Advertisements: The third angle

Are advertisements meant to be a break in between your favourite serial or show, so that you can complete your all important work side by side? For me they aren't. I'm generally on a look out for these fillers and hence an ardent viewer. Generally their jingles stay in my mind. However, I've started looking at them in another perspective. In order to catch the mood of the audience, these ads show subtle pictures of our society. They show things to which common audience can relate to. For instance, take the new ad of Bajaj XCD wherein its pride owner tries to mock a stranger with his own choice of bike. The ad clearly shows that today people take more pleasure in other's losses. Why would a person nudge a complete stranger at a red light and make him realise that he made a wrong decision? Whenever it's about money related issues, ads always show a daughter coming to the rescue and proving to her parents that she has now become the son they never had. These kind of ads try to attach a sympathy factor with them. You would always approve of such ads which show an emancipated women. Another case is the life insurance ads which depict the growing insecurity among the people. Whenever a wife finds her husband lying lifelessly on a couch, first thing which comes to her mind is death. A comfortable nap never crosses her mind. However, such ads become efficacious only when the audience can put themselves in the character's shoes. It's when they see a disaster looming that they go in for insurance. But some ads are good just because of their humour quotient. Bingo ads, though meaningless, leave a giggle on one's face. So, next time when you look at any ad see for the subtle signs. And who knows you might find them more interesting than the main program itself.