Sick of Booming Ads? Help's on the Way From DC

If you’re tired of being blasted by a loud commercial right after a quiet scene in your favorite TV show, a California representative hears you loud and clear—and wants to do something about it, Advertising Age reports. US Rep. Anna Eshoo introduced legislation in June to bar commercials from booming louder than the TV shows they interrupt. Annoyed viewers cheered her efforts, but marketers are less than thrilled.

Marketers don’t want the government telling them how loud they can be, and may have no “control over where the ad shows up,” says an industry advocate. For many advertisers, the key goal is to be heard. That strategy may not make sense, says an analyst: Too much volume can lead to “ad irritation” and hurt sales. But these arguments may be moot: With the move to digital TV, the industry will implement a software algorithm that will allow TVs to adjust volume based on a show's average dialogue level.
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