Jewelry commercials
One the thing you can count on around Christmas, and Valentine's Day, and Mother's Day -- and virtually every holiday -- is nauseating jewelry commercials. I just saw another slew of them last night, each filled with over-the-top romanticism and the subtle message that a man who doesn't surprise his wife/girlfriend with an expensive jewelry item shouldn't be surprised when his wife/girlfriend ends up in the arms of another man.
It's the holiday guilt trip every man loves. And probably almost as effective as the women who used to walk around bars selling roses. "Would you like to buy a rose for the lady?" they would ask.
You end up paying 10 bucks for a rose so you don't look like a cheapskate.
(By the way, do they still have women doing this at bars? I've been married 10 years.)