Advertising is a massive component of everyday culture. Ads have been a part of cultural history for many years, however it seems that we have reached a point of extreme commercialization today; superficial and unnecessary. I remember watching plenty of action figure and super soaker ads back on Saturday mornings as a kid, but in the past few years ads have made a successful attempt to dominate the internet as well.
Most media is now digital, people watch TV shows through free streaming websites that post ads all over your screen or even through free TV network apps that give you regular commercial breaks. The DVR gave people the ability to record shows and replay them later, giving the ability to fast forward through commercials, however more TV shows that I watch implement product placement as a way of unavoidable advertising. This is also present in many films I have seen in the past year, The Amazing Spiderman and Wreck It Ralph were notoriously ad-heavy although they were both great movies.
On my Xbox 360 Dashboard, a hub for downloads and gaming news, I had to update my Xbox so now ads stream on the main screen, even if I don’t choose to sign into Xbox LIVE. There’s no alternative to these ads. The most saddening and frustrating examples of commercialization have surfaced very recently on both Facebook and Youtube. Facebook suggests Pages I “might like” such as Target, Walmart, or Nike so I can receive “new deals” which really means you volunteer yourself for more ads. Additionally, when looking at someone’s photos, they advertise right by the comment bar. It’s not even subtle anymore! Youtube, which was once ad-free and growing in popularity, was bought by Google and had ads implemented on screen once your video has played 10 seconds and before the video starts! You have to wait five seconds before you can skip the ad.
Pop culture is becoming addicted to its own past in more than just musical aspects, Mad Men is an extremely successful television series about advertising during the 1960s. Ads are definitely a part of our lives that may be unavoidable, but is it really necessary to be smothered by them, and if so where will it stop? Although ads remain to be interesting parts of our culture, I feel overwhelmed and out of control with them.