Call me sensitive, or even wimpy, but I have never liked being yelled at. I have never tolerated it well and never will. I believe the majority of people feel the same as I do on this matter. I think this trait has something to do with why I hate it so much when a Billy Mays television commercial comes on my TV set. The guy seems to be a huge success, but as soon as I hear his booming voice screaming at me to buy some product he is currently hawking, I grab the remote and quickly press the mute button in order to silence the onslaught.
Over the years, since the introduction of television, air-time commercial buyers have done everything possible to make their messages loud when they come on because they understand that television commercials are an intrusion, unlike newspaper advertisements. People often purchase a newspaper because of the ad content. I have never met anyone who said they watch television for the commercials. Many people go to the bathroom, or go get a snack during TV commercials. That is why advertisers want the volume to be as loud as possible. Even if you don”t see it, they want you to hear their message.
Back in the 1960s, it was legal for TV stations to raise the transmitter power during commercial breaks in order to boost the volume, and many did so. Today, the Federal Communications Commission doesn”t allow that practice. According to David Perry, chairman of the Broadcast Production Committee of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, “TV ads can”t be louder than the loudest peak in a show.” The problem with that is that the loudest volume peak in a program is usually significantly higher than the average volume level, so when the commercial comes on it seems to blast us up against the back of the recliner.
According to one TV expert, there are a couple of additional reasons why the commercials come across as being so loud. Most commercials contain music and music always sounds louder than the spoken word. Also, when commercials are produced the technique of audio compression is utilized. This has the impact of making softer sounds louder and makes the entire commercial of a constant, highest allowed volume.
I am not an advocate of more government regulation of anything. That is one of the reasons I love the newspaper business. It is one of the least government regulated industries in existence. But, when the public has complained about something for decades, such as loud TV commercials ever since the inception of television, sometimes it takes a law to get resolution.
Rep. Anna Eshoo, a Democrat from California, last year introduced a bill in Congress called the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM). Right now, it is picking up support. Rep. Eshoo said, “Every time the ads came on they blew me out of my seat. It really turns you off?”
National broadcasting companies say they have plans to control the commercial volume on their own. After all these years, I don”t have a great deal of faith that they will actually do it. But, I hope they will and, perhaps, their self-regulation will mute the need for the United States Congress to have to deal with the issue of loud television commercials.
