Advertisements

Raised in Europe, my previous television watching experience has relied on being in a small welfare state. Before coming to America I had never been exposed to the vast quantity of medical ads that run on TV here simply because healthcare is something European states provide for – no need to advertise drugs, the state picks your blood pressure reducing drug. This can also be applied to education: the proliferation of regional commercials advertising community colleges does not have a European counterpart. Furthermore, I have found the combination of both national and region-specific commercials entertaining, simply because the latter are so often atrocious. These points relate to the quality of advertisements, but the sheer quantity of them on American TV needs to be noted. A typical 30-minute show in Holland will have one four-minute commercial break and would never have a commercial break before the credits. In fact, when American shows are brought over to Europe, it’s noticeable when American audiences would cut to commercials (but in Holland the show just keeps on running).