I love commercials. They are free, good for the economy, and often entertaining. I don't like public service announcements or the highly politicized prescription drug advertisements much, but normal everyday commercials are overall a thing of joy.
Am I never impatient to have a commercial end? Of course not. But even someone you love might get on your nerves once in a while. Same with TV ads, billboards, and online pop-ups.
A number of times I have felt down in life, only to be uplifted by a great commercial. I remember on 9/11, with all my libertarian, antiwar Berkeley buddies huddled around the TV in the duplex some of us rented, the horrific news, including talking heads calling for the practical slaughter of every first-born Muslim son, was just tough to take all day. The occasional break was such a relief. Where would we be without those reminders that there was more out there than terrorism and war and politicians and hatred -- there were glorious products and services, man offering his labor and time to his fellow man? I get teary eyed just thinking about it.
Yes, I fast-forward through commercials and some TV shows are better uninterrupted on DVD. But there is something great about those short breaks to talk with your fellow couch potatoes, to use this restroom, to nuke some popcorn, to see what else is on. Sometimes the ads are better than the programming, and the entertainment value is only getting better thanks to the indirect competition of the internet, youtube, cable, netflix and a thousand other institutions of the (admittedly fettered) marketplace.
Yes, TV spots as we know them are probably on their way out. This is all because of capitalism, including the crucial role of commercials. I will look back at them with nostalgia, I'm sure, thanking them for making society richer, even as many people demonize them with socialist myths about how they demonstrate the inefficiency of the market.
Here's a favorite from my childhood:
Ah. Free music, too. Jingles are one of those unfairly smeared arts of our time.
