Do You Actually Watch Commericals?

[Mr Light]

When your TV show goes to commercial.... do you actually watch the ads? And listen to them? And pay attention to them?

I sure as hell don't. I mute the TV. Sometimes I watch something else on the computer to make up for the lost time. Hell, you can almost watch a 20 minute show during the commercials in an hour.

I'm curious how many people actually follow ads since the entire concept of television is based around us being influenced by the commercials

 

[Mr Light]

Ugh, that was supposed to be multiple choice. Do mods have the power to change that?

 

[Itisnotlogical]

Nope. Advertisements are boring and repetitive, in addition to interrupting something that is usually much more entertaining.

 

[Kestra]

I skip a lot of them, but some I enjoy.

 

[Small White Car]

I DVR and fast forward through them.

BUT I probably stop and watch 2 or 3 per show. Things that look interesting or funny. All in all I'd say that's a pretty good ratio for something I don't have to watch. The advertisers generally get between 1-2 minutes of my time for every show I watch.

So they'd better make the ads look funny, I guess. The shots of cars driving through hills or slow pans of steaming pizzas just ain't gonna get me to stop.

 

[Turbo]

I usually use the mute button if I'm in charge of the TV and I'm not flipping back and forth between shows. Fast forward on the DVR. Though I do unmute (and play) good commercials that I've seen before.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I usually leave the TV on without changing the volume, but I'll at least channel surf for a minute. I don't go out of my way to listen and understand the commercials, but it's been known time to time for me to actually hear a commercial.

 

[BDJ]

Commercials are just like any other kind of entertainment. Some are fun, some are interesting, some are loads of pure digital crap! Local commercials all seem to be written by the same boring person. They're almost always dull. The ones that try to be funny usually come off as just plain embarrassing. But I do enjoy lots of commercials. Heck I even actually go to some of the advertising businesses and let them know I saw their commercial when I'm buying something. Hey without commercials, there wouldn't be a lot of tv or radio for that matter!

 

[scottydog]

Only during the Super Bowl. Otherwise I flip the channel.

 

[RandyS]

No.

And why isn't a simple "no" an option on the poll?

 

[BlobVanDam]

During commercials I usually just talk to whoever else is in the room, or get a drink, or pee out earlier drinks. I never bother to go as far as muting them or anything, but I don't sit there giving commercials the same attention as the show itself. Commercials never advertise anything of relevance or interest to me anyway. I don't think I've ever been influenced by a commercial to buy a product.

 

[Kestra]

I usually leave the TV on without changing the volume, but I'll at least channel surf for a minute. I don't go out of my way to listen and understand the commercials, but it's been known time to time for me to actually hear a commercial.

Does the volume change ever bug you? Sometimes it's SO MUCH LOUDER than the regular programming that I'll end up hitting mute or turning the volume up and down throughout the course of the show. Really irritating, and actually turns me off commercials more.

 

[Listener4]

I stopped watching television partly because of commercials. I nearly have to leave the room if there's a tv playing commercials. I hate commercials.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I usually leave the TV on without changing the volume, but I'll at least channel surf for a minute. I don't go out of my way to listen and understand the commercials, but it's been known time to time for me to actually hear a commercial.

Does the volume change ever bug you? Sometimes it's SO MUCH LOUDER than the regular programming that I'll end up hitting mute or turning the volume up and down throughout the course of the show. Really irritating, and actually turns me off commercials more.

Yeah, it's annoying, but usually not enough for me to do anything. Although, yeah, if it's real bad, I'll mute it (which defeats the point of making the commercials louder, but I don't think they learn).

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I usually leave the TV on without changing the volume, but I'll at least channel surf for a minute. I don't go out of my way to listen and understand the commercials, but it's been known time to time for me to actually hear a commercial.

Does the volume change ever bug you? Sometimes it's SO MUCH LOUDER than the regular programming that I'll end up hitting mute or turning the volume up and down throughout the course of the show. Really irritating, and actually turns me off commercials more.

Yeah, it's annoying, but usually not enough for me to do anything. Although, yeah, if it's real bad, I'll mute it (which defeats the point of making the commercials louder, but I don't think they learn).

Hopefully by the end of the year we'll be getting some FCC regulation on that issue if the networks haven't complied by that time:

http://usgovinfo.about.com/b/2010/12/20/obama-signs-tv-commercial-volume-law.htm

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

My tv wall plug thingie broke over two years ago and I have not watched tv ever since. Sometimes this means I am really out of the loop for hilarious or reviled commercials. I can just go youtube it though if it's so culturally prominent I want to find out what it was. One thing I've never missed is knowing what someone is wanting to sell me.

 

[Kestra]

(Response to Locutus) Oh, I had no idea! That would be awesome. It's one of the few small things that really irritates me.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I am not sure what option to answer as I only watch the non-commercial Australian government owned statio (ABC). They have some promos and some ads for DVDs available in the ABC Shop but that is only at the end of a TV program and i usually turn the TV off as soon as the program I was watching finishes.

 

[Itisnotlogical]

The ones that I really hate are the guy with the beard and raspy voice in the messy tuxedo saying "I'm a (insert dangerous thing)" here. He says it in exactly the same voice each time. I haven't watched it in such a long time I forgot what it was an ad for; maybe life insurance?

 

[PlainSimpleJoel]

I'm generally doing something else, while the ads are on. But it's only a few shows per week I actually watch now on TV, as I mostly watch DVDs.