Mind Control or just Advertising?

Funny thing has been happening lately, I like watching the TV but hate the adverts. Sound familiar, anyway I switched to a digital box to view programs and when i did the sound during the breaks went up 25% so your watching a movie reasonably loud then comes the break and the sound goes ballistic you scramble for the remote to turn it down. Then the movie restarts but you cant hear it so you turn it up and the circle begins a new.

This alone is just annoying but for the past 2 years my son and daughter 5 & 3 years old have no interest in tv apart from teletubbies except when the adverts come on, then they stop what they are doing and go zombie on me staring blankly at the screen during the 'message from our sponsor' until the adverts have finished then spring back into life again.

This is beginning to make me think something is going on with the adverts.

Anyway what u think? Load of bull or something to worry about? regards.

One thing why does it seem to be just children are young minds being programmed for the future?

I thought that the adds were always louder than the programs?
I could be wrong though, but always seems to be the way here in
Australia.
Might have a search later see if I can find something on Google.

In my opinion, you have identified (with the example of the children) the deliberate mind-programatic nature of the advertising component of television air-time. For both children and adults, the advertising promotes iconography: the worship of a future "me" symbolised by the icons which are being "sold" through the advertisements. Both children's and adult advertising are hypnotic, prescriptive, and (of course) non-participatory. And that's just the advertising component of TV. I am not a parent, but if I were, my predisposition against television would be apparent in my contribution to the parental decisions.

With respect and best wishes
--libertad

Neither. Just the volume levels are different when they make the switch from Program to Commercial.

The reason that commercials are so loud is becouse they use a "compressor" on the sound. this is a device that make low sound levels louder and high levels less loud and the compress them to a common "loud" level... They just use every inch of soundspace available (spelling?)

The same thing happens here in Australia, there was some uproar about it a while ago but it is still being practiced on a few channels, how they get people to buy their products using this technique confuses me, they are willing to try anything that might work on a conscious or subconscious level.

Yeah i have noticed that for ages- it is really annoying because you have to turn the tv down- but i think that they put it louder so you take notice sub conciously ( bad spelling lol)- but i am ont to turn over when the adverts come on.

I'm not sure whether they do it on telly anymore- but Mcdonalds used to advertise through subliminal messaging- they would just flash a big Mcdonalds 'M' on the screen- just for a split second- and then you would be sat there like 'did that just happen'?- but i have heard that it has been banned- but im not sure

I get Sky and they do it all the time. It's quite annoying.

yup.. as sebastiaan says, it's because of the use of compression. I'm pretty sure this is added by the producers of the commercials themselves, rather than the broadcaster, so as to attract attention to the advert... I many be wrong in this though.

The peak volume level is the same. All broadcasters transmit programming at the maximum "volume" available within the system so as to keep the signal/noise ratio as high as possible thereby maximising quality. Regular programming isn't compress as much though, mainly because it is unpleasant to listen to.

It's really just an audio equivalent of using bright colours. It just happens to be a lot more annoying!

Wish they would stop though with the level thing. As for the adverts its still kind of freaky the way my kids turn off then on again guess i'll need to ban adverts from now on and watch the beeb. Hold on i feel the need to buy a 4x4, go on holiday and get a loan to pay for it all. Funny that was the last three adverts i watched lol.