When an Advertisement Doesn't Work

I was in San Francisco's Union Square at the beginning of the month and noticed a rather large billboard which has shrunken in significance since first put up. The poster is of Alex Smith, the former starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. The Nike poster (I'd post a picture, but I cannot locate one) boasts that "Speed Kills" and the irony in that phrase is that his current replacement is one of the fastest players in the NFL. The way things are looking, the replacement, Colin Kaepernick will end the season as the starter for the 'Niners unless something goes horrendously wrong. My question though, will the billboard of Alex stay? Or will it get out of town along with him?

End of Inte-YEAH RIGHT-rruption

You flip through a magazine and find yourself enthralled in an article on the annexation of Puerto Rico when all of the sudden BOOM, there it is. As if you couldn't smell it coming from a mile away, Chanel No. 5 has made its way through your nasal cavity and has transformed itself into a raging headache.

Later that day you're enjoying your Christmas music for free via Pandora Internet Radio when, after hearing 3 mediocre jingles, BOOM, there it is. "Are you tired? Do sugary, high-caffeine energy drinks not work for you? Are you sick of crashes and jitters from your energy supplements? (or something like that) Then you need 5 Hour Energy!"
 

Later you're driving to pick up dinner for the family and you flip on the radio and tune into your favorite local sports talk station. After hearing two blowhards yell at each other for 10 minutes straight about who has the best uniforms in professional hockey you're treated to a commercial break starting with the famous blue pill, Viagra. Well, there you have it, now you know what to do if this product "works" for more than 4 hours and you now know how to excite the love of your life.

Why? Why do we have to go through with this madness?! Well, that's a simple question and a simpler answer: the almighty dollar. And for as long as there is media, there will be the interruption of advertising. Pandora can provide free internet radio because they are paid by the sponsors and they are obligated to advertise that product on air. As for the Viagra on the radio, well that's advertising to the demographic, but that will also continue because they get paid by sponsors as well. And then when it comes to television, the king of advertising, that will certainly never end. Television is the most involved with advertising and the most lucrative of these four media sources.