Take Out the TV Trash
I get that these days everyone has to take advantage of low cost advertising opportunities where they find them. But can we cool it with the screen litter?
I’m talking about all the stuff cluttering our television screens. It started, of course, with the ubiquitous crawls running along the bottom of news programs. During a time of crisis, these can provide essential information. But on a typical day? Not so much. Angelina Jolie is adopting a kitten? Wow! Thanks for sharing! That’s much more important than anything happening in Washington!
Speaking of D.C., I was pleased that the tickers were off during the inauguration coverage I watched, although I’m not sure we needed the huge “THE INAUGURATION OF BARACK OBAMA” banners at the bottom of the screen. If someone didn’t know what they were watching, they…oh hell, everyone on the planet knew what they were watching.
This morning while getting ready for work, I glanced over at the cartoon my son was watching on Nicktoons. In the corner was a clock counting down the minutes to the premiere of “Wolverine and the X-Men,” which debuts Friday night.
Now, thanks to numerous commercials over the last few months, my kids were already well aware of the show and asked me to set the DVR to record. What’s the point of the clock? Should I keep them out of school and camped out in front of the TV in anticipation of the start?
Toon Disney (yes, we see a lot of cartoons in my house, what about it?) has been running a Disney XD logo on screen recently. I had no clue what this screen litter was until I searched online and discovered it was going to be the channel’s new moniker starting in February. Apparently, they’re going to start aiming for the boy audience, while Disney Channel goes after the girls with things like “High School Musical.”
Is the logo going to help brainwash my kids into watching? Admittedly, it won’t hurt, but they’re more program than channel loyal (as they should be).
Oh well. I guess these logos are better than the annoying animated images of people running along the bottom of the screen or waving at me to promote the next show. Those just make me want to go do something drastic—like turn off the TV and read a book. Horrors.
