TV Ads – Too Many?

ByHeather

We are in the business of providing the material that prevents the commercials from all slamming together … that’s what we are doing here. That’s what we are doing on the West Wing set. We gotta deliver them twelve minutes of stuff to separate the Chevy commercials.

— Lawrence O’Donnell, Jr. Executive Producer of the The West Wing. Quoted in an NPR interview, January 2006.

I counted forty-two ads in last week’s episode of Lost. And that does not include any that aired before the show started or after the credits started to roll. Just forty-two ads in five breaks squeezed between six seven-minute segments of content. There were almost nineteen minutes of ads in a sixty-two minute time slot. That’s almost 30% of the air time dedicated to noise from advertisers.

Marketers and media moguls wonder why the ad-supported model is dying. I am saturated. My brain is full. Each ad flashes what seems like an endless stream of sub-second images in front of me. Yes, I have a TiVo, and the 30-second skip, and I fast forward through most of the ads. But I am tired of the noise that is attacking my senses.

On a related note, we canceled our cable today. We kept basic cable service in case we want to watch a presidential speech or catch the occasional episode of The Daily Show. I am sure that the advertisers won’t miss me. I wasn’t buying any of their stuff anyway. I am looking forward to spend more time with a few of the books that I have been meaning to read.

Similar Posts

  • Man on Wire

    ByHeather

    When I see three oranges, I juggle; when I see two towers, I walk.

    — Philippe Petit

    I watched the wonderful documentary Man on Wire last night. It is the inspiring story of Philippe Petit and his lifelong passion to walk a tightrope between the twin towers of the World Trade Center. His dream began even before the towers were built and culminated in a 45 minute walk in the sky on August 7, 1974. The film is especially bittersweet with all of the behind-the-scenes details of the twin towers, knowing their ultimate fate.

    Philippe’s quote above was in response to the incessant pleas by the press for an answer to “Why?” There is no why, he insisted. When he sees oranges, he juggles. When he sees two towers, he walks.

  • Spelling

    ByHeather

    People who can’t spell a word in more than one way are dumb.

    — W. C. Fields

    I stumbled upon this quote early in my career and have had the opportunity to recite it countless times. I taught high school for two years right out of college and the students were merciless. I moved on to teaching at the college level for many more years where the students were more forgiving but no less astute. Then I made the move to corporate America where, as a business professional, there no end to the opportunities to make presentations or take notes at the whiteboard. Despite my passionate commitment to correct spelling and grammar an occasional misspelling in front of the class or a typo in the PowerPoint deck is inevitable.

    Here is where our old friend W.C. Fields comes to the rescue. After discovering a spelling mistake in front of a group of people I simply recite his pearl of wisdom, wait for the mild aknowledgement of smiles, and move on. No need to have your confidence shaken or allow the audience to derail your message. Just move on quickly with wit and aplomb.

    The aphorism plays equally well from the audience as it does from the podium. It is a great way to help a presenter through a rough spot if they become unnerved by a typo.

  • Influence

    ByHeather

    You have not converted a man because you have silenced him.

    — John Morley

    How many times have I wished that I had this pithy little quote on a card in my purse, ready to be handed to a belligerent blowhard, or an incessant evangelist, on a moment’s notice?

  • Don’t make them think

    ByHeather

    If you make people think they’re thinking, they’ll love you; But if you really make them think, they’ll hate you.

    — Don Marquis

    I lived in Denver in the late ’80s. At one point I met an acquaintance who invited me to attend his monthly book club. I was in a heavy reading phase and was excited about the prospect of connecting with fellow book lovers. I was encouraged to bring a book and plan on sharing a favorite passage.

    The book I happened to be reading at the time was The Death of Ivan Ilyich, and the passage I picked to read turned out to be pretty heavy.

  • FedEx Trumps UPS

    ByHeather

    A few years ago Book of Joe inspired me to open a personal FedEx account. His logic was impeccable and extremely practical. Since then I have shipped numerous packages enabled by the wonderful tools on my account at the FedEx web site. Some of the outstanding features include:

    • Create the order online.
    • Print the shipping lable.
    • Send emails to yourself, the recipient, and any third party when the item is picked up, delivered and if there is any interruption in the delivery.
    • Track your shipments based on your account history.

    A few weeks ago we moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. …

  • You ask me why I spend my life writing

    ByHeather

    You ask me why I spend my life writing?
    Do I find entertainment?
    Is it worthwhile?
    Above all, does it pay?
    If not, then, is there a reason? …

    I write only because there is a voice within me that will not be still.

    — Sylvia Plath

    For ten years during my late twenties and early thirties I kept a journal. I started writing modestly in college and it eventually grew into such a compulsion that I would often write for hours a day. The pen seemed to have a mind of its own. Sometimes I would start a sentence not knowing where it was going, only to be amazed at the journey that it would launch. Even as computers started to enter my life, I wrote everything longhand. There was something magic about the connection between my thoughts and the paper, linked through the pen clasped in my fingertips.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.