Commercials are everywhere. They’re on our televisions and social media, in our movies, and play before our YouTube videos. It’s true that their omnipresence can frustrate me from time to time. Ads can be exhausting and occasionally make me feel like I’m being bombarded by capitalism. However, there remains a wealth of reasons why commercials are a great thing for us both as consumers and artists.
1. They Provide Jobs
Being an artist and/or filmmaker is classically one of the toughest fields as far as job security goes. I might not enjoy every car or fast food commercial I see on cable but I appreciate how they provide work for thousands of people. It’s tough to get experience as a director, cinematographer, editor, sound engineer, etc. Thankfully, there’s not likely to be a shortage of commercial work anytime soon. Each commercial made, whether it be video or audio, offers more opportunity for all of us to secure work in these positions. While these can still be difficult positions to get, this is a valuable professional resource for burgeoning artists as we work toward whatever it is we truly wish to be doing, such as working on films or shows. And, if your ultimate goal actually is to work on commercials, even better.
Behind-the-scenes of a Mini Cooper commercial.
2. Commercials and Product Placement Provide Budgets
Product placement in movies and TV shows has seen a dramatic increase in the past decade. Companies have learned that they prove more effective than traditional TV ad spots. These placements give products more context for the viewer. They force the viewer to emotionally connect the product with whatever show or movie they’re watching. Unfortunately, this form of advertising doesn’t exactly provide jobs like standard TV/radio/YouTube/etc commercials. However, they provide another very valuable service to the creative process. They furnish additional budget to the creators of the films and shows that feature them. Movies and shows are expensive to make (obviously) and making placement deals with companies is a brilliant way to provide artists with the high budgets they require to produce quality content for us to enjoy.