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DIRECTV is airing a new ad touting its multiroom viewing technology, in which two robots are battling each other in different rooms of a house. The homeowner pauses the action as he walks from one room to another. The voiceover says, “With DIRECTV, you can start watching in one room, pause, and continue in another room.”
Is this really necessary? In 2011? We’re on the verge of a double-dip recession and the commercial focuses on a guy who has a television in the kitchen, the living/dining room, and the bedroom. Sure I know people who have this many TVs (not me) but more to the point: The man paused the action on his bedroom television in order to get something to drink. This took maybe three minutes. Could he really not wait three minutes? His televisions are on in three different rooms and he has to keep watching the fight scene as he goes from bedroom to living/dining room to kitchen and back. This guy really couldn’t wait? Is he that impatient? And what about his wife in bed? She’s got to watch the fight sequence start and stop numerous times as her husband moves from place to place. Why not have a commercial where he keeps watching on TVs in the hallway, the bathroom, the pantry, and the staircase?

What does this commercial say about our attention spans?

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