# Does anyone actually voluntarily watch TV commercials? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 22, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-voluntarily-watch-tv-commercials/579317 "2011-04-22T02:40:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Vihaga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Vihaga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vihaga)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-voluntarily-watch-tv-commercials/579317/41 "2011-04-22T21:32:22Z")
I like them. Well, at least a lot of them; some of them are terrible. They do, however, often inform me about products I may wish to consume, which I assume is their purpose. There are plenty of things I wouldn’t even know existed, yet I currently enjoy, because of commercials (Swiffers, Magic Erasers, new flavors of things I like, among other things). Entertainment is a big one for me. New movie and video game releases are things I often tend to be informed about via commercial. At least, I watch them when I can. We netflix a lot of stuff, and my husband likes to fast-forward through commercials on normal TV, but I would sit though all of them if it were just me. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-voluntarily-watch-tv-commercials/579317/42 "2011-04-22T21:43:15Z")
DVR + Fast Forward = the only way. But if the girls are particularly hot or the action is particularly weird I’ll evenutally break down after a dozen high speed viewings & watch it at normal speed with the sound on just to get the full story. I usually watch TV while also reading a magazine, so the ad breaks let me advance through the mag w/o having to timeshare my attention. The way they can cram a complete story line & a product pitch into just 30 seconds is truly one of mankind’s most advanced achievements. If only mankind wasn’t so bloody stupid & greedy we’d be putting our best efforts on something truly worthwhile instead. If I was King there would be no advertising. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-voluntarily-watch-tv-commercials/579317/43 "2011-04-22T21:54:36Z")
I fast forward when I watch DVR content (which is about 90% of the time), but if I see a cute doggie flash by, I almost always switch back and check it out. I’m a sucker that way. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-voluntarily-watch-tv-commercials/579317/44 "2011-04-22T22:25:18Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > If I was King there would be no advertising. How would things that are currently paid for by advertising be paid for? ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-voluntarily-watch-tv-commercials/579317/45 "2011-04-22T22:34:03Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > In those relatively rare situations when we’re watching something “live” (we try to watch DVR’ed things so we can FF through the commercials) I will mute as soon as the commercials start. In many cases I will look away as well, or leave the room. This seems oddly sad to me! As if you are so afraid of the lure of the ad that you must turn your face away from the muted set and hope, just hope you turn back at the right moment to unmute and see the rest of the show. For many years I was NOT the person in charge of the remote. All you people must watch alone. Or are driving someone crazy by channel-flipping and then not getting back to the show in time to catch the punchline or the name of the murderer. Or how much money they raised at the Clean House yard sale. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-voluntarily-watch-tv-commercials/579317/46 "2011-04-22T22:42:47Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > This seems oddly sad to me! As if you are so afraid of the lure of the ad that you must turn your face away from the muted set and hope, just hope you turn back at the right moment to unmute and see the rest of the show. The sound of most commercials is more annoying than the video. Muting the sound causes my blood pressure to drop immediately. As for missing part of the show by looking away, if I look up and see the show is back on, I just rewind to the start of the segment. No problem. Best feature of a cable box with DVR. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-voluntarily-watch-tv-commercials/579317/47 "2011-04-22T23:04:46Z")
We don’t have a DVR, but somehow I think if we did, I’d still leave the commercials on. The whole mute/fastforward/skip all the commercials and hope I don’t catch a glimpse of them process sounds like too much work when all I want to do is sit back and watch TV. I can’t imagine being that stressed about a 2.5 minute break in a show. I use the commercial breaks to go to the washroom, get a snack, or discuss the show with my husband. They are hardly intrusive, they occasionally are interesting, and I hear about products and services I might not be aware of otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![mutantmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mutantmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mutantmoose)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-voluntarily-watch-tv-commercials/579317/48 "2011-04-22T23:08:58Z")
One thing I hate about commercials is they ruin good songs for years afterwards by putting stupid lyrics to the tunes of (sometimes) good songs or by changing the music in a “quirky” way. Can take about 3 years for you to forget the advert and listen to the original song again without thinking of the stupid version, especially if it’s been a really wall to wall ad campaign and you heard it every time you turned on the TV or the radio. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-voluntarily-watch-tv-commercials/579317/49 "2011-04-22T23:18:44Z")
