Stupid Advertisements, Part I

Perhaps those of you who listen to the radio have heard the following advertisement:

A fake news story or traffic report is read by a fake radio newscaster. Just as the story gets to the really important facts, the fake story is cut off. That beeping sound you hear when you dial a disconnected number is played, followed by the voice of a fake operator telling you to deposit twenty five cents for the next three minutes. Finally, the deep baritone of another radio voice is heard. “Radio – Some things just ought to be free. This advertisement brought to you by America’s thousands of local radio stations.” (Or something along those lines)

The lonely libertarian is just baffled as to the point of the advertisement, and baffled as to why anyone would make such an ad in the first place.

Obviously, it’s supposed to be a jab at satellite radio, which has grown in popularity as of late, mainly because of the move of Howard Stern to Sirius. Obviously, people willing to pay for satellite radio are willing to do so because they believe that both the amount and the quality of the content they receive via satellite is far greater than what they can receive via free traditional local radio. And equally obvious is that local radio will always have a niche in providing local news, weather, and traffic. So once again, what is the point of this ad? The point seems to be that radio should be free, not that local radio is more worth listening to than satellite. Soooo … if we’d like to listen to Howard Stern on Sirius, we shouldn’t because …. Radio should be free?

I don’t get it either.