TV Commercials

In recent years, the amount of advertising on television seems to have increased dramatically. As a result, many people feel that their enjoyment of the programmes has been spoilt due to the constant interruptions by commercials. They also believe that advertising on TV should be banned or, at least, reduced in quantity.

Although I seldom watch TV mainly due to lack of time, I completely disagree with this suggestion. In the first place, let us not forget that TV channels rely on the income from commercials to pay for the programmes, otherwise they'd go out of business or would have to depend on government subsidies - like our national channel CyBC (Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation) . Almost invariably, this leads to political control over news and current affairs - not to mention the poor quality of most programmes. Secondly, advertisements increase our knowledge of different products and this enables us to make better choices as consumers or even learn about new products. Well, that's how I found out about Vanish .! Finally, tv commercials encourage competition amongst manufacturers who each try to produce the best quality products at the cheapest prices. Consumers would have to pay a great deal more if advertising didn't create mass markets for products.

What's more , some TV commercials can be fun to watch and others can raise awareness on various human issues such as the Coca Cola Commercial 2011.

 

Do you watch TV commercials? Do you think TV channels should cut down on them?

Comments

[Christina]

I don't mind tv commercials at all. Some of them are not only informative but also clever and funny. Loved the coca cola commercial for 2011!! As always coke comes up with the best ads every year.

[Constantinos]

Financially, a TV channel depends a lot on commercials. Without them, private TV channels wouldn't even exist. What annoys me, though, is a long row of commercials in the middle of a good film!

[Laura]

Adverts are so annoying! Especially when a good bit is coming up in a show or a film. Shows could be a lot shorter. BBC is good because all the adverts are only at the end of the programme.

[Lakis Ioannou]

As Europe moves towards a single media and communications market, one region is attempting to hold back the tide. Scandinavian governments,led by Sweden, are pushing for stricter regulations concerning advertising and, in particular, TV advertising to children. Advertising to under-12s on TV in Sweden is banned under the Radio Broadcasting Act. In Denmark, guidelines on advertising to children on radio and TV have been tightened. In Norway, advertising directly to under-14s is not permitted and ads are banned around children’s programmes. Finland also imposes stricter rules than other European Union countries, although it remains the most lenient of Scandinavian countries. I believe it's time we followed the Scandinavian example. I am very much in favour of banning TV advertising directly to children.

[Sophia]

TV commercials bring money to the channel which means a greater variety of programmes and often better quality.

[Karolina]

Some channels are overdoing it wits commercials which often last longer than the program! I think it would be better if ads play either before or after a program.

[Stefania]

I don't like commercials interrupting movies and I certainly hate the way children are bombarded with ads all year round and especially just before Christmas!!

[Alexia M]

Well, TV commercials have another advantage: they give you time to use the bathroom, get another snack or make some coffee. :-)

[Jim]

Excessively loud TV adverts are to be taken off air in Britain. A few years ago, Tv authorities upheld complaints against ITV and Channel 5 after it was claimed that sound levels had risen during commercial breaks.

[Mrkmakth]

Yes, most definitely. If they cut out all the commercials on an hour show, you will only get about 15-20min show and if you cut them out of a half hour show, your looking at at 10min show. What a waste! That's why I DVR most of my shows....And these stupid Geico commercials are getting on my flakin nerves, they are so stupid and a waste of everyone's time.

[Account Deleted]

As an advertising copywriter and marketing strategist in my past years, I agree with all of the points and discussions you stated here. Programming in any media industry can never live without advertising.
I don't know if you had read a similar post of mine that I wrote a year ago, but here's the link--->http://www.ilovehateamerica.com/a_filipino_immigrants_lov/2010/06/american-commercials-wacky-or-confusing.html

[Account Deleted]

Hey, I cleaned up my blogroll, and put it in one page instead....and I included your blog link in my blogroll...just to let you know...though I think I already told you I did...hehehe!

[Lisa A]

The most of italian tv chanels have too many commercials which it is a waste of time! I dont watch them and I am sure many others do something else when there are commercials untill the program start again. If I start to watch a program I like lets say at 9pm and which it is about one hour, it will finish after midnight because of commercials. So I stop to watch it and go to sleep!

[Jean-Paul Bouvier]

Moi je suis contre la publicité en général car celle-ci crée de nouveaux besoins. Nous vivons dans une société de consommation et elle incite à consommer davantage.
Pourtant, on devrait apprendre à changer nos valeurs en insistant sur des valeurs comme la famille, le respect, les amis, l'amour... et ne pas s'attarder à avoir le plus beau téléphone cellulaire, les plus beaux souliers, le plus beau séchoir et tous les gugusses dans ce genre...
Les pubs qui sensibilisent contre l'alcool au volant ou contre le suicide sont par contre, un bon élément pour notre société. Et, après tout, on ne doit pas bannir complètement les publicités sinon internet, la radio et la télévision n'auraient pas de moyens de se financer.

[Anastasia]

Thanks for the link, Bing. I'll take a look soon. Thanks again for adding my blog to your blogroll. I've also added yours to the TypePad Blogs I Read on my sidebar.