Exposure to Television Commercials

[Phi for All]

I was noticing that the TV series Farscape (which I believe is Australian) runs about 50 minutes per episode, which would seem to leave 10 minutes of the hour for commercials. In the US, most of our hour slot shows run about 42 minutes, leaving 18 minutes for commercials.

 

It got me to thinking that perhaps the US consumes more than other countries because we're exposed to so much more advertising. To possibly connect this exposure to the psychology of commercial pressure to consume, I'd like to hear from other countries and find out what the ratio of show to commercials is.

 

Remember, since you're here at SFN, you're not the average couch potato who is most heavily influenced by these commercials. But the majority of your country probably IS watching and letting the advertising affect their purchases.

 

Also, I'd quite like to know what you think about the quality of your commercials (US, feel free to chime in here). Are they overly pushy? Do they make ridiculous claims? Do you feel they are overly manipulative? Do you watch them or tune them out? Is there any psychological tactic they use that you feel shouldn't be allowed?

[hypervalent_iodine]

10 minutes is actually quite low for the channel that show was on. Our commercial stations are limited to 18 minutes of advertising per hour. There are a few additional loopholes in addition to that, which can mean you will often see less than 40 minutes of a TV show in a given hour. Our public broadcasting channels only run 5 minutes of advertising per hour. ABC only ever runs ads between shows and doesn't run external advertisements, whereas SBS has gotten into the habit of running external ads that not necessarily restricted to the gap between shows.

 

I can't comment on the quality or the pushiness of them as I haven't really watched more than a few night's worth of TV since I was 17. I remember when I lived at home that it varied depending on where you lived. The more rural areas would tend to get more of the small budget ads by local companies, which tended to be a lot more obvious and pushy, whereas larger metro areas would see ridiculously expensive ads by huge corporations, which were more subtle in their approach.

 

We have a show here related to the topic of current advertising that airs on one of the public broadcasting networks (I think ABC) called 'The Gruen Transfer', which can be a fairly amusing and interesting watch. They have a YouTube channel that you might be interested in taking a peak at.

[Appolinaria]

I pay absolutely no attention to commercials.

 

So whatever they're doing, it's subconscious.

[Joatmon]

In the UK the regulator, Ofcom, limits the amount of advertising time to an average of 7 mjns/hour with a limit of 12 mins for any particular hour. I believe one of the rules says any advertisement must be either completely true or so fantastic that it is obviously untrue.

They usually pad out American imports with "forthcoming events" etc.

 

I personally watch a lot of recorded programs and digital recorders let you jump quickly through the adverts - which I do.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_advertisement#United_Kingdom

Edited March 14, 2012 by Joatmon

[Phi for All]

I don't watch much commercial TV either (Castle and The Big Bang Theory, and I mute the commercials), but I think we're in the minority. Most people (again, NOT the members here) must watch them since so much effort and money is spent on TV advertising.

 

It sounds like the UK has the lowest amount of commercials so far. Is all your TV run by the state like the BBC? Do you think this is a better way to handle your media? I love the BBC for world news, and I get a perspective that seems less biased.

 

I pay absolutely no attention to commercials.

 

So whatever they're doing, it's subconscious.

Well, that's the whole point. Much of what they do is aimed at your subconscious. You aren't pretty unless you're wearing X, people find you repulsive if you don't smell like Y, women would like you better if you drove a Z, that's what they imply without saying it outright. You may not pay attention but the commercials are using sound too, and unless you mute the commercials and look away, you're still affected somewhat.

[Joatmon]

I don't watch much commercial TV either (Castle and The Big Bang Theory, and I mute the commercials), but I think we're in the minority. Most people (again, NOT the members here) must watch them since so much effort and money is spent on TV advertising.

 

It sounds like the UK has the lowest amount of commercials so far. Is all your TV run by the state like the BBC? Do you think this is a better way to handle your media? I love the BBC for world news, and I get a perspective that seems less biased.

 

 

Well, that's the whole point. Much of what they do is aimed at your subconscious. You aren't pretty unless you're wearing X, people find you repulsive if you don't smell like Y, women would like you better if you drove a Z, that's what they imply without saying it outright. You may not pay attention but the commercials are using sound too, and unless you mute the commercials and look away, you're still affected somewhat.

 

I notice most car ads don't, in fact, tell you anything about the car itself.They are mostly about things like how much fun ownership would be. This is in agreement with your statement above.