Are we bombarded by too many ads, nowadays?

[Archae]

Seems no matter where I go, I'm bombarded by ads.

Even in the local Shopko, video screens blare ads at me.

[SirRevolutionary]

1. Not quite yet...

I'm awaiting the day they start printing advertisements on toilet paper. Then we'll know we've had enough.

[MadrasT]

18. Toilet Paper Ads in a Bathroom Near You?

Advertisers eventually signed on and the company, based in Ann Arbor, Mich., prints ads for more than 60 firms, according to Silverman. Businesses include a smoothie maker, insurance office and doctor's office.

Star Toilet Paper then offers its ad-filled TP for free to venues including libraries, restaurants, bars and bowling alleys. Venues in New York, North Carolina and Michigan feature the TP, but it's not available for sale at retailers.

As their customer base builds, the Silvermans are growing their staff and seeking investors. They hope to expand into regional sales and beyond. The company is also targeting larger venues including stadiums, airports and colleges. Offering them free TP can be a "huge savings" for them, Silverman says.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/49061996

[SirRevolutionary]

29. That's it...

yes, we've had enough. I must have missed that news report, maybe willful ignorance? But we've definitely officially had enough advertising.

[customerserviceguy]

30. It must take some damned slick salesmen

to sell customers ads on a product that people will wipe their asses with...

[raccoon]

2. Is the pope Catholic? nt

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

3. Between the endless ads on youtube, the piles of junk mail, the constant phone solicitation

the ads on satellite TV channels I already pay for, radio stations that now seem to have more ads than program, the fact that any time I surf the web for anything my e-mail inbox is suddenly flooded with ads … it makes me long for SOME of the good things about the old days.

[Archae]

5. Oh yeah. Even news web sites are like this.

At ABC news, (just one example,) it's the rare occasion when I don't get a video ad that I can't stop, trying to read a news story.

[msongs]

23. there are NO ads on youtube if you get adblock nt

[Art_from_Ark]

32. I tried using adblock for a while

but I STILL got ads on YouTube.

[notadmblnd]

4. Thye even have tv screens on top of the gas pumps these days

I don't want to watch TV ads when I pump gas

[Ligyron]

6. What kills me is that on corporate television

It's the same ad over, and over, and over. again. All can do is promise myself I will never ever buy one of whatever gets repeated more than once an hour. Sometimes I wonder aloud what am I doing watching this stupidity.

[KG]

7. NO! this reply brought to you by:

[Ron Obvious]

8. Yes

I've even seen video ads in lifts for tall buildings lately. Blade Runner seems more and more prophetic every day. I expect we'll see giant floating video ads in the sky in our lifetime.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

10. I hope they never develop technology that can beam messages directly to the brain

There will be no way to shut them off and not watch.

[Ron Obvious]

13. Ugh...

I've been fearing that for years. Ads injected into my dreams.

It seems almost inevitable if present trends continue.

[Fumesucker]

19. Nah, they'll just come up with the ultimate earworm, a jingle you simply cannot get out of your head

Neuroscience is rapidly closing in on the ability to do such a thing, hear the damn jingle one time and you're stuck with it for life, the only surcease being if you get an even *more* obsessive jingle.

[Skidmore]

9. We are bombarded with too much everything.

Too many ads, too many products, too much information...

[cigsandcoffee]

11. Yes. n/t

[Habibi]

12. You can't even walk down an aisle in the drugstore

without setting off one of those newfangled audio advertisements hawking shampoo. Ugh. I wonder what the penalty is for vandalizing one of those mofos.

[Art_from_Ark]

33. That is when an iPod comes in very handy

It helps to drown out background noise.

[Habibi]

34. Yes, I suppose, but

wearing headphones in public always seems so anti-social to me. On the other hand, one could consider it self-defense.

[Art_from_Ark]

35. It might be a bit antisocial on the street,

and I don't listen to an iPod while just walking around town (although everyone else seems to be engrossed in their smart phones). However, when I go into a shop like the kind you described, or one that is blaring some really awful music, I do use it as a kind of defense mechanism

[Initech]

14. This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

17. I assume you're referring to this?

[Initech]

21. Would you like another extra BIG ASS TACO? Now with me more MOLECULES??

[hunter]

15. I don't watch television or listen to commercial radio. I block most ads on my browser.

Our local paper has ads mostly for local business, which I don't mind.

My junk mail goes directly into the recycling bin unopened.

I don't go many places with advertising, not beyond the product labels in the supermarket.

There's no place I commonly go that has video screens blaring ads at me.

The internet ads I do see tend to be for things like welding machines or electronic components.

I think we can live in almost any world we choose, even if it's mostly in our own heads.

If I don't want to see the ads, I don't.

[SheilaT]

31. Same here.

No TV, almost no commercial radio, and I don't see ads where I pump gas.

This past weekend I was at a conference, and there's always the novelty of having a TV when I'm in a hotel. However, by the time I've watched a half hour I always turn it off because I simply cannot tolerate the commercials.

[MadrasT]

16. The ones that annoy me lately are the screens on the gas pumps at the Sunoco.

They are so loud, too.

[RebelOne]

20. I sort of look forward to the TV ads because while they are on,

I do chores around the house that need doing and I have no excuse for not doing them, so the ads are an impetus.

[Blue_Tires]

22. This thread is brought to you by your local area Ford dealers!

FORD -- GO FURTHER

[louis-t]

24. I turned on a ballgame on ESPN Classic once..

The game was from the '70s. I didn't recognize the stadium. The seats were green. There were no ads except the Coke sign on the scoreboard. No banners. No revolving signs. No Nike logo on the uniforms. Nothing. I started to recognize the guy on the mound....

It was Mark "The Bird" Fidrych and this was Tiger Stadium, 1976!


The stadium was about half full. As I watched, I recognized one particular antic he did after throwing the ball. He came off the mound toward the plate and made a half throwing motion with his arm and started talking to himself or the ball as if to say 'this is what I want you to do'. The crowd started cheering. I remembered that little antic from my first time seeing him pitch. I was in the stadium that day and was one of the first to stand up and cheer that quirky little move.
RIP Mark.

[BadgerKid]

25. Ever notice about 1/3rd of airtime goes to ads?

Half-hour show lasts 20 minutes.
Hour show lasts ~40 minutes.

[mike_c]

26. no TV, listen only to public radio...

...use Adblock online, and live in a rural area. Frankly, I'm more ad free than I was twenty years ago.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

27. You know, I was just discussing this with a friend at our friendly local neighborhood McDonalds.

As I bit into my delicious Big Mac, my friend, who was drinking a refereshing ice-cold Coca-Cola, agreed that yes, there were too many ads everywhere.

It's great that I can have these wonderful discussions at McDonalds. Because you deserve a break today.

[Newest Reality]

28. As they gather more data on each one of use

It is only going to get more immersive, interactive and unavoidable:

Personalized Ads, Minority Report

Oh, just what we were hoping for:

"Minority Report" advertising arrives

Enjoy this more peaceful phase while it lasts, "consumers".