Monday, May 28, 2012

Commercial - Free Days

Foggy Road and Oak, Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, USA

Advertising is designed to be catchy, to get into our memory. Most of us still remember decades-old slogans from companies like "Oscar Mayer," "Burger King," and "Coca - Cola."  We often remember them fondly.   Through commercials, organizations become familiar to us, and we begin to trust them. We end up choosing their products more often and even become loyal to their brand.

However, it is not necessary for us to hear or see commercials on a daily basis. We see ads in print publications, on the Internet, and in store displays. We hear them on television and on the radio. I don't think a single day has gone by that I haven't heard or been exposed to some kind of commercial.

The other day I realized how I am allowing this to happen, and it is interfering with my own creativity and plans. So what did I do? If I was in the car listening to the radio, and a commercial came on, I turned it off or changed the station. Why? Because most of the ads are not important to me. Why would I let myself listen to company pitches that I can't relate to, or that don't have anything to do with my shopping needs? It becomes junk to the mind, just like junk mail only worse - because it tends to stay in my thoughts!

Spring and Summer are easy seasons to avoid a great many commercials. Many of us are out camping, gardening, swimming, and doing all kinds of quiet activities that don't require artificial items (like TV) for recreation.   We are certainly shopping in department and grocery stores, but we tend to be quick- not wanting to waste our outdoor hours.   This will help limit our exposure to an abundance of advertising distractions.

Having hours, or days, of commercial - free living will keep life more simple.  Our focus should never be about what we should buy or what company we should be loyal to. It should be about church, family, creativity, and daily living.  Why would we need to have a commercial break for that?

Blessings
Mrs. White

From the Archives -


For those who wonder - How Can I Quit My Job and Stay Home?

Are You Overworked? - When Mother Feels Unappreciated.

How The Blue Laws took away a beloved custom - The Old Sunday Dinner.



An Invitation - Subscribe to The Legacy of Home and have it delivered directly to your email.



4 comments:

Noelle the dreamer said...

Excellent post Mrs. White! I find most commercials to be just another form of brainwashing and resent the invasion of my privacy.
Life is made of choices and I do not like anyone to make it for me.
And yes, life would be so much simpler, very true!
Blessings to you and yours on this national day of Remembrance!

Annie Kate said...

Oh, yes.

We have been blessed to be a TV-free household, and since I can't stand the radio, we rarely listen to it.

Avoiding commercials is one very practical way of obeying the 10th commandment.

I hate commercials...and nowadays I get them mainly from the internet. So thank you for not including any in this post! :)

sarah smith said...

my children rarely watch tv, and when they do, it is more often a video, or public television, which has no adds. one day i needed to go to Toys R Us (which i dont think any of my kids have ever been in prior to this) my neice was asking for a specific item for her birthday, and i new i could only find it at that store. my husband and i were almost in tears, laughong so hard as our children looked around amazed and in wonder of all the toys. they had never seen, or heard of anything we saw that day. my husband and i felt a great sence of pride, but im sure that any onlooker thought that we must keep our poor children locked in a closet all day lol. i can still hear my sweet daughter (who is 9 and still loves baby dolls) "mom look! this baby has a potty, and i think it really goes!"

Mrs. B, a very peculiar person said...

In celebration of my 3rd year and 300th post, you and your dear readers are invited to enter my anniversary give-a-way. Please hurry, the drawing will be held on Friday, June 1, 2012.
Blessings,
Mrs.B