Too Many Ads

When accessing any form of media, you will come across adverts. Whether its videos on YouTube, podcasts and music on Spotify, shows on ITV X or before the film starts in the cinema. Marketing is everywhere, its genuinely inescapable. When out and about, there are adverts on sides of busses and bus stops, huge billboards and posters plastered about. How are adverts supposed to be memorable when there is so much competition?

I've noticed recently watching I'm a Celebrity, break intervals are so common and its so infuriating as a viewer to have your entertainment interrupted for companies to shove their products in your face with the most boring, humourless adverts. Companies like ITV indulge this though, as the more popular the show, the more money they can charge for an advert slot. Additionally, the show is even sponsored, making the viewers watch the same advert before and after each advert interval which becomes even more infuriating.

When watching YouTube videos, you get adverts which used to be skippable. However now you are forced to watch multiple lengthy adverts, no option to skip. Then when the video starts, the creator will say "this video is sponsored by" and they continue to sell you another product. I find it similar with podcasts too.

When you go shopping, products often time have brand deals, where a product may be themed of a new piece of media coming out soon as a part of the marketing campaign. The most recent example I can think of for this is Wicked. I bought a bag of popcorn the other day and it had the two main characters plastered all over the packaging, what is the correlation? There have been collaborations with Stanley Cup, Primark, monopoly, multiple makeup brands, Lego, Target and even an advent calendar was made. Surely this promotes excessive consurism and profit, rather than genuine interesting products for fans of the film.

Sometimes, the amount of money going into marketing and advertisement, it has the opposite effect. When I become over exposed to something, I'm often inclined to get fed up of seeing it, "ugh that's everywhere" "not that again". I think companies should focus on making genuine and interesting marketing campaigns, rather than splashing out with every brand that wants to collaborate with them. Adverts would be more effective if there was less of them and less competition. Companies are more focuses in constantly churning out rushed, characterless adverts than ones crafted smartly and delicately.