They were on TV more often than your favourite characters. The ad pitchmen and women, like Flo from Progressive Insurance or that Ty-D-Bowl Man floating around in your toilet. (How he got there was never explained.)

And who can forget this guy?

"One day in 1964, a fussy, likable but slightly neurotic neighborhood grocer burst into living rooms fretting about toilet paper. George Whipple (although he had a Christian name, the creators needn’t have bothered, because he was known simply as Mr. Whipple) lived in terror that shoppers couldn’t resist squeezing Charmin toilet tissue rolls. (Why that was a bad thing was never fully explained.) 

After delivering his catchphrase, “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin!” he was always caught doing just that."

They were weird, they were sometimes irritating, but they often ran longer on TV than your favourite comedy or drama series. And perhaps what's most amazing is I'm willing to bet you remember every single one of them, despite a growing trend of skipping commercials via your DVR. 

Here's a brief word from your sponsors, the folks you'd rather forget, but probably never will. 

Mr. Whipple, Mrs. Olson And The Golden Age Of TV Ad Characters