Mostly I watch TV with a book in hand. Or else watch recorded programs and FF through the commercial. However, occasionally a commercial will catch my eye and I will watch it every time it appears. Here is one that I watch every time, but after playing it regularly for a year, the company has stopped running it: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0\_NRapPecc](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0_NRapPecc). However, I have not actually bought the pizza because the size is too big. Afflack commercials are hilarious, although they don’t sell insurance in Canada. Many commercials are so inane that they actually work negatively. Remind me not buy that product. There was a Labatt commercial a decade or so ago that was so obnoxious that I stopped drinking their beer as a kind of personal protest. It portrayed a woman with a heavy accent–Polish I think–who was cleaning johns. What it had to do with beer escapes, but ridiculing a poor immigrant lady was not the way to sell me anything. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2011, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-voluntarily-watch-tv-commercials/579317/50 "2011-04-23T05:14:22Z")
Don’t they design commercials now so that they look interesting when viewed on fast-forward? ---
**Author:** ![efyou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4da419/32.png) [@efyou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/efyou)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2011, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-voluntarily-watch-tv-commercials/579317/51 "2011-04-23T05:40:40Z")
I tend to always have the internet with me and when a tv commercial comes on I look at the net and commercials become background noise. I’ll half pay attention for when my show comes back on. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2011, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-voluntarily-watch-tv-commercials/579317/52 "2011-04-23T08:18:20Z")
[Some commercials are pretty funny.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf5i0O2PNS4) ---
**Author:** ![MizQuirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/94ad74/32.png) [@MizQuirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizQuirk)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2011, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-voluntarily-watch-tv-commercials/579317/53 "2011-04-23T14:30:35Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I read a book, or fast forward past them. Or I _did_; it’s been a long time since I actually watched TV, partly because of the relentless commercials. Yes, that’s it for me–the relentlessness of them. Being badgered by constant, unwanted noise. And sometimes they’ll seem to be back to the show and it turns out to be only a 30-second bite and then back to another large batch of commercials (e.g. late night CBS). I hatessssss it! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-voluntarily-watch-tv-commercials/579317/54 "2011-04-23T15:30:46Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I absolutely watch the commercials. Sometimes they even work. Reminding people of stuff they like to purchase is a perfectly cromulent function of TV time. Some of them are very entertaining. Some of them are so bad as to make me want to avoid the product out of spite. > > I understand the feelings about having a program interrupted but it’s part of the cost of getting to watch a show for free. I find it somewhat disturbing that people feel compelled to ignore them out of a sense of entitlement. It’s even odder to watch them out of a sense of duty. There is no moral obligation to be annoyed because you aren’t paying for something. You didn’t address the biggest problem: It’s the same commercials over and over. Heck, if it’s the same show, it’s likely the same commercial schedule. Even the cutest, most well-done commercial will grate on my nerves after a while. It gets to the point where I feel the same way you do, but about all commercials. Do you think the companies want me to watch and become less likely to buy their product? And, even if they do, do you think they are entitled to force me to do it? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-voluntarily-watch-tv-commercials/579317/55 "2011-04-23T17:11:51Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > How would things that are currently paid for by advertising be paid for? By subscription of course. The original premise of cable TV was commercial-free TV. Somehow the short-sightedness of my fellow man decreed that the majority would rather endure commercials and higher goods prices to pay for them rather than pay directly for content. Oh well, at least this silliness brought me the Swedish Bikini Team and other high points of commercial exploitation. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-voluntarily-watch-tv-commercials/579317/56 "2011-04-25T01:54:33Z")
Aside from the quality of the commercials another factor is the quantity. Too long a commercial break and I’ll go do something else for the duration of the break; too many commercials over the course of a program and I won’t watch that program again. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-voluntarily-watch-tv-commercials/579317/57 "2011-04-25T01:59:40Z")
I don’t like repeat commercials. If the commercial was just on, it doesn’t need to be replayed. I’ve noticed that it’s generally the shittier kinds of commercials that are replayed. ---
**Author:** ![Molotok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Molotok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Molotok)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-voluntarily-watch-tv-commercials/579317/58 "2011-04-25T02:10:17Z")
I generally “thieve” my TV programs: [http://www.2600.com/news/view/article/1113](http://www.2600.com/news/view/article/1113) ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-voluntarily-watch-tv-commercials/579317/59 "2011-04-25T04:28:21Z")
> [@Submerged](#): > > I hit mute every time. I doubt I’ve seen a commercial in years. > > Does anyone actually watch them, and if so why? Me too. I watch very little TV, but when I do I almost always mute commercials. There are some aggravating enough to make me want to pull my hair out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-voluntarily-watch-tv-commercials/579317.md?page=2)