Ad…….Hoc
We subscribe to cable for content, but also to avoid ads. On Amazon Prime, this year, to get rid of the commercials, you'll have to subscribe to a more expensive tier of the service, which will cost an additional $2.99 per month (on top of the current $14.99 a month, or $139 annually). Ads also sprouted up on other previously commercial-free streamers, including Netflix, Disney+ and Max. As I looked up these statistics I was inundated with so many ads it made the data hard to read.
Advertising is not new. Egyptians used papyrus to make sales messages and wall posters. Commercial messages and political campaign displays have been found in the ruins of Pompeii and ancient Arabia. Lost and found advertising on papyrus was common in ancient Greece and ancient Rome. Wall or rock painting for commercial advertising is another manifestation of an ancient advertising form, which is present to this day in many parts of Asia, Africa, and South America.
I don’t let advertising affect me, insofar as it’s possible. I mute every TV ad and read magazines rather than look at the screen. I do read the weekly circular from the grocery store, but that is descriptive rather than promotional. I can blur my vision to avoid ads wherever possible.
Advertising is increasing everywhere; America’s commerce depends on it. I participate in this commerce so I can’t technically ethically disavow all of it, but lately one manifestation is infuriating. I watch a lot of pool videos on YouTube. There are ads at their start; tolerable. But as I follow the action, which I do with full concentration, and as a vital shot is lined up…...fade to one or two commercials. I lose the thread and can blame it for missing a shot the next time I’m at the table. $11.99 to eliminate ads; excessive.
Also annoying are those narrow ads which appear on one’s screen, just large enough to block what you’re viewing, but too small to read. Who would read these? At least there’s an x in the corner to make it disappear…..for now.
How do you respond to advertising? Our daily paper includes a pile of advertising slick papers, all of which I recycle immediately. Do you read these? Do they lead you to purchases? What about miracle pills advertised on TV? ”May cause sterility, impotence, or death. Ask your doctor” Apparently this works, and many folks do request TV medicines. “It was on TV, so it must work.”