Regarding last week’s theory on television advertising, I am aware many of you will think me ignorant for missing the obvious fact: fewer people are watching television advertisements thus more advertising must be done to achieve the same result.

If you thought that, perhaps you’re the one who’s a little obtuse.

Sure, in this modern world of MySky, NetFlix, Spotify, and a whole lot more catchy names that you can be damn sure will never make their way into my home – in television or dictionary format – many people are effectively paying a fee to avoid advertising; or so they think.

One can never avoid the scourge that is advertising, for advertising is what makes the world go around…

Advertising pays the wages of professional sportspeople and in some cases it even pays for the sport itself. Advertising dictates what we see and how frequently we see it, also what we do and how frequently we do that. Through psychotically clever mental manipulation, through deceptively worded promotional displays; through seductive offers engendering a sensation of longing and provocative deals intended to arouse irrepressible desire, advertising ensures our lives follow a particular path of consumer decadence.

…In truth I am not certain of advertising’s ability to create a gravitational force resulting in a planet’s orbit but certainly, it is a controlling force spread liberally over our planet’s surface.

While it is a fact that more people are paying for unadulterated viewing, one need only take into account the increased viewer base from ten years ago giving strength to my theory that television advertising is as influential today as it ever was.

So there.

Article by Tim Walker

Edited by Con Sue Muir

Photography by Affar Ty Singh