Every day, I'm bombarded (and I think that war-like metaphor is apt) with advertising. Even though I don't watch much TV, and don't listen to commerical radio, I can't escape the creeping encroachment of advertising into every last corner of society.
Most commericals are brainless and only vaguely insulting to the intellegence. Every so often, a commerical will actually be entertaining - my personal favorite is the Malibu rum commerical, with the late chicken bus. I always get a laugh at the last scene, where the bicyclist pulls up behind the bus and says, "oh, man, it's total gridlock!" It perfectly sums up the rediculousness of modern American urban life.
But, on the other end of the spectrum, there are some commericals that go beyond being annoying and stupid. Some outright piss me off. The list is long, but for today, I'm going to pick on just one.
The thing is, the commerical *itself* isn't so terrible. It's a commercial for some drug to treat "restless leg syndrome." What pisses me off about it is: a) while Restless Leg Syndrome may indeed be real, and annoying, it only affects 10% of the population (according to the commerical), and b) trying to peddle more drugs to treat such a minor condition as that is just wrong.
I also get pissed off when I see this commerical because endometriosis affects 10% or more of American women. It is extremely painful, debilitating, and can be life-threatening. Yet I don't see any commercials for any new treatments for it. I never see a foundation or a fundraiser or even a stupid ribbon dedicated to finding a cure. It's as if it doesn't even exist.
But then again, it's just a women's disease. And those aren't really important.