Gawker
The UK government body that regulates advertising passed new rules this month banning TV commercials that are too loud. That's right; ads shouldn't be "excessively noisy or strident." Nor should they be excessively blaring, deafening, roaring, or stentorian, if the thesaurus has anything to say about it. The ostensible reason for the rule is to prevent your neighbors from hearing commercials on your television. "This might sound straightforward," says the New York Times. Um, no it doesn't. Has the British government come up with a magic volume button-disabling law?
Mainly the government wants to keep ads equally loud to the shows they surround, not louder:
The new British rules take account of this, saying that "broadcasters must endeavor to minimize the annoyance that perceived imbalances could cause, with the aim that the audience need not adjust the volume of their television sets during program breaks."
Still: volume button? Anyone? Regulators? Times? Advertisers? I admit to being partially asleep right now and not that bright overall, so help me out here. What if your asshole neighbor just plays their freaking TV too loud? It should be legal to shoot them. Governments are so weird.
Comments
We need this law in the US. Or a standard volume limiter on TVs. The fucking ads are like 3 times as loud as the programs now.
Yeah, in UK most ads are markedly louder than most tv shows.
Funny, with the shitty exchange rate, US commercials are getting quieter every day.
commercials are supposed to be the same loudness as your programming but they often use different sound patterns that make them louder and that needs to stop. I shouldn't have to turn the tv down when an add comes on and then when the program comes back on, it's like a silent film. annoying for everyone, not just the neighbors!
@Nic Fit:
The FCC is supposed to regulate that so that ads aren't louder. But I assume, like most other government regulations, they were completely gutted during the Bush reign o' terror.
Many a night I've fallen asleep while watching TV, only to be roused by the insanely loud sales pitch of:
Fact: commercials are aired at higher audio levels than the programming they air around. Why? Well, to make sure you're paying attention, and in my view, to ensure that you at least hear the audio during your bathroom break or your snack run.
Some offending commercials - specifically, locally-produced ads on local cable systems - are often twice as loud as the programming. It's kind of obnoxious, and I wish it would stop.
@TheHonJudgeSmails: He can usually be toned down a bit, if you own a .38, broom and dustpan.
I'm not sure if they are louder. Say you're watching some morose drama, then it's interrupted by dancing-singing tampon boxes. It may seem like it's louder, but that is an effect of the quieter sound levels of the programs they interrupt.
(I read this somewhere)
@TheHonJudgeSmails:
Imagine a pitch meeting.
INVENTOR
Hello.
BILLY MAYS
I'M BILLY MAYS!
INVENTOR
Wow, you're loud in person too.
BILLY (relative whisper)
It's all an act. I don't want my throat to bleed out like that Jordin Sparks, know what I'm saying?
INVENTOR
Actually, no.
BILLY
So whatcha got?
INVENTOR
I call it "Pragmatic Putty." In short, you can use it to hang 40-pound sculptures from the wall, seal broken bongs, and pull locomotives.
BILLY
Wow.
INVENTOR
...with your pinky finger.
BILLY
You don't say.
INVENTOR
So what do you think?
BILLY
Sorry, won't work. Next!
(INVENTOR dejected. He leaves. Enter SUZANNE SOMERS.)
BILLY (stopping SUZANNE in her tracks)
Not interested.
SUZANNE
But -
BILLY
I'M BILLY MAYS... AND I'M NOT INTERESTED!
SUZANNE (whimpers)
Okay.
BILLY
Next!
(NAKED BRAZILIAN WOMAN enters, bottle in hand.)
BRAZILIAN
Can I interest you in some Cabana Cachaça?
(BILLY is speechless. Gulps.)
BRAZILIAN (to camera, seductively)
Thank you, Mike Jahn.
Fin.
The British need to invest in a handy decibel meter.
@In Other News...: I laughed, I cried and it became a part of me.
I love the grandiose vocabulary of the Brits. For instance, where an American football announcer would say "Bam!," a British one would say "That was an indubitably propitious manoeuvre!"
I say, i rather think my ears are bleeding then?
+ Watch video
Well it's not a bad idea.
Does this mean summary execution for which ever Adult Swim exec came up with the 'Loud Airhorns' ad campaign?
@In Other News...: Hear, hear. It's freakin' obnoxious. Hate, hate, hate TV commercials and all they stand for.
This is why I love silent ads. That gimmick will always be a bold choice -- or at least I'll keep saying that til there are more of them.
This is genius. We NEED this here. If I hear 'In The Heights' one more fucking time explode in top volume while watching channel 4 in the morning, I'm going to kill myself.
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