Books play a very important role in my life. I crave information and books deliver what I need to feel inspired, to feel knowledgeable, and to feel productive. Among the many reasons I like books: I can pick up where I left off with a simple bookmark, I can readily flip back the pages to remind myself of clues, characters, and facts, books require no batteries, they can be free and reused over and over, they are portable, and best of all, no commercials.
A book, in fact, may be the last bastion of all media not inundated with promoting itself. There is no sponsor telling me who my book was brought to me by; no running ticker at the bottom of the page giving me updates on the weather, current politics, and celebrity scandals; and no captions announcing the gist of the chapter under the heading “Breaking News” or “Happening Now”.
I can safely read without an annoying advertisement to interrupt my concentration and pull me away from my brief suspension of reality.
My aversion to commercials goes back to when I first read a book about subliminal advertising as a teenager. My distaste for what was being spoon-fed through the television only grew so that by the time I had kids, the only children’s shows allowed in our house were commercial-free. Fortunately, public television aired educational programs such as Sesame Street and Arthur to keep us entertained and, the guilt for not having the extra cash to be a contributing viewer notwithstanding, I am grateful to the people who kept these shows going so that mom could have a break (to clean and make dinner).
My aversion to commercials goes back to when I first read a book about subliminal advertising as a teenager. My distaste for what was being spoon-fed through the television only grew so that by the time I had kids, the only children’s shows allowed in our house were commercial-free. Fortunately, public television aired educational programs such as Sesame Street and Arthur to keep us entertained and, the guilt for not having the extra cash to be a contributing viewer notwithstanding, I am grateful to the people who kept these shows going so that mom could have a break (to clean and make dinner).
This parenting philosophy paid dividends when Today’s Parent magazine printed my idea for helping families save money and as a prize, sent us a book about raising money-smart Canadian kids. I wrote that children were targeted with persistent advertising while watching TV therefore I believed our family saved money by watching only commercial-free programs where advertisers were not telling my kids what to eat, what to wear, etc. When we did watch programs with commercials, we talked about how advertising works and taught the kids to question the motivations behind the slick marketing campaigns, for instance, does toilet paper need to be rebranded as “Cashmere”?
We hardly watch commercials anymore thanks to my favourite toy in the house: our digital video recorder. Not only does this machine free-up hours by skipping commercials, it unchains us from the network-imposed deadlines that demand we stop every activity and rush to sit in front of the television for fear of missing the first five minutes. Even more civilized, we can rewind what we’ve missed instead of yelling at one another to stop talking while we listen to something, and we don’t have to be subjected to inappropriate commercials, horrific news stories coming up at eleven, and spots promoting the next crime drama, in detail, all while we watch family programming at 8 p.m.
Pervasive advertising still sneaks in with the hosts pretending to clean using a sponsor’s product during their show, pop-up ads at the bottom of the screen, and product placement that is hardly subtle. Sports broadcasts are notorious for plastering brand names across the screen, the board, the ice, even the players. It’s like one big commercial with a game going on in the background.
I understand how the economy works, and I appreciate the need for companies to sell their products, but I don’t want to be stalked by every available item on the market. If I want to buy something, I’ll do some research and make my own choices — I know the library has many books to help me decide what I want.
