Is Annoying People The Best Way To Get Them To Drink Coors Light?

from the train-go-away dept

Tue, Mar 20th 2007 8:45am — Joseph Weisenthal

Flash-based ads, or other irritating ones such as those delivered by Intellitxt, are almost guaranteed to annoy internet users, since nobody likes to have the page they're reading suddently be covered up. Still, sites continue to run them, so you never know when the screen is going to become momentarily useless as the corner of the page gets pulled back to reveal an ad. The latest company to embrace this kind of advertising is Coors, which has plans to blanket several websites simultaneously at 4:53 each day with a Silver Bullet train racing across the screen, beckoning workers to get a Coors a few minutes later at the traditional post-work happy hour. It's hard to believe this will have the desired effect. When people see the ads, they're not going to think to themselves, "ooh, that makes me want to order Coors Light when I get to the bar"; they're going to think, "how can I make that damn train go away". Furthermore, we wonder if Coors is a little out of touch with the times. After all, who really is done with work by 5:00 anymore?

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54 Comments

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Noah, 20 Mar 2007 @ 8:54am

Follow Your Own Standards
[Disclaimer: as a Flash developer -- a good one, not an ad creator -- I represent a certain bias here.]

Shame on you: you're as guilty here as those knee-jerk lawmakers you regularly ridicule. Flash technology is not the problem, it's the ad-makers who make these annoying pieces, and the site owners who buy and display them, that are to blame. By singling out Flash, you are contributing to the myth that Flash equals annoying ads. Besides, it is not Flash, but div layers that allow the annoying ads you describe to cover up page content. Flash has absolutely nothing to do with that. HTML developers should be ashamed.....
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Dan, 20 Mar 2007 @ 8:55am

I'm done with work at 5, but I am allergic to beer that tastes like a frat urinal. Looks like I'm not the target demo!
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Chronno S. Trigger, 20 Mar 2007 @ 9:26am

Re: Follow Your Own Standards
He's singling out flash because that's what everyone uses. He's not saying flash is bad just the ads are.
"Flash-based ads, or other irritating ones such as those delivered by Intellitxt"

I'm sure if everyone used Java to put the ads on the pages some java developer would be bitching because every one would be saying "those dame java ads."
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The infamous Joe, 20 Mar 2007 @ 9:32am

Questions.
So, am I the only one that wonders why Dan knows what a Frat urinal tastes like?
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Peter, 20 Mar 2007 @ 9:42am

I think so
I think you are Joe. I don't really want to know, and don't spend too much time thinking about it. Why's it such an appealing thing for you to think about?
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Steve, 20 Mar 2007 @ 9:52am

I get out at 5:00PM, but Coors??? Hell no man. Bud Ice It's STRONGER!!! YEAH!!!!
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jeff, 20 Mar 2007 @ 9:54am

or
Is Annoying People The Best Way To Get Them To Drink Coors Light?

no, it's the only way. i live in colorado. if you ever saw the water supply coors uses, you'd understand why it tastes like it does and you'd never drink another coors again in your life. normally the small reservoirs are a very unnatural shade of green.
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TheDock22, 20 Mar 2007 @ 9:59am

Re: Re: Follow Your Own Standards
I totally agree that the article specifically says Flash-based ads, and whether you like it or not many Flash developers use Flash to not only create annoying ads, but they also create annoying websites! Just because the article mentions Flash does no indicate Flash is evil, but when misused it sure can be like any other technology.

As far as the ad, they must work somewhere along the way since Flashed-based ads are so dang popular. I hate them and think they're extremely annoying only because when I'm looking at something on a website, I want to find it quickly. When an add pops up I have to take time to click it away. I'm sure for some casual internet users, they think it's cool so maybe it'll work.

I don't really care if Coors signed up to do a flash-based ad, it's advertising. All companies need advertising to thrive. Beside I don't agree that Flash-based ads would be "out of touch with the times" since they are a relatively new technology. And a lot of people still do get off work at 5:00.
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Atlas Shrugged Guy, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:03am

IF you're out at 5...
your premise - "who's really done with work by 5:00 pm anymore?" says more about who you are than the vast majority of people in this country. There are a lot more people who are done with work by 5:00pm than you realize..you just don't move in those circles. But it's because of those freeloaders and their attitude that society owes them something rather than taking care of themselves that the government has to continually steal my hard earned $ and give it to them in the form of payments to individuals (welfare / medicare , social security, unemployment, gov't social programs, etc). Don't believe me - just ask yourself what happens when China decides to no longer hold onto all of the $ we've been giving them for years in exchange for all the crap we've all got to buy at Walmart.
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Jesus, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:08am

Re: IF you're out at 5...
Wow, you really ran in a new direction completely unrelated to anything being discussed here. Neat.
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Bryan, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:08am

