Commercials Have Found Their True Place

This week my wife and I were introduced to the wonder that is Hulu.com (not to be confused with Zulu, the African people group I inadvertently found myself reading about while attempting to score a free episode of Arrested Development). What an amazing web site, though. All those episodes and even movies just floating around to be watched at any given moment. The only catch is that there are between 3 and 5 15-30 second commercials in each video depending on the length of the chosen video. Given what TV has become and the sheer turf war that an actual show has become engaged in with the commercial realm, 15-30 seconds is nothing to scoff at.
Many still complain that these commercials are an outrage and should keep themselves bound to banners and annoying pop-ups, which take only about 1-2 seconds to close, like every other proper internet advertisement. However, I have decided to welcome these "commercials" as their existence and format are a peripheral tell-tale as to what commercials really are. I thought of this the last time sitting through one of these very commercials. Each commercial is not only 30 seconds max, but comes fully equipped with a counter in the top, left hand corner of the screen as a constant reassurance that it will all be over soon. I can't even tell you what any of the commercials I've seen while watching shows on Hulu were even selling because I was too busy watching the numbers get smaller on the counter.

This can be thought of as a mid-mindless entertainment time brain booster math problem, or a countdown to a climax (when the commercials place themselves correctly). Those are both workable purposes for the counter, but what I have come away with is the joy of seeing commercials for what they really are. Commercials are that person that you're already pre-annoyed with for whatever reason who comes up to you begging, "hear me out, come on, it will only take a moment," at which time, as we've all done before, you respond with, "fine, you have 10 seconds," only in Hulu's case, they get 15 to 30 seconds (Hulu can also teach us something of mercy).