Mattress Discounters is, as you would expect, a retail chain that sells mattresses. They operate in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, DC, and Virginia. And both here in the DC metro area and in the Boston metro area, they spend a lot of money on advertising on the radio and TV. If you've spent any time in either of these places, you'll recognize their jingle: "Have a good night's sleep on us! Mattress Discounters!"

But there's a different aspect of their ads that always perplexes me. They'll play the little jingle, and then a woman will come on, telling us what spectacular sale Mattress Discounters has going on this week. Then a man says, "That's Lisa Evans! Mattress Discounters is now offering..."

In every single commercial, the female announcer is introduced to us by name. But we never learn the male announcer's name.

This is very baffling to me. Lisa Evans is not a celebrity. It's not like the guy is coming on and saying "That's Jessica Simpson!" (Not that that would make me want to buy more mattresses from them.) As far as I can tell, Lisa's official position is "Mattress Discounters Spokesperson," and that's all she has ever done for a living. But what about her male partner? In each ad, they both have approximately the same number of lines; Lisa just goes first, and the first thing the guy says is her name.

So why should I trust her any more, just because I know her name? If they truly believe that identifying the spokesperson engenders trust, why don't we know the man's name? Did Lisa negotiate this special clause in her contract, requiring her name to be announced over the air with each ad? If so, why? Does she hope that later, when she wants a job as, say, a spokesperson for Target, the employer will hire her because he knows her work from Mattress Discounters?

I've written "this baffles me" posts before, and often someone out there is able to comment or email me and adequately explain the thing that is bothering me. Lisa Evans being identified by name bothers me. Someone please explain it to me. Lisa, if you're reading, please contact me.