Lots of people are talking about issues with advertisement in today’s stuffy mediascape. I stopped watching television a while ago and I rarely read offline print but I do “consume media” online. And “media” still mostly means advertisement-supported business models, at this point in Internet history.

So I get to think about ads, on occasion. For instance, while watching The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. And one thing I notice fairly consistently is that I quite like television commercials for cars.

Those who know me might be puzzled as I’ve never had a driver’s license, I never bought a car, and I have no plans to buy a car in the foreseeable future. But that’s precisely a reason for me to enjoy car ads: they really don’t seem to affect me. If I ever buy a car, I’ll be as careful a shopper as I can be. There’s a slight possibility that some of the incredibly large number of car ads I’ve seen in my life might influence me. But that’s rather unlikely, given the saturation level with commercials from automobile makers. It’s also unlikely that I would influence other people based on my perception of a car manufacturer based on their marketing since I rarely remember which car is made by which company.

So I occasionally pay attention to those car ads, having in mind the notion that I’m relatively immune to them. And I frequently enjoy them. They’re often well-produced, they sometimes contain fun little bits, and are almost never obnoxious.

What’s funny about this specific case is that a car ad came on right after I watched a segment about oil prices.

Even funnier is the fact that the still image ad displayed on the page while I watch these segments is a campaign for the local transit system (Capital Metro). The campaign does influence me as the grand prize is one of Apple’s Touch devices and I’ve been lusting over those for a while. Yet I probably won’t enter this contest since I don’t evaluate my chances of winning to be rather low. The fact that ad may influence in terms of taking the bus is quite irrelevant since I already use the bus very frequently (except for when I walk or when I end up getting a ride with someone). I already support Capital Metro and I’m quite favorable to the very idea of using public transit. So I find Capital Metro’s campaign quite enjoyable

So… Another neat thing about being a compulsive pedestrian.

Hey, it gives me an idea for a new blog.