My boys are big sports fans. Nary a day goes by when they are not watching football, college basketball, hockey, you name it. My younger son reminds me of myself at his age—he is a fount of trivial sports knowledge and a true sports junkie at the age of eight. In fact, I remember one night about a year ago marveling about his sudden infatuation with professional lacrosse, which was showing on television. Anything is interesting at bedtime, right?I have no real qualms about my sons liking sports, although I think it is important not to overdo it. There is one thing, though, that bothers me quite a bit. That is, while I don’t mind them watching sports on TV, I have grown increasingly concerned (and disgusted) over the content of commercials. Any more, they seem to be almost constantly laden with sexual and crude innuendos, off-color humor, mature subject matter (i.e. the inundation of Viagra ads), and graphic pictures (i.e. ads for horror movies, which I’ve especially noticed lately). This downward spiral has been going on for quite some time, I realize that. But I have come to a point where I ask, why should my son have to be exposed to this type of material at such a young age when all he is doing is trying to watch an otherwise appropriate sporting event? And for that matter, why should I have to be exposed to it?
So, for the last few years, in our house, we have started something new. When we watch TV—sports or otherwise—we mute the commercials. We just don’t listen to them. And while this in theory does not shield us from disturbing or inappropriate visual images, I have noticed that muting the TV tends to take our focus away from it altogether. All in all, I have found it to be a significant step in the right direction.
Despite my best efforts, however, there are periods when I forget, or the family gets lazy about it, and we don’t mute the television during commercials. Usually, though, after hearing some of the typical fare, I am reminded that we need to start “muting” again.
This reminds me—there is something that has been bothering me that I need to get off of my chest. During one of these lapses, I saw a commercial or two for Volkswagen. The theme of the ads is that various people are playing “punch buggy”—you know, the old game from our childhood where you punch someone in the arm when you see a Volkswagen Beetle and say “(red/blue/green/etc.) punch buggy.” I know there are different variations of punch buggy, but the game is centered around the Beetle, a.k.a the "buggy." The problem is, these ads (at least the ones I saw) are not for the Beetle, but for some other Volkswagen product—an SUV, a sedan, or some such.
After about the second time I saw this, I found myself getting kind of riled up and on the verge of screaming in protest at the television, “Wait just a minute! ‘Punch buggy’ is only for BUGGIES! It’s not for any old Volkswagen automobile! All of America knows that. DOESN’T VOLKSWAGEN KNOW ITS OWN GAME?” How dare they tarnish the honor of one of America’s great travel games in an effort to sell their other products! Shame on them!
Okay, it probably sounds silly to you, but thanks for letting me vent on this critically important topic. I feel unburdened now. And just to be clear, this is my only gripe with the Volkswagen ads, that is, they are not inappropriate in the ways I have described above.
At any rate, I believe it’s time to redouble my efforts at muting commercials.
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P.S.
Wouldn’t you know it—these commercials have got us playing ‘punch buggy’ on car trips lately. We count any Beetle as fair game, though in almost all cases, we see the newer model Beetles that have come out in the last decade or so. The other day, however, I saw one of the classic 60s-era Beetles, and dutifully punched my eight year old (don’t take that out of context, please). My wife and I laughed as he wildly protested, “That’s not a buggy!” Naturally, we had to explain that once upon a time there was an older model of buggy . . . you just don’t see too many of them anymore. It’s comments like that that make a guy feel middle-aged.
GOOD FOR YOU!!!!
ReplyDeleteI, like you, am often offended by the increasingly CRUDE, and occasionally foul, content of many commercials. I’m sure many might find me slightly paranoic, but I detect a small, perverse element in the media world who simply scheme and plot to bring filth and nudity into TV fare. One example: a brief spot at the end of a TRU TV program where some guys were acting stupidly and one man stripped bare and showed full frontal nudity. It only lasted 3-4 seconds, too quick to turn off or even react. But the fact that it played at all gives some insight into the perverse minds of the channel’s producers!
As for the “punch buggy” ad, I view it as slightly pathetic. Volkswagon has been trying for 30 years to re-capture it’s 60’s “beetle” fame by recalling it in commercials. Hey Volkswagon guys, move on! It isn’t working.
you are definitely not paranoid about this. in my adult life, i have seen, on probably three or four occasions, television interviews with actors/screen writers/directors who have specifically stated that they see it as their job to "push the envelope" in terms of language, sexual situations, crudity, etc. on television. i think it is safe to say, especially given what we see day-in and day-out, that if a few are saying it, many more are thinking and doing it.
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