It's usually an Old Navy commercial that signals it to me now: The End of Summer.

Those ads for denim and graphic tees at a reasonable price show up some time around early August, and soon there's nowhere you can look without seeing Back to School deals that feature happy-looking, very clean young children, thrilled by a box of new crayons. And when the Target ads begin to play on a loop – the song in the commercial settling into your head, even though you always fast-forward through commercials – it's clear that it's unavoidable. 

September is coming.