Local Television Commercials

When I watch TV, I always know where I am. Sure, the shows may be the same, and most of the commercials are, too, but not all of them. Every area has its own local commercials fr local businesses. Maybe the local pizza shop or shoe store will take air the occasional ad. You will also see the commercials for whichever grocery store your area has. But no matter where you are, it always comes down to lawyers and car dealerships.

Everywhere I have ever been has their own lawyers and car dealerships. There are about 5 of each in every location, too. Each one of them has their own commercials. The lawyers always show the same commercial they've been airing for the last 5-10 years. The dealerships are always advertising the latest sale they're having (are cars ever not overstocked, priced to move, or otherwise on sale?).

I hate these commercials so much. Terrible production quality, bad acting, stupid attempts at persuasion. And yet, there is a certain comfort in them. When you spend 5-10 years making fun of the same commercial, it becomes a ritual. It is part of my home. Local TV commercials are stupid, but my local TV commercials are special. When I spend 4 months away from them and come back to that same horrendous theme song and tag line, it reminds me hohw long I've been away and how nice it is to come back.

This is an incredibly minute detail in life, but it is in the minutia that we truly experience the world. When you write, remember details like the local TV commercials. Show that love-hate relationship with them. When people are away from their hometown, show how the commercials are still about car dealerships and lawyers, but not the right ones. The theme songs and tag lines aren't right. It isn't enough to throw a person into madness, but it is enough to make them feel uncomfortable when they're trying to relax.