LETTERS ~ CRTC Complaint ~ Commercials Are Often Too Loud!

The CRTC are currently accepting comments regarding the high volume levels for commercials.  Apparently there have been many complaints, over the years, about this problem, yet little has been done to ensure that broadcasters do not "blast" their listeners with advertising jingles.  The CRTC will accept comments until April 30, 2011.  For more information on the CRTC's website, click here.

Alisdair learned about this issue and wrote the following letter to the CRTC, which we have just mailed to the Secretary General of the Commission in Ottawa, regarding this topic.

"Dear Sir/Madam,

I’m an 11 year old boy and I think Canada needs a law that prevents commercials from getting LOUD. Why do we have to touch the remote each time a commercial break happens? Many Canadians have to do this, due to the LOUD commercials.  They shouldn’t have to do this!  In fact, even I have to use the remote when a commercial break comes on, because my Mum says, “Can you turn that down?”  This is bad for all Canadians.

I understand you may go to your fridge and get a Coke (or something of the sort) and a commercial comes on, and you are away from the TV, so they increase the volume.  Otherwise, how will Company ‘A’ tell you not to use Brand ‘B’ and then convince you why their product is so much better?  Although, that may make sense, it hurts ears, is annoying, and Canadians shouldn’t have to put up with it!

If I read correctly the first thing in the Introduction of the “Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2011-102,” it says, "Over the years, the loudness of commercial messages relative to adjacent programming has been the subject of many complaints."  This means this has been going on for years and isn’t new – yet you are only taking action now? If you really thought solving this problem was important to Canadians, (which it is), you would have done something sooner.

“No time like the present” is a saying we all know. I’m glad J  you’re trying to fix it now, but next time please act sooner.  We are proud that we are Canadian but we aren’t proud our commercials are louder than the shows we watch on TV.

We would be proud if the law made these commercials go off the air and made the advertisers record new ones at a sound recording limit).

Thanks for trying to stop LOUD commercials from irritating us, as Canadians, and taking away the hassle of touching the remote each time a commercial break takes place."

It will be interesting to see if Alisdair gets a response to this letter.