# It's a shame we can't watch television in 2014 without seeing ... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 24, 2014, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330 "2014-08-24T00:01:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330/21 "2014-08-24T02:51:57Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Um, what?? I’m not familiar with these commercials of which you speak. Crikey, how much TV do you _watch_? :eek: Maybe it’s a Canadian thing, but here the first two are on heavily during the _ **Family Feud** _–_ **Wheel of Fortune** _ block in the early evening. The third is shown a lot on H2, for sure. The fourth is just … on, at all hours of the day! :mad: **EDIT:** The second one at least is from the state of Georgia, so it can’t be just a Canadian thing. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330/22 "2014-08-24T02:59:23Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Crikey, how much TV do you _watch_? :eek: > > Maybe it’s a Canadian thing, but here the first two are on heavily during the _ **Family Feud** _–_ **Wheel of Fortune** _ block in the early evening. > > The third is shown a lot on H2, for sure. The fourth is just … on, at all hours of the day! :mad: > > **EDIT:** The second one at least is from the state of Georgia, so it can’t be just a Canadian thing. No, I didn’t ask you _when_ these commercials aired or on what networks but actually what were the commercials _for_? What were they selling. I just found your description of the commercials very vague and unidentifiable. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330/23 "2014-08-24T02:59:55Z")
Jeeze, doesn’t everybody know that cancer, diabetes, and heart disease can be cured with GNC brand fish oil? CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330/24 "2014-08-24T03:03:00Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > No, I didn’t ask you _when_ these commercials aired or on what networks but actually what were the commercials _for_? What were they selling. I just found your description of the commercials very vague and unidentifiable. Some hairdressers (I’ve blotted the name out of my memory), a marine amusement park, Bud Light, and some breakfast treat, I think. Can’t be anymore specific than that, since I just switch them off now when they come on. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330/25 "2014-08-24T04:51:26Z")
The OP seems to be under the impression that TV is an entertainment industry, and the commercials are there to support the entertainment. In fact, it’s an advertising industry, and the programs are there to keep us watching between commercials. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330/26 "2014-08-24T15:20:51Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > They’re of interest to the persons suffering those illnesses. They bring awareness of potential new treatments they can discuss with their doctors. Proof to the mods that we really, really need a good rolleyes smiley. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330/27 "2014-08-24T15:27:09Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Jeeze, doesn’t everybody know that cancer, diabetes, and heart disease can be cured with GNC brand fish oil? > > CMC fnord! But doctors don’t want you to learn that one weird tip that was discovered by a local housewife while she was earning $582 a week working from home. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330/28 "2014-08-24T15:39:43Z")
> [@7e42](#): > > CANCER, DIABETES, and HEART DISEASE. > > Who the hell wants to see those depressing commercials while they are in the process of watch one fo their shows? What happened to commercials about cookies, veggies, plastic ware, and detergent? To hear the newage types speak, they caused cancer, diabetes and heart disease. So, the advertisers are shifting markets to account for the needs of their viewers. The system is operating as planned. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330/29 "2014-08-24T15:42:33Z")
It depends on what channel and what show you’re watching. Sports channels, you get The Most Interesting Man In The World pushing beer. Shows of interest to families (mostly women) feature commercials for cleaning products, water parks, and back to school sales. MTV - commercials for acne, shampoo, makeup. On all channels, commercials for cell phones and I-dunno-what-electrical-doodads. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330/30 "2014-08-24T15:49:21Z")
> [@JacobSwan](#): > > But doctors don’t want you to learn that one weird tip that was discovered by a local housewife while she was earning $582 a week working from home. What I want to know is how come the local housewives who discovered that thing in the UK, Spain, France, Germany and Sweden happen to be quintuplets. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330/31 "2014-08-24T16:43:32Z")
See what socialized medicine does? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330/32 "2014-08-24T18:48:11Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > You poor, poor thing. Have you started a fundraiser yet? I would dearly love to contribute to ease your pain and suffering. Maybe he could find a humiliating way to draw attention to it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330/33 "2014-08-24T18:51:32Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > As for erectile dysfunction: Why the hell would I want a doctor to cure me if my erections last for more than four hours at a time?!? 😕 Actually, I think that “warning” was thrown in to help the product sell. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330/34 "2014-08-24T18:52:42Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Proof to the mods that we really, really need a good rolleyes smiley. Just don’t roll them too far back in your head, or they might get stuck that way. 😛 I’m diabetic and I do pay attention to the ads for Victoza, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330/35 "2014-08-24T19:11:26Z")
So tv ads are a better source of advice than your doctor, who is probably aware of miracle drug X and would suggest it if it were a good fit for your needs? Or do the tv ads make you smarter than him/her, in which case you probably need a new doc, not a new drug? Or does your insistence on getting the miracle of X just get them to prescribe it to get rid of you, since it’s no better or worse and if your insurance pays for it nobody cares if the real winner is the maker, who was going broke turning out a commodity drug? Only two countries permit DTC ads for pharma. One of them has the most fucked up health system in the industrialized world. I think that’s telling. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330/36 "2014-08-24T19:42:51Z")
Whatever. We don’t all have to be interested in the same things. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330/37 "2014-08-24T21:55:08Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Frankly, I’ll take them over feminine hygiene products any day. This is a fairly popular sentiment, and I just don’t get it. Commercials for feminine hygiene products feature attractive young sporty women doing fun sporty activities. They’re smiling, running, jumping, and wearing form fitting clothing. What’s not to like? The only reason to be put off by commercials for feminine hygiene products would be some personal ick factor regarding an entirely natural, necessary, and healthy human bodily function- the kind of ick factor that anyone over the age of thirteen should have outgrown. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330/38 "2014-08-24T22:29:59Z")
Two little boys go into the grocery store. One is eight years old and the other one is five years old. The eight year old grabs a box of tampons from the shelf and carries it to the register for checkout. The cashier asks, “Oh, these must be for your mom, huh?” The eight-year-old replies “Nope, not for my mom.” Without thinking, the cashier responded “Well, they must be for your sister then?” The eight year old quickly responded, “Nope, not for my sister either.” The cashier had now become curious “Oh. Not for your mom and not for your sister? Who are they for?” The eight year old says, “They’re for my five year old little brother.” The cashier is surprised “Your five year old little brother?” The eight year old explains: “Well yeah, they say on TV if you wear one of these, you can swim or ride a bike and my little brother can’t do either of them!” ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330/39 "2014-08-24T22:38:59Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Whatever. We don’t all have to be interested in the same things. It’s not a matter of what either one of us is “interested in,” unless your interest is in the hot actor or car in the ad. Drugs are like every other product, advertised for one and only one reason: because they are profitable for the maker. SmithKline isn’t desperate to make your life better, they’re desperate to get you to browbeat your doctor into switching you to their high-profit product from the commodity drug that’s just as effective but barely pays their light bill. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330/40 "2014-08-24T22:51:26Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > It’s not a matter of what either one of us is “interested in,” unless your interest is in the hot actor or car in the ad. > > Drugs are like every other product, advertised for one and only one reason: because they are profitable for the maker. SmithKline isn’t desperate to make your life better, they’re desperate to get you to browbeat your doctor into switching you to their high-profit product from the commodity drug that’s just as effective but barely pays their light bill. OK. You watch what you want and I’ll watch what I want. Keep rolling them eyes. But let me get your doctor on the line in case they stay like that for more than four hours. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shame-we-cant-watch-television-in-2014-without-seeing/696330.md?page=3)