Are Commercials Getting Louder and Louder?

If So, Who's Responsible and Can You Do Anything About It?

Loud commercials-have you heard 'em? In fact, are commercials getting louder and louder? Consider this scenario happening everyday across America, and you make the call.

You're watching a television program. Let's say it's Dancing with the Stars. Lots of music playing, and dancing, and loud applauding with the ending of each dancing team's performance is going on, right. They go to a commercial break, and suddenly you're lunging across the room for the remote because the commercial is blaring much LOUDER than the regular programming. "Where's the remote, where's the remote, WHERE'S THAT CONFOUNDED REMOTE!!!"

Now, some of us download TV commercials to watch over and over for viewing pleasure, or for work, because of having a vested interest in the Clio Awards, or a bigger paycheck and a "job well done" from the advertising agency boss. Others seek out banned commercials, or classic commercials, for viewing out of curiosity, or for taking a walk down memory lane. (See the end of this article for a great link to classic commercials)

Some of us love watching funny commercials, and find ourselves talking about them with friends. The wildly popular Budweiser commercials of yesteryear come to mind. My funny bone is still tickling years later from the kick I got out of one of the super bowl commercials-the Budweiser commercial-where zebras (real world slang for referees) kept reviewing a play which had Clydesdale horses as the players.

But what about the other 10,000 commercials that are increasingly annoying, and seemingly louder and louder than the regular programming they interrupt-in my opinion? What does the FCC have to say about this, who's responsible, and can you do anything about it?

The FCC says they do not regulate the volume of commercials. They go on to say that a commercial being too loud is a judgment call with each individual listener. At this point, I'd refer our tax-created government agency supposedly governing for the benefit of its governed to the above scenario being played out everyday across America.