From informative to insidious: Advertising has gotten out of hand
I mean absolutely no disrespect to any advertising majors here at NDSU, nor to any NDSU students, faculty, or staff who have relatives who work in advertising.
I’m sure you’re all really cool people who do (or will do) your jobs well and virtuously.
My beef is with the elements of the advertising trade that invade people’s privacy and/or exhibit bad taste.
I used to be fine with television commercials. I’d just hit the mute button and go make a sandwich or something.
But now, I can’t escape commercials. Never mind the fact that eight minutes out of every 30-minute television show are commercials.
They’re obtrusive. Everyone in my family notices and resents the fact that commercials are quite a few decibels louder than the television show they’re intruding on. (Hence my habit of hitting the mute button.) That’s bad enough in itself.
The fact that commercials are there in the first place is the real crime.
Advertising has been around as long as people have been hanging signs over their doors to let the public know that “Ye Olde Blacksmith” or “Ye Olde Tailor” or “Ye Olde Pet Hair Stylist” is open.
With the advent of radio and television, advertising has capitalized on the reaching power of the mass media.
Television, radio, print media and the Internet have formed a synergistic partnership with business and created a happy marriage of information, entertainment and advertising.
Yeah, right. That’s a load of armadillo snot.
What advertising has actually done is seeped greedily into the mass media and placed a stranglehold on nonprofit radio and television stations by providing their only steady source of income.
Advertising also forces listeners and viewers to choke down lame ads while exasperatedly waiting for their show to reappear.
I’ve heard rumors that TV and radio are now so choked with commercials that some consider the commercials to be the actual “show” and the show or program itself to be a mere diverting interlude.
Egad.
What advertising has done to the Net is even worse.
Since the Internet (and thus, web advertising) is still so brand spankin’ new that there’s really no effective regulation system for it yet, advertising has become able to get away with an astounding level of rudeness and intrusiveness.
You know what I’m talking about: pop-up ads.
When I’m cruising the Web, alternately reading funny stories on The Onion and gazing awestruck at the goddess who is Adriana Lima, I really am not in the mood to have an ad for AT&T’s new and improved all-over minutes plan leap into center stage.
I can’t begin to express how annoying it is to be looking intently at something on the screen (fake news articles or Brazilian curves) and have an advertisement for something I couldn’t care less about blare unashamedly across the screen.
It’s sickening how insidiously pervasive advertising has become.
One day advertisers will realize they’re only hurting their product’s image by sticking it in everyone’s faces. Until then, however, we’re stuck with loud, annoying, intrusive advertising.
Better hope your mute button never goes out of style …
Andrew is a senior studying mass communication.
Columnists' opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of The Spectrum