When I was growing up, shopping for toothpaste was a no-brainer: Grab a tube of Crest.
These days my drugstore in North Berkeley carries twenty-four kinds of Crest toothpaste. I'm familiar with the concepts of brand extension, competing for shelf-space, and even end-cap promotion, but this is absurd. I asked my wife to pick up a tube of toothpaste; she asked which type. I told her to pick the simplest one she could find, probably not the peroxide, baking soda, sensitive, tartar-fighting, cavity-protection, dual-action, multi-care whitening, cinnamon gel, fresh citrus gel, extreme herbal mint, plus scope, or rejuvenating effects. Unfortunately, Proctor & Gamble doesn't make any Crest that's just plain toothpaste. Some idiot brand manager in Cincinnati has decided that you must pick your market segment before you buy your Crest.
