Noise. Noise is everywhere, and it’s getting worse. There’s just one problem: it’s a silent poison. Advertisement has always been present in society, with the earliest evidence dating to Egypt around 3000 B.C. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the problem is ads themselves. They inform, inspire, entertain, and yes, sell. It’s the amount of ads and where they are that’s the issue. They are everywhere now more than ever, even getting into once-ad free spaces. This phenomenon is called “ad creeping,” and most people don’t even realize that it is happening. One example of this would be streaming services like Amazon Prime and Netflix. Once notorious for being ad-free, these sites crumbled to the pressure of the money in commercials. I was left feeling betrayed, believing that my subscription would mean no ads, a better alternative to regular cable TV. More of this “ad creeping” can be seen in broadcasted sports. There was a lot of uproar when advertisements made their way into the world of soccer through the A-League, the highest pro league in Australia and New Zealand, in the 2019/20 season. Soccer is not commercial-friendly, as the only break is at halftime. However, they appeared after a foul, goal, or injury. This completely ruins the flow and momentum of the game. The backlash resulting from this was so strong that the idea was scrapped a couple years later. College Football, unfortunately, hasn’t been able to escape it. Football has always had quite a lot of ads, but with the implementation of thirty second floaters (quick ad breaks during time outs, injuries, etc) in 2023, these games are almost too hard to watch now. I’ve had to just turn off the game at times because there were just too many commercials. I can’t use this same strategy on the road, though. The most dangerous and reckless form of advertisement is with the implementation of the “Ad Cars.” If you’ve seen one, you know what I’m talking about. They drive around with no destination in mind, only to influence those on the road. These trucks have a screen on each side, constantly switching through bright, colorful, and distracting ads. These things are an accident waiting to happen, not for the trucks, but for other people. I’ve seen my fair share of them. Every time it seemed impossible for me to not look at it, immediately pulling my eyes from the road, and therefore, safety. This just shows how far companies are willing to go to influence you and me. As I said before, it’s a silent poison, numbing us from how many there really are. It’s up to us to wake up and fight it before it’s too late.