Nicole asked a great question in the comments section of this week’s Walgreen’s post:
“Does CO have a different ad than some states? You mentioned a “short ad”, does this mean different sales than I may see on other blogs?”
I get asked about this a lot, so hopefully this will help to clear up some of the confusion.
There are two versions of both the Rite Aid ad and the Walgreens ad in the United States. Among us couponers they are known as the “Long Ad” and the “Short Ad”. Sometimes, you may hear the short ad referred to as the “test market ad”. The short ad contains many of the same deals as the long ad, but short ad areas often get left out of a bunch of the sales. The short ad is typically eight pages long and the long ad is usually twelve pages or more.
Usually if something is not mentioned in the short ad it just means that short ad areas will not get the sales price. It does not however, prevent short ad areas from getting the Register Reward (Walgreens) or the Single Check Rebate (Rite Aid).
I’ve heard several different explanations for this from Walgreens and Rite Aid managers. The most recent explanation I received from a district manager is that Walgreens is testing the short version of the ad in various markets to see how much it impacts sales. I cannot attest to whether or not this is true, but regardless of the reason, the short ad is here to stay at least for the time being…so we’ll have to make the best of it! Although I know it is disappointing that we get left out of some of the best sales, there are still lots of good deals to be had!
For those of you who are in the Denver Metro area, yes, we get the short ad. Unfortunately, as a result many of those deals that you might see posted around the web may not be working for our area. This is why I update my posts on Sunday to let you know which deals (if any) we are excluded from. Just read the very top of the Walgreens and Rite Aid posts and it will tell you if I’ve updated that post or not.
So there it is in a nutshell…short ad vs. long ad! As always, feel free to comment with any questions! I hope you are all having a good day!
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for clearing that up! I was wondering the same thing. Last week I was wanting to get in on the Rembrandt 2 Hr. Whitening Kit deal, but that wasn't in our local ad. However, I was able to go to walgreens.com and find the printable coupon in an ad using a different zip code. I took it to a local Wags here in Denver and used it without a problem.
I appreciate all you do for us out here in Cheyenne, WY as well. We seem to follow Denver in almost everything so we have the short ad as well. I can't wait to move out East! lol!