Commercial breaks with common sense

There was a time when ads interrupted TV programmes at civilised intervals. A murder would be committed, a detective would raise an eyebrow, and the scene would dissolve, while viewers would be invited to purchase detergent. The arrangement, hardly Act 2 Scene 3, respected the elementary distinction between a sentence and a sales pitch. Increasingly, streaming platforms are now dispensing with such niceties. The dramatic effect is more and more resembling a neurological disorder.

Nobody seriously disputes advertising's economic importance. Media and entertainment pretty much live off someone trying to sell somebody something. But perhaps it's time to make ads refrain from bursting into the thick of things to discuss home loans. The problem isn't advertising but witless placement. Algorithms apparently sophisticated enough to predict a viewer's next purchase remain incapable of recognising the end of a sentence. Someone, if needed, AI, should distinguish a dramatic pause from an invitation to advertise face cream. Streaming services should introduce elementary commercial etiquette: commercials between organic scenes, at natural narrative breaks, preferably without increasing their frequency. Such restraint will benefit advertisers too. For, consumers irritated by an interruption are unlikely to develop tender feelings towards its sponsor.