Re:
You know what a frat urinal tastes like? Ew.
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Bryan, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:10am

I can actually see this ad campaign working very well. First, everyone in my company (which is very large) gets off by 5. On a Thursday or Friday, when most are already planning on going to go to happy hour and counting down the last few minutes, I can just imagine IMs popping up all over at 4:53 saying something like "there goes the happy hour train, time to go!" I can even see some starting to conjugate around a screen at 4:53 as a way to kick off happy hour.
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TheDock22, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:11am

Re: IF you're out at 5...
There are a lot more people who are done with work by 5:00pm than you realize..you just don't move in those circles. But it's because of those freeloaders and their attitude that society owes them something rather than taking care of themselves that the government

Uh...WTH? You're saying people who work 8 hours days (8-5 w/ 1 hr lunch) are lazy and freeloaders? Maybe you need to take a look at the welfare program causing your taxes to be high rather than blaming people who actually work for a living.
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charlie potatoes, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:11am

hey Ayn
you're saying that i'm a parasite because i get my work done by 5:00 each day? I doubt you pay half the taxes i do.. so fuck you, towel head....harsh email to follow.
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Philip, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:13am

5pm and I'm gone ...
well, sometimes upto 5:30, but same general time frame. Once the clock strikes, I step out of work and into personal life. I have a pretty strict code in work doesn't impede on my time. If it does, I push back with all my might rectify what caused it to impede in the first place.
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TheDock22, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:14am

Re:
IMs popping up all over at 4:53 saying something like "there goes the happy hour train, time to go!"

Oh that actually made me laugh there. You're right! People would probably like it and it could become a fad thing for people to get excited about the workday ending. Never underestimate the power of the Happy Hour.
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SM, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:16am

@Noah Er... where did the article say that flash was the problem? It says "Flash-based ads, or other irritating ones such as those delivered by Intellitxt..." Getting a little defensive, aren't we?
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billy, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:17am

Well ..
I get out of work at 4. So ha!

But, are they encouraging people to drive drunk by wanting to them to go out right after work and drink?
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CasperIV, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:24am

Re: IF you're out at 5...
WTF, tirade? I agree, but that was about as random of a paragraph as I have ever read.

People now a days are lazy, spoiled, and stupid. If I here one more person say they can't get a job because there are none, I think I'm going to lose my mind. I have never had a hard time finding work... because I am willing to WORK! We spent so much time telling people they are important and it's ok to fail as long as you tried, that we created a bunch of freeloading losers.

While on this topic, let's discuss the English language shall we? If you use the words "aint", "caint", "cuz", "git", "homie" on a regular basis, you probably are one of the people I am talking about. If your too damn lazy to learn to speak correctly, why do you except to be handed a job? Maybe you shouldn't have been smoking pot while the teacher was covering grammar.

When will people figure out that they are enabling this pathetic behavior. When I see an able bodied person on welfare because they can't keep a job, I always find myself asking why I have to pay for their parents mistake.

On a related note, people need to stop making excuses. There is no excuse for robbing a house, doing drugs, getting knocked up at 15, or killing someone. I am so sick of hearing people telling me that examples of the before mentioned acts are "mistakes" and that everyone makes mistakes. How do you mistakenly rob a house? Did you mistake the crack pipe for a straw? These are choices! Live with them! You make a "mistake" of killing someone, you pay the consequences. If you want to complain to someone, complain to your parents for not doing a better job.
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Jim (profile), 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:33am

suddently
Did the spell checker get turned off?
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ehrichweiss, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:34am

Hooray Beer!!
After a Beer Festival, in London, all the brewery presidents decided to go out for a beer.

The guy from Corona sits down and says, "I would like the world's best beer, a Corona." The bartender dusts off a bottle from the shelf and gives it to him.

The guy from Budweiser says, "I'd like the best beer in the world, give me 'The King Of Beers,' a Budweiser." The bartender gives him one.

The guy from Coors says, "I'd like the only beer made with Rocky Mountain spring water, give me a Coors." He gets it.

The guy from Guiness sits down and says, "Give me a Coke." The bartender is a little taken aback, but gives him what he ordered.

The other brewery presidents look over at him and ask, "Why aren't you drinking a Guiness?" and the Guiness resident replies "Well, if you guys aren't drinking beer, neither will I."
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Overcast, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:35am

Yeah, those ads annoy the crap out of me - sometimes, the only thing I will remember is something that annoyed me about a particular product - I don't really care what... with 1000+ beers out there, it's not hard to pick an alternate.
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James, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:46am

Re: Follow Your Own Standards
Please get a clue.

As a web developer who WRITES ACTUAL CODE, Flash is the BANE of the internet.... ruining it like an Applebee's in every strip mall.

Personally I download add-ins for the browser to block most of the crap guys like you "create".

