Sivin Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 Over the last few weeks I have grown increasingly certain that advertisers and media outlets have reached some kind of agreement to synthetically decrease the sound of their feature programs while increasing the noise of the commercial advertisements. I have no proof, only subjective impression that across essentially all of my entertainment platforms the noise of commercials is incredibly louder than the volume of the material I'm trying to consume. On the television it is more subtle, I think that the beginning of each commercial is at least twenty to thirty per cent louder than the volume I'd thought I settled on, and they ween it down until the next one starts. Meanwhile, on my PS4 and computer, I'm fairly certain the commercial volume is about twice what I set the show to. The change is so jarring that I often feel compelled to mute the TV or speakers so that I don't disturb my neighbors. It's quite possible that it's just me, but I can see why advertisers would want to apply such a strange idea without squinting too hard. Everyone knows that commercial advertising is not returning the same dividends of the past, and they've always employed obvious and morally questionable tricks to sell their product. But as consumers divert their attention from the T.V. or browser page, what's a cheap and easy way to try and get them to look at your sales pitch? Ratchet up the noise to get their attention back. I often multitask, and it wasn't until recently I've begun to notice that I'm continuously having to refocus my attention after a noisy browser I'd tabbed out of begins screaming about pizza or the television lets out an ear-splitting shriek about erectile dysfunction. Just a theory, any bites? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanteGabriel Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 I've noticed it as well. I haven't made a detailed study of it but I do notice it happens from time to time on TV. It affects me less on computers because I very rarely have the sound on, because of these fucking autoplay sound ads. I keep five or ten browser tabs open and I'd be constantly bombarded if I left the sound on. Current advertising pet peeve is shitty irresponsible internet video ads that keep you from scrolling away. Not just ads that follow you as you scroll -- those are shitty enough. I mean ads that snap you back to a position on the screen if you try to scroll away. Makes it impossible to read a simple fucking article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry of the Lawn Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 On regular tv programming they are required to have a certain average volume, so they keep the volume down most of the time to use higher volumes during climactic scenes, etc. At least that's what my buddy who is an auido engineer told me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manhole Eunuchsbane Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 28 minutes ago, DanteGabriel said: Current advertising pet peeve is shitty irresponsible internet video ads that keep you from scrolling away. Not just ads that follow you as you scroll -- those are shitty enough. I mean ads that snap you back to a position on the screen if you try to scroll away. Makes it impossible to read a simple fucking article. OMFGJC I can't stand that shit. I'm just about ready to drop one of my favorite all-time websites on the back of that maddening duck-fuckery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanteGabriel Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 6 minutes ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said: OMFGJC I can't stand that shit. I'm just about ready to drop one of my favorite all-time websites on the back of that maddening duck-fuckery. I think it's more about a shitty ad company than the website. I used to work on a newspaper website (between that and big budget MMOs I have a knack for choosing dying industries) and ad placement was a constant issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manhole Eunuchsbane Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 13 minutes ago, DanteGabriel said: I think it's more about a shitty ad company than the website. I used to work on a newspaper website (between that and big budget MMOs I have a knack for choosing dying industries) and ad placement was a constant issue. I guess this particular site is accepting more of these types of ads then, cause it is getting really frustrating. So fucking annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 1 hour ago, WinterFox said: Over the last few weeks I have grown increasingly certain that advertisers and media outlets have reached some kind of agreement to synthetically decrease the sound of their feature programs while increasing the noise of the commercial advertisements. I have no proof, only subjective impression that across essentially all of my entertainment platforms the noise of commercials is incredibly louder than the volume of the material I'm trying to consume. On the television it is more subtle, I think that the beginning of each commercial is at least twenty to thirty per cent louder than the volume I'd thought I settled on, and they ween it down until the next one starts. Meanwhile, on my PS4 and computer, I'm fairly certain the commercial volume is about twice what I set the show to. The change is so jarring that I often feel compelled to mute the TV or speakers so that I don't disturb my neighbors. It's quite possible that it's just me, but I can see why advertisers would want to apply such a strange idea without squinting too hard. Everyone knows that commercial advertising is not returning the same dividends of the past, and they've always employed obvious and morally questionable tricks to sell their product. But as consumers divert their attention from the T.V. or browser page, what's a cheap and easy way to try and get them to look at your sales pitch? Ratchet up the noise to get their attention back. I often multitask, and it wasn't until recently I've begun to notice that I'm continuously having to refocus my attention after a noisy browser I'd tabbed out of begins screaming about pizza or the television lets out an ear-splitting shriek about erectile dysfunction. Just a theory, any bites? It's not your imagination, the FCC actually has regulations which are supposed to prohibit this practice after Congress passed a law to regulate this activity. It applies to all TV broadcasters, cable operators, digital TV operates and to "multichannel video program distributors", whatever the fuck those are. I'm not sure if these cover content on your computer or gaming system, which could be why you notice the discrepancy between TV and the other two formats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maarsen Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 This practice has been going on since commercial TV was invented. Ads are set at the maximum volume allowed. I am old enough to remember the invention of the remote control and with it the mute button. Now that pissed off advertisers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskaral Pust Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 1 hour ago, maarsen said: This practice has been going on since commercial TV was invented. Ads are set at the maximum volume allowed. I am old enough to remember the invention of the remote control and with it the mute button. Now that pissed off advertisers. Agreed. It was really noticeable to me when I first moved to the US. TV ads are blaringly louder than their host programming, to the point where you almost have to mute them for your own sanity. The increasingly obnoxious web ads mean that I now immediately use reader view/mode on a lot of web pages. But you have to select that for each individual page rather than for an entire site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zelticgar Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 It is not your imagination. Those damn commercials are always louder. The other one that drives me nuts is the coordinated commercial breaks across TV channels. FoxNews, CNN, MSNBC all coordinate their commercial breaks to happen at the same time so you can't skip from one to the other. The old dinosaur prime time networks do the same thing at night (although I rarely watch anymore). More reason to cut cord and watch more Netflix! