Commercials: the ‘real’ television?

 

China’s television regulator has ordered the removal of more than forty commercials it deems inappropriate, punishing advertisers found guilty of ‘misleading’ consumers, CRIEnglish reports. It’s the sort of story becoming ever prominent in the mainstream media, a scenario echoed in most countries to some extent in the past decade.

As the technology bandwagon continues to roll through town after town like a digital funfair, the number of commercially-funded television stations increases faster than a child rushing to a corner shop to buy the latest chocolate bar or magazine with free plastic toy. You know, the cheap ones that usually end up in a million pieces when or thrown at the wall or out of a first-floor window within a week of their purchase.

The digital revolution is well and truly upon us, granting consumers a wider range of channels than they could have ever dreamed of. There are programmes for every conceivable target market from expectant mothers, stay-at-home house husbands and hyperactive children to cats and even goldfish.

There is, however, a price to pay for choice. Apart from the often expensive subscription fees and constant technological upgrades, there’s the little matter of advertising. If you have children, you’ll be all too familiar with programmes funded by some fast food chain or toy manufacturer with the sole aim of turning little Jimmy into a long-term customer as soon as possible. Hence the two-year-old cigarette addict, who saw an advert for Marlboro and immediately found his calling in life. Maybe.

Most prominent in modern television schedules are commercial breaks, dreaded or exalted depending on what your better half has forced you into watching this evening. Those three minutes in between The Simpsons are to be feared, for once an image of the latest ePad or iAndroid is implanted in your head, it is only a matter of time before you succumb. Worse, one quickly finds nothing is as good as it is on television. For example, you never receive a free housemaid with any vacuum cleaner purchase and will be forced to trundle it around the house yourself.

Television advertising has, in recent times, overtaken the profitability of regular programming to such an extent we will soon see 30-minute programmes dedicated to selling you a Gillette Ladyshave before the afternoon’s edition of Loose Women. Some might even say we’ve already reached that stage, and that commercials have become the real reason we all tune in. After all, I’d rather buy a new razor than watch a women’s daytime talk show, but that’s just me.

To all television watchers, I offer the following advice. Exercise due vigilance at all times and always remember nothing is as it seems in the wild world of television, or you may end up with a house full of broken Dysons and three rusting Ladas in your garage. That, or simply go to the toilet when the adverts come on.

Image licensed under Creative Commons Sharealike by Dan Farrimond

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