As for the article... stupid Coors no one is drinking that swill you call beer no matter how many annoying ads with which you come up.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:48am

Re: Hooray Beer!!
humorous. But Guiness ain't beer. It's stout.
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whiteyonenh, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:50am

Hmm.....
How about the blocking of flash at the corporate firewall, I am not sure on how hard it would be, or whether it's possible, but I would assume that it is based on the fact that you can block activex at the firewall.

Better yet, don't install flash, and don't give employees the right to install programs.

Then the flash ad at 4:53PM would be absolutely pointless, as they wouldn't have the plugin to run it.

Unfortunately, I can see the corporate NAZI's blocking or disallowing flash if it doesn't pertain to any type of work that the company does, and isn't needed for the job.

On a side note, I hate those flash ad's too, and I also hate most of the music websites that are based on flash, which prevents me from going to those sites, or I just find out what site the ads are being loaded from and block them in my home router. Kinda nice to be able to browse the web without ads.
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tim, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:52am

overtime
As one of the schmucks who works at least 10-20 hours of unpaid overtime a week (a lot more when I'm actually working "overtime") I can hardly begrudge someone a regular 8 hour day. At least that's how I feel... But it doesn't mean I have to like it. There just isn't any point in being pissed off at someone who had the good sense to get a job in a better industry than me.

Some people are just overworked and underpaid, but at least I don't work in a "real" sweatshop somewhere.
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BananaFish, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:54am

Re: Re: IF you're out at 5...
haha...haha.....hahaha.....
What kind of fuck writes the following two statements in a single response!?!
Oh...., right... it's CasperIV

"People now a days are lazy, spoiled, and stupid. If I **here** one more person say..."

"While on this topic, let's discuss the English language shall we? If you use the words "aint", "caint", "cuz", "git", "homie" on a regular basis, you probably are one of the people I am talking about. If your too damn lazy to learn to speak correctly, why do you except to be handed a job? Maybe you shouldn't have been smoking pot while the teacher was covering grammar."
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Roy, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:59am

Re:
[I can even see some starting to conjugate around a screen at 4:53 as a way to kick off happy hour.]

I think you mean "congregate", but, if not, how can I get a job there?! :)
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Mar 2007 @ 11:13am

Web pages have ads?

Between Firefox flash and ad blocking extensions, I haven't seen an ad on a webpage in years.
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Cixelsid, 20 Mar 2007 @ 11:15am

You americans and your piss
that you drink. I live in bavaria where its illegal to serve beer at less than a liter. Also you shouldn't be able to see through your beer. You want to see trains running across your vision? Give your liver a workout and drink 9 liters of hefe. Wooohooooo!
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Mar 2007 @ 11:17am

Re: Re: Hooray Beer!!
since when is a stout not a beer.

According to Webster:
Main Entry: beer
1 : an alcoholic beverage usually made from malted cereal grain (as barley), flavored with hops, and brewed by slow fermentation

Stout is a STYLE of Ale, which is Top-Fermented beer.

Check out the beer style chart at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_style

sorry...getting off topic I know, but as a brewer I feel the need to educate.
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skeener, 20 Mar 2007 @ 11:17am

who can see the ads?
I don't know about most of you, but our corporate security blocks almost all ads, we don't have flash installed or the right to install it, and even above that, most web pages that serve ads are blocks. They have our net access on an "allow list" rather than a "deny list". We must travel to the bowels of bureaucracy just to get access to a site we might need.
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Vincent Clement, 20 Mar 2007 @ 11:20am

Re: Re: Hooray Beer!!
Stout is a type of beer.
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Proud Canadian Beer Drinker!, 20 Mar 2007 @ 11:44am

Re:
Come to Canada and drink REAL BEER!!!!!!!!!

Drinking American beer, to us Canadians, is like having sex in a boat....They are both f'n near water!

Oh, and I hate those "flash" ads too!
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PhysicsGuy, 20 Mar 2007 @ 11:49am

Re: Re: IF you're out at 5
hear* ... you're* ... ?* ... parents' ... aforementioned* ... oh, and comma splices are bad.

i guess you shouldn't have been smoking pot during grammar class.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:01pm

Ahh... another day of insightful comments and witty repartee on Techdirt. Sigh...
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syzygy, 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:11pm

Re:
I prefer to work earlier, so that I'm out at 3:30. Although Coors is not the best beer, I don't find Bud or its variants any better. Hoegaarden, on the other hand, is a beer that I could drink all day long.
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Peet McKimmie (profile), 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:16pm

Flash ads at 4:53
Now, correct me if I'm wrong... 4:53 is pretty much exactly the time you want to look up a couple of websites before you can go home. Time is critical, and pretty much the last thing you want is any sort of delay.