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maltaran Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 I heard that commercials are louder because people will get up during the breaks and go to the kitchen to put the kettle on, for example, so the advertisers turn up the volume to make sure they can still be heard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drawkcabi Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 Yep, I remember talking about how aggravating commercials are that do this years and years ago. They have all these devices they try, I am pretty sure they figure any attention is good attention. You are pissed off at their commercial because it keeps going "Head On! Apply directly to your forehead! Head On! Apply directly to your forehead! Head On! Apply directly to your forehead!..." but then maybe next time when you are at the store you're thinking "I wonder if that stuff really works?" and decided to try it because the product has been placed in your brain. The commercial's job has still been done. Lately I've been hearing commercials with lots of beeps, rings, and alarms. There's one that sounds just like my microwave going off and it drives me crazy because every time I'm like "Who's using the microwave?!!" It's another attention grabbing thing to have noises like that. The other thing I've been noticing A BUNCH recently and even started a thread about in entertainment is the 80's pop music in current commercials. No one replied to that though But it still all comes down to methods of making the consumer take notice of the product.. Quote So I'm not talking about trailer commercials for movies or TV shows, because there are so many songs from many decades they use, but commercials that are advertising other products. Anybody noticing this trend? https://www.ispot.tv/ad/w5Gy/macys-best-year-ever (below is my favorite of recent ones: ) From a few years ago: For a while Sandals has been using "I've had the Time of my Life" in their commercials, but now Walmart is in on the act: Bonnie Tyler songs seem to be darlings of advertisers, I don't know how many times I've seen either "Total Eclipse of the Heart" or "Holding Out for a Hero" in commercials:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UtGwcbrep0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5y3vkg2Pe4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBD8w0q5UDc So TV commercials will use anything they think is catchy and what they believe works for an ad, and there are plenty of ads with original jingles, modern music, older music, etc. But I've been noticing this and it's made me think. When I was a kid these are commercials I remember: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erlvoBklqn4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUvqsG_H7FQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCp5NhdkdcA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvIkMenVlZk 50's and 60's songs or songs of that style in the 70's and 80's. I assume that this is mostly because of three reasons: 1. Commercials of today are aimed at the largest consumer groups which right now is people who grew up in the 80's and 90's, as in the 70's and 80's it was the people who grew up in the 50's and 60's. 2. The people making the commercials today are people who grew up in the 70's, 80's, and 90's and in the 70's and 80's it was the baby boomers making them, when thinking of pitches they draw upon the songs they remember fondly. 3. We are at or have just passed the height of 80's nostalgia in pop culture. I just have been finding it interesting each time I hear another commercial with an 80's (or 70's, or 90's) tune in it, and it has been happening so much lately. Know of any other recent ones? It would be great, but probably no likely, if this thread summoned Blaine and he'd give his input. And I've noticed a half dozen more since writing that all with 80's or late 70's/early 90's pop music in them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Which Tyler Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 12 minutes ago, drawkcabi said: And I've noticed a half dozen more since writing that all with 80's or late 70's/early 90's pop music in them. Like this you mean? (Best ad of the year... decade... century?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S John Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 It's a real thing and I think the internet is definitely worse than TV. Sometimes I'll be watching a youtube video or something while browsing another site and have to pause the video and remove my headphones while the ad from whatever I'm reading plays. I rarely hear TV ads anymore though because nobody I have ever met in my entire life hates commercials more than my girlfriend who religiously hits mute every commercial break. I also DVR a lot of stuff so I can fast forward through the commercials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Which Tyler Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 3 minutes ago, S John said: I also DVR a lot of stuff so I can fast forward through the commercials. This, is the right answer. I watch basically nothing live - if something is about to start that I want to watch, I will simply find something else to do/watch for half an hour before I can start the recording - even sport (though I like to be only a couple of ad breaks behind, so that if it over0runs I'm basically caught up by then anyway) Online, a decent adblocker is definitely your friend for this stuff; though some still inevitably gets through anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drawkcabi Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 7 minutes ago, Which Tyler said: Like this you mean? (Best ad of the year... decade... century?) Yes! But I've never seen that one, probably it's only in the UK, but yeah that commercial was just full of win! Though we haven't been completely He-Man deficient over here in our commercials either: Some more: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Which Tyler Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 It was a follow-up to this (I'm pleased that these ad.s haven't crossed the pond - it makes showing you them so much more fun) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S John Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 1 hour ago, Which Tyler said: This, is the right answer. I watch basically nothing live - if something is about to start that I want to watch, I will simply find something else to do/watch for half an hour before I can start the recording - even sport (though I like to be only a couple of ad breaks behind, so that if it over0runs I'm basically caught up by then anyway) Online, a decent adblocker is definitely your friend for this stuff; though some still inevitably gets through anyway I do it a lot with sports too, though that is harder to do. Just have to exercise discipline and not look at my phone til I've caught up to live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fragile Bird Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 I came here to say regulations allow commercials to be louder, but I see it's already been mentioned. What I wanted to say instead is that there is a disgusting commercial for the car rental company National with the arrogant car rental guy. The first couple of commercials were kinda funny, but in the latest, which is constantly on CNN, he does a "self-appendectomy" (he's so arrogant, right?) and the loud sound effects are so gross every time the commercial comes on I immediately change the station! Bleeaeaeaeaegggggh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drawkcabi Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 Ok, I fall in the non-grinch category when it comes to Christmas/holiday time commercials. They make me feel all nice and nostalgic-y. But...it's not even December and I am sick of those Hershey Kiss bells. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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