Commercials and Idiots

I wish I could ask some Madison Avenue advertising people what gives with the commercial announcements (excuse me, the "in association with---") in the USA. For a week now, each time I watch a television program, I get to see a commercial every 5 minutes or so. Now, I understand that advertising subsidizes a lot of television, private and public, but I have a bone to pick with these people. Are they really so smart?

With things like TIVO available now, are they reaching the buying public? Don't most people mute the ads anyway? It is a perfect time for a bathroom break, a trip to the fridge, or a surf through the channels time. Why do I see the same commercial at the same time every day?

In CH, a program must be 90 minutes or longer for there to be a commercial break. Then you get 8-10 minutes of advertising. A 30 minute USA program lasts 20 minutes, and an hour program lasts 40 minutes there. Each is followed by several minutes (up to 10) of commercials. Granted, some are very predictable, but a program such as a movie, a tournament of any kind, the Olympics, etc. is much more enjoyable without this attention deficit-like interruption every 5 minutes. I find myself looking at the products advertised with a much more receptive attitude. Besides, after a week of seeing the same commercial at the same time each day, it gets annoying.

Of course I can almost hear the ad guys saying, "We do it our way because it is better than in the old country." Well, I submit it isn't better, and some of the old ways didn't need changing.