Great plan, Coors.
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mlvassallo, 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:33pm

In at 7a out at 3:30p

Wooo Hooo!
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johnson, 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:33pm

Re:
its a sad state if this comment is true.
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Anonymous Jerk, 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:34pm

RE: Dan
Nice one, Coors was ok when I drank for the very first time, but now, it's like cold-filtered wizz...

And, as for the silve-bullet-train-flash-animation-crap? I already try my best to avoid sites that allow 'outside of the box' ads (outside of the standard ad-box), now I get to avoid more of them? Nice...
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:36pm

Theyre a little confused. The 4:53 thing is a cool idea, among people that can respect a bit of ad nuttiness. But those same people will rage at your animated advertisements (if they even see it, through their layers of adblocking)
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John (profile), 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:38pm

Breaking usability
Does it ever occur to the website that these ads (whether Flash or Java or div tags) disrupt the usability of the web page? Is it really work a few advertising dollars from Coors to ruin your website by having it covered (or partially covered) with an ad?
I remember when Yahoo would run full-page ads (again, using Flash) which covered 90% of the screen. So what if you were actually trying to click on a link on Yahoo: watch or close the ad if you want to use the site.
And people wonder why Flash got such a bad name.
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earl stone, 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:38pm

Re: You americans and your piss
it also used to be illegal to be jewish in bavaria...
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Tom Foolery, 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:44pm

Re: Follow Your Own Standards
He's not bashing Flash, but the Flash ADVERTISEMENTS! (geez... it just goes to show you, that 50% of the population is below the median intelligence.) ;)
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Americans for Real hearty beer, 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:53pm

Re: You americans and your piss
Not all Americans like the light (piss) beer. There are many of us who cannot stand it, no matter where it was made. Many of my friends like good heavy Ales, which are a bit heavy for my tastes. I like a good Hefeweizen, and so does my wife. We don't let our son drink yet, but when he's old enough, I'm sure he'll drink Hefe as well.
Cheers!
Oh, and I ride the bus home, so I can stop for drinks and not drink and drive.
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Drunk Bastard, 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:56pm

US Beer no Beer?
Who is saying that America doesn't have good beer. Never had a Sam Adams before?

In the meantime, can someone start a story about how no one uses grammar well, or knows how to spell check? That way all these hyper intellectual, better than you, condescending educators can get off for once talking about the the topic for once?
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Matt, 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:59pm

Re: Hooray Beer!!
I thought "Hooray Beer!" was the slogan for Red Stripe beer?
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keenedge, 20 Mar 2007 @ 1:21pm

Re:
I have to ask... How do you know what a frat urinal tastes like?
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Kal Zekdor (profile), 20 Mar 2007 @ 1:40pm

Timezone?
These ads will run at 4:53 in which timezone exactly? Unless the targeted sites are mirrored by location, which narrows down the ads to a handful of larger sites, some people will be seeing those ads at 3:53 or 5:53 etc. local time. It could be even more annoying to see this ad run and remind you that you still have to work another hour.
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David, 20 Mar 2007 @ 2:11pm

Re: or
And if you had actually taken that tour, you'd realize that the green water is cooling water, and is NEVER put into the beer. But hey, why not spread lies instead, because it's more damning?
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EdB, 20 Mar 2007 @ 3:20pm

Flashing should be done by cute chicks with nice knockers. Not webs, and certainly not ads.
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Dr. Klahn, 21 Mar 2007 @ 1:34am

There's yet another reason I've permanently disabled Flash on all my machines.
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aj, 26 Apr 2007 @ 1:15am

I'm the Sr. Art Director on the Coors Light 4:53 t
I hate ads that are big, ugly, not relevant to me as a consumer, and most of all, keep me from getting at the content I'm there to truly seek out. SOME TRUTHS FOR THE RECORD: The ad is timed so that nothing interrupts the user for the first approx 8 seconds. By that time, we've all scrolled down to what we were looking for in the first place, and probably already clicked on a story link. The train in the far majority of media placements doesn't go over any content whatsoever. None. In some, it overlaps a 25 pixel horizontal strip of Yahoo's black bar graphic that interferes with no html links. Mind you, this quick moving train graphic moves across the screen in less than 3 seconds from engine to caboose off the screen. Each user will only see the full, large train version once per day. We don't want to beat anyone over the head with annoyance. We tried to craft the ads to be very distinctly speaking to a younger, technologically savvy internet crowd. We're not blasting "Love Train" at 10 decibels over your desktop speaker system. As you see the entire 3 phases of the campaign unfold over the coming summer months. It actually reminds us all of a core truth. There are days when you just can't take the mundane, or the agony of monotony a moment longer, and it's time to call it a day. Technology both bugs me and is exciting. But how simply "cool" is it that before 5 o' clock a banner is going to drop out a map of your zip code geographically targeted to bars near you? It's just fun. In short, we would just love to be responsible for the millions and millions of minutes and production dollar drop as we all cut out 7 minutes early to grab a cold beer.
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