Did the wall of televisions at a popular warehouse store used to show more interesting clips? According to a Reddit thread, the content on these screens has now has become annoying to many. But this format may have been around for longer than some remember.
Here's what to know
The discussion unfolded on the r/Anticonsumption thread titled "Ads have found a new home." The original poster shared a photo of a store TV wall with every screen showing the same mayo ad across the pictured row.
"This is an ad for mayo that can be found in the same store less than a few aisles down," the OP noted. "I don't see how an advertiser sees this as a valuable place to spend money on advertising."
A commenter who said they work at Sam's Club recalled, "I remember back in the day we used to play movies on the TV displays, now it's just the same ad roll on loop."
"As a customer it's so f****** annoying," another person lamented. "I can hear the same 15 seconds of audio all the way in the back. If my city had another bulk store I would shop there."
More background
Others in the thread said that this wasn't a sudden change.
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A former Sam's worker wrote that the move to ad feeds started "right at the beginning" of their time there from 2011 to 2013, suggesting the format has been around for years.
They said the early version was especially bad because it was "very low resolution and made every single TV look like s***."
Another said, "Playing the movies was also an ad—at least in my area they never had the whole thing, it was always the first 15-20 minutes of some new release so you'd get invested and buy it to find out what happened. Very annoying to child me."
Some replies turned that irritation into jokes.
One commenter quipped, "Selling 2 things at once, capitalism teaching us creativity."
"When all else fails, enable ads," another person said.
What can be done?
People described small, concrete ways they push back when stores overdo it. Some said the simplest response was to leave.
The OP wrote, "Yep, BJ's membership was already cancelled before I saw this last night."
"My Kroger started putting up LED signs on the end caps. I now shop at Meijer," another said.
Workers also described informal resistance. One commenter revealed they used to "set them to random Pluto TV channels," putting movies on some screens, anime on others, and "the 'Dr Who' station near glasses because why not."
Where can I learn more?
Sometimes, advertising can feel impossibly inescapable.
• Office riders said 10-second elevator rides spark fury and pushed some to boycott brands.
• Reddit users said gambling ads hit even smart TVs.
• After a custom T-shirt order, streaming ads ruined a surprise gift.
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