain that I'd never heard of until I moved here. Her tagline is something about fancy schmancy furniture stores and every time she says it, I want to reach into the TV and throttle her. Even if I were in the market for a hideous 8-piece living room suite featuring an overstuffed sectional couch and matching coffee and end tables, I wouldn't buy it there. I wouldn't take it for free.