Sunday, November 5, 2017

170 Roll tape

Roll the tape!!

It is rare that we watch a TV show live. We either tape it (as we refer back to the old days when there really was a tape) to pausing the show while we run to the kitchen or to take care of other chores around the house.

Then we return and fast forward through all the commercials – the number of which has increased or appears to have doubled or tripled. Therefore, it only takes about 20 minutes to watch a 30-minute show.


We do catch up with the taped (recorded) shows when we have the time to enjoy the productions while fast forwarding the commercials. Not only is the frequency of
the commercials concerning but also the types of ads–-drugs, insurance, law firms. 
When did prescription drugs become the target of the TV-watching population? You used to go to the doctor, get a diagnosis if there was a problem, and maybe take a drug if needed. Now we are constantly assailed with the latest drugs that will make our lives so much better. These seem to drag on for minute after minute, showcasing grandchildren who patiently wait for the grandparents to take these miracle drugs. 

But wait for it--a longer list of side effects is accompanied with music that tries to soften the blow of stroke, dizziness, vomiting, etc. I know this is probably required but it makes you wonder is it really worth it! I keep waiting for a drug commercial to list one side effect as death which is inevitable in the long run.

I definitely push the pause button on these commercials especially since the same ones are shown over and over and over. I guess they think if we see it often enough, we will run to our doctors and beg for this medicine that will cure all our ills or possibly cause more problems with the side effects. Really, how stupid and gullible do they think we are or maybe we are.


My second most hated commercials are ones from the insurance world. Goofy characters and small animals portray agents of various companies trying to convince us they are the best. Again, the ads are shown over and over and over and sometimes within the same few minutes of a break from a TV show.

Would I really believe these people who grovel and grumble as they try to present the very best deals available for car, life, house, boats, and other coverage? I have had the same insurance company for about 40 years. The agent has changed but the service hasn’t. I can trust them to let me know when an adjustment is needed. In fact, they go out of the way to try and compensate me when I make a claim that I know is not covered but I try anyway!

Now medical insurance is another animal. We recently had our Medicare advantage insurance change so I decided to do the research. After hours of phone calls and online searches, I found out certain policies were not available in our state and sometimes in our city. If we lived in the neighboring county, we could have been covered, but not within the city limits. Figure that one out. 



They don’t tell us that on the commercials. My research took us back to the policy we had originally, but of course with a higher price tag. When we visited our agent, she basically said the same thing I had deduced. Again, I warn don’t depend on the commercials, do your own research.

Cost of these ads is reported to be growing in leaps and bounds. One of the most sought-after ad times is during the Super Bowl with costs rising 76 percent over the last 10 years, according to Kantar, a tracker of ad spending, as reported by Variety. In 2006, the average for a 30-second ad during the championship football game was about 2.5 million. In 2017, the price was from $4.5 million to more than $5 million.

I am sure these commercials I have referenced don’t cost that much, but what if these companies saved all that money they spend on ads and put it to work on policies they offer us. Would the premium go down? I doubt it but it would be nice not to be insulted hourly, daily, and weekly with these sometimes untrue or clouded sound bites constantly beamed across the TV screens as well as on radio and the Internet.

Join me in my crusade to not listen to these constant harangues--pause the show, turn it off, tape it for later watching and fast forwarding, or come up with your own way to make a personal statement.

Frances        

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