The biggest challenge for advertisers today is to get people to watch their commercials. With all the technology and alternatives to watching commercials on TV I would think that advertisers would do everything humanly possible to eliminate any elements that would immediately trigger a viewer to fast forward to change the channel.
Is this not commen senese ?
If it is, then why in the world do advertisers
JACK UP THE VOLUME OF THEIR COMMERCIALS ?
This annoying "feature" is more pronounced in home theater and surround sound based systems. I can't think of anything that pisses me off more than to be watching a TV show and to all of the sudden be blasted by a commercial from all sides of the room. Its the ultimate command to change the channel or fast forward.
SO WHY ARE ADVERTISERS SO STUPID ? Turn down the sound, maybe people will lean forward and listen !
How Advertisers Shoot Themselves In Their Collective Feet
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Reader Comments
(Page 1)2. I believe there are some federal guidelines (laws?) that limit how much the volume can go up for commercials.
Posted at 11:35AM on Apr 19th 2008 by proales
3. HAHA! This made me laugh:) Soooo, true! Thanks!:)
Posted at 11:38AM on Apr 19th 2008 by Bertie Ranger
5. There's a Jesus/Messiah born every minute.
Posted at 11:52AM on Apr 19th 2008 by anothermark
6. How else are you supposed to hear the commercial when you are in the kitchen making a sandwich?
This is definitely annoying. It's also annoying when they whisper though.
Just make 'em funny, don't run the same theme too long (Jared, Gecko, Bunny), and don't eff with the volume.
7. If the advertisers were smart they would have what ever show they were watching do a 'live spot' for them so to speak. Couldnt you image watching your favorite prime time drama and instead of the male actor having to freeze frame what ever emotion they were trying to convey before the program cuts to commercial they just transition right into a spiel about viagra then the female actor proclaims "Do you ever get that not so fresh feeling?" or the apprehended criminal suspect does a plug for some lawyer. I might actually watch commercials if they are done that way. I mean why not? There already is a ton of product placement in the shows any ways.
Posted at 12:11PM on Apr 19th 2008 by Mark Mosley
8. I think commercials as we know them to be on TV will be dead in a few years. I fast forward through them every chance I get.
Marketers should focus more on product placement during shows. Why not watch our favorite sit-com charecters eating at XYZ Restaurant. Or maybe see them drink XYZ cola while sitting around the house. They need to make commercials more subtle.
gr-
Posted at 12:12PM on Apr 19th 2008 by Gregory Rueda
9. I have only seen a few silent commercials but each time it truly caught my attention.
I think the car dealership commercials are the absolute worst about not only yelling the whole time but pumping up the volume. Ew.
Posted at 12:45PM on Apr 19th 2008 by Lauren McKinney
10. Mark,
Unless I'm watching a live sporting event, I tend to record the show on my DVR and then fast forward through the commercials. Even when there's nothing else to watch at the time, I will start the recording, do some cleaning or something else for 15 min, then start the recording from the beginning since I've about eaten up the time of all the commecials.
11. I used to work at a TV station and, of course, we'd get complaints about the volume of some commercials. I once asked the people at the airboard (who monitor the picture and sound as it's leaving the station) to show me the volume levels between a show and a commercial...the commercial was louder to the ears, but the same as far as levels were concerned. I wonder if advertisers are using some sort of compression to jack up the volume of the spots without actually altering the "math" behind it (ie, the levels).
The commercials that bother me are the radio spots where they use digital technology to ram all the disclaimer verbage in at the end, as if that actually does any good.
Advertisers need to be:
1. Consistent with their brand, year after year.
2. Have a compelling offer - I used to ask advertisers what they wanted to achieve with their spot, and they said they wanted to get their name out there. I replied, "Okay, let's say we do that for three months and nobody comes in or calls you about your ad...will that be okay?" Of course, the answer is "no," to which I say, "give them a REASON to get off the couch NOW."
3. Be patient: Running spots for a month or so does NO good (unless you're promoting an event or sales, in which case you need to open up your wallet to achieve maximum reach and frequency ASAP).
4. LOOK diferent - the lawyer hawking their services while standing in front of a bunch of bookcases = weak. The car dealer shouting in front of their inventory on the lot = weak. People hated the Head On ads, but everyone remembered them. I love the Apple "Mac vs. PC" ads for their look and feel, but because there's no compelling offer, I won't buy that MacBook I now want when I can get something similar on the PC end for a lot less.
Posted at 1:43PM on Apr 19th 2008 by Kevo
12. Mark,
Most people tune out the commercials not because of how they being presented but because of irrelevance of the content.
Posted at 2:29PM on Apr 19th 2008 by Nick M.
13. While you're complaining about loud commercials, you may as well complain that music produced in the last ten years is "louder" than music produced....previously. Or that Michael Bay films are ludicrously loud, too.
The commercials, just like newly mastered music, ARE NOT LOUDER - it's just mixed in a way that the dynamic range is eliminated, making the ear perceive something as "louder."
It's a trick.
The amplitude of the signal remains the same (dictated by the broadcast medium.)
Historically, this is a "trick" that was primarily developed and used to make music broadcast on FM stations sound better by providing the "fullest" signal to be broadcast.
14. Hear, hear. I agree 100% with you. "Stupid" is the word that comes to mind too to describe this kind of behavior.
Posted at 2:51PM on Apr 19th 2008 by Zoran
15. This brings back memories of the those Head-On commercials! While they didn't have excessive loudness, they were annoying. Pretty smart advertising tactic, though.
Also, I hate when commercials try to be funny/amusing and 95% fail.
Posted at 2:53PM on Apr 19th 2008 by Derek Pezzella
16. I do hope that my previous comment, which was removed, was not inapropriate.
Posted at 3:07PM on Apr 19th 2008 by Shawn Shepherd
17. This worked once for some advertiser the first time they tried it in 1961. Caught on, now nobody can go back. Tragedy of the commons, man.
Posted at 3:30PM on Apr 19th 2008 by Josh Bernoff
18. Amen!!!
I *hate* when I'm watching something and an ad blasts on... it's the worst.
Posted at 3:41PM on Apr 19th 2008 by Dave!
19. That is hilarious. I actually wondered if I had something configured improperly on my cable box. Glad to see others finding it such an annoyance as well.
Posted at 3:54PM on Apr 19th 2008 by Kevin Frey
20. someone high-up in the networks needs to see this.
I'm not convinced it's a problem at the advertisers, actually - i was kind of thinking that the networks were jacking up the volume themselves. Either way, it's f'ing annoying. I get tired of watching TV with my wife, then whenever there is a commercial and we want to, oh, i don't know, TALK about something, I have to turn the volume down. Then when the show comes back on, jack it up again because we can't hear anything.
Posted at 4:02PM on Apr 19th 2008 by joe
1. Let's not forget the advertisers love of gross and annoying sounds too like the VW commercial that has the car alarm in it, or the numerous commercials that include high-decibel eating sounds.
Posted at 11:29AM on Apr 19th 2008 by sean