It’s weird to thing that our lifestyles have become so materialistic. Television was once a medium used to join the family after a long day, but instead it has become a breeding ground for advertisements. It is strange to think that there was once a time when television shows were not interrupted by commercials but now our shows are shorter and our commercials are getting longer. Advertisements can be found anywhere from songs we hear on the radio to signs we see on the side of the freeway. Many different types of advertisement exist today but television is by far the best form of getting the consumers attention.
Although television was not a staple product in people’s houses years ago today it is very rare to find a home without at least one television. And of course in this day and age if you have ever seen a television you have heard of the MTV channel. This was once a channel that showed all sorts of music videos and the whole video if you can imagine that. But now MTV has become heavily saturated with advertisements of all shapes and sizes. One in particular that I enjoy to see is the “Above the Influence” commercials where they show kids that it is better live above the influence of drugs. By showing these advertisements MTV has honed in on a great market. Parents who were ever weary of the drug and alcohol content in music that their kids listen too are now appreciative of the fact that MTV doesn’t support that. Parents now feel that their children should see educational commercials like that and therefore let their children watch MTV. All though it may come off as a genuine attempt to make the world a better place, MTV’s main goal is ultimately to get more people to watch and with this new marketing campaign they have done just that.
It seems like more and more companies are doing these off the charts campaign adds. They are advertising outside of their personal production yet they find a way to tie it into their products. It seems like a sick and twisted way to think about it but in reality it works for both parties. Parents feel good that their children are watching shows that enhance a drug free lifestyle and companies are happy because more and more people are watching. So why is it that advertising has such a big effect on us? One silly commercial has been able to change the minds of so many parents. I think that because we are so used to seeing advertisements that we have now found a way of making them entertaining, and therefore no longer think of them like commercials instead they have become short little clips of entertainment. The question is where are commercials going to go from here? What will they think of next?
