TV stations owe viewers a commercial break
TV stations owe viewers a commercial break
JAKARTA (JP): Have you heard any good advertisements on TV
lately? I say heard because when there is a commercial break on
TV the volume goes up so loud that you don't need to see the ad
to know it's on. And the blast of sound practically embeds the
name of the product being advertised into your brain.
Being a shift worker, I don't normally reach home until 9:30
p.m. By the time I turn the TV on it's late enough to make me
feel I'm disturbing the peace in my quiet residential area
whenever an ad comes on. If I adjust the sound to an acceptable
level, sure enough when a program resumes I can't hear it.
While watching a movie, if I get comfy on my worn lounge and
nod off I know it won't be for long. For an ad will come on and
blast me out of my snooze, the wall common to my neighbors will
all but vibrate and I'll start to worry that next door will send
the police to my door to charge me for noise pollution.
I realize commercial breaks are also calls of nature breaks.
And that the sound is probably meant to follow us into the
bathroom. But how many times does one person relieve themselves
during one program??
It's almost amazing we don't have total power failure whenever
commercials on various TV stations overlaps time slots. The extra
megatons of decibels surely cause a surge in power output.
In this age of high technology, I presume most viewers press
the "mute" button on their remote controls every time an ad comes
on. If TV stations considered this perhaps they'd stop tampering
with the sound transmission dial.
And then perhaps they would also consider the West's subtle
form of commercial brainwashing. There they increase the sound
ever so slightly as to be imperceptible. This way people
subconsciously hear a commercial and it sinks in. Here it's more
like brainwashing by torture, scare tactics.
I curse the day my remote control broke, was repaired, and
promptly died again. I guess I pressed the "mute" button far too
often.
Oh please Remote, forgive me the abuse and work again!
-- Linda Hollands