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Thursday, December 16, 2010

Why Does Every Television Commercial Sound Like A Yappy Dog?

Have they done studies that suggest this is some kind of killer winning strategy? Doesn't everybody just mute or fast forward through this crap like I do? The quality of hysteria that suffuses commercial television by now is frankly unnerving at this point. Where does this endlessly louder, longer, shriller advertorial harassment end?

5 comments:

Alan2102 said...

"Where does this endlessly louder, longer, shriller advertorial harassment end?"

It ends when you turn off the tube, for good -- as I did in August, 2002. Haven't missed it for a single moment.

Dale Carrico said...

There is plenty worth watching on television. I understand that in Europe there are regulations that restrict both the volume and frequency of television commercials. In America advertisements are proliferating deliriously, on college campuses, in public spaces, in ever more of every screen. Withdrawal is not ultimately an option, and in any case, I think some people who are santimonious about not watching television are simply cutting themselves off from areas of culture from which they might otherwise benefit (though of course tastes do and should vary so that's not a point I'm going to press). The more relevant question, though, is why there is no real organized resistance agitating for legislation to introduce in the US regulation such as exists in the EU to limit the frequency of ad content -- which is now beginning to undermine the capacity of shows to maintain narrative continuity -- or regulations such as exist in South America to limit or eliminate billboards? In my view, advertizing proliferation on every conceivable space is tantamount to pollution and harassment and there should be lawsuits to stop it. Too many of my students take comfortably for granted the colonization of public space by deceptive hyperbolic corporate marketing material. I consider this profoundly dangerous. Any readers aware of actually effective organizing out there on these questions?

jollyspaniard said...

You can download shows without ads which is what I do.

A lot of the programming contains lots of shouting too unfortunately. Not sure if the frequency of shouting is increasing or if my tolerance for it is decreasing.

Dale Carrico said...

Yes, I do some of that already, as I also now make recourse to fast forward and mute, and will do more -- tho' I expect circumventions of these practices will follow soon enough. I wonder what you think of the much longer post I adapted from this comment, published above, however?

Chad Lott said...

If all the ad rags I read are to be believed, this type of advertising will go the way of the Hummer. Still around, but really just for assholes.

Large advertisers are tripping over themselves to build social media war rooms with live bloggers. The analytics show you get better ROI for less money. You can fund an entire team for several years with what it costs for a single 30 second spot.

As to not watching TV? What would life be like without The Wire or The Mighty Boosh?