It's that time of year -- the time when hardcore NFL fans count down the minutes to the Super Bowl's opening kickoff. According to THE WEEK, nearly one-half of the American population watches the annual event on television, and as millions of fans grab a beer, put up their feet, and watch the Colts pummel the Eagles 28-10, a few people like myself will be more excited about the little bits between the downs: the commercials.
I haven't watched much television lately. Along with Jimmy John's, cable ended up being one of those joys of mine that I had to let go once my first rent bill came.
That was a year ago, and since then I've been much happier. All of a sudden, I had more free time ... to study, of course. Now, when I stop by friends' houses, I'm the one wanting the group to get out and experience the world. Even better, I have more energy to focus on what's truly important: my rap career.
My point is that even when I watched TV, I was slowly starting to be unhappy with the quality of the programming, with "The Montel Williams Show" and "Saved By the Bell" reruns in the morning, and "Everybody Loves Raymond," and "E! Wild On" at night -- nothing but poorly developed, sappy story lines and tacky dialogue everywhere I clicked. Eventually, the advertisements started becoming more entertaining than the shows I was watching. Especially the Nike ones.
To understand this phenomenon, you need to understand how these ads come about. Nike calls an advertising agency and tells them to make a 30-second spot for a new shoe. These ad people run out of the office and start working immediately. They have constant meetings and updates, storyboard ideas, write drafts of scripts, and form (essentially) a nonstop flow of designing for up to several months, all for this "annoying" little commercial that you felt interrupted the flow of Monica and Chandler's wedding.
A good commercial can take several months to get just right, whereas the shows we watch are violently thrown together in about six days. Clearly, it's much easier to make 30 seconds really fun and enjoyable than it is for 22 minutes. Besides, I'm young, and I've got an attention span of about seven seconds. I've got a bunch of expendable income to waste, and I'm currently accepting suggestions on how to do so.
The Super Bowl -- where 30 seconds can cost you $2 million -- is an easy example of the importance of television ads, but it was not the beginning. Back in the 1950s, in between chuckles, people always appreciated it when Lucille Ball took some time aside to let them know which cigarettes to smoke. You can go back pretty far in TV history and find at least some level of product placement in there.
Now that commercials are becoming more and more vital to the existence of our favorite shows, it's obvious that ads are here to stay, and if networks are going to continue to provide us with what they give us now, I'll even go as far as to say that if the ads weren't there, TV would be even worse.
You might as well relax and enjoy them. Especially the Nike ones.
Write to Greg at gttwiford@bsu.edu
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