Emergency Services Sirens & Blaring horns in radio adverts ?

Raiser

Anyone else thinks that it is potentially dangerous to have Sirens and blaring horns feature suddenly in radio adverts when the exact same sound is meant to warn motorists of Emergency Services vehicles arriving at speed ?

- A lot of money is poured into advertising and it seems to me that for maximum effect they raise the volume a bit and also bring in the sound effect quite suddenly to grab the listeners attention.

I live near the Mid-West Regional Hospital in Limerick and very frequently have Ambulances overtaking me as I make my way home - so maybe I'm more jumpy than the average driver out there

- I reckon those warning sounds should be reserved for helping heart-attack victims etc. get timely medical care and to assist the Gardai in arresting scum - not in filling some advertising industry Gob$hites wallet.......

DMC

A complaint to the ASAI would be a good idea.

http://www.asai.ie/

monkeyfudge

I believe there are actually a bunch of rules about sounds you can't play on the radio... but I don't think they are too well known.

I know bird song is a big no-no as it can lead to confusing actual birds.

mike65

I agree! I drive for a living and do not like to hear extraneous sound-effects which could be coming from right behind me!

Mike.

11.3 SECONDS

O.P., it makes no odds in certain circumstances.

Specifically, have you noticed the number of motoring idiots - often but not always those cool young doods of both sexes - who insist on driving around with their car stereos operating at a pulsating level of violent noise ?

It is possible to drive a fire engine up behind them with blues and twos in operation and they are blissfully undisturbed ! :mad: :mad:

MiniD

Raiser wrote:

Anyone else thinks that it is potentially dangerous to have Sirens and blaring horns feature suddenly in radio adverts when the exact same sound is meant to warn motorists of Emergency Services vehicles arriving at speed ?

- A lot of money is poured into advertising and it seems to me that for maximum effect they raise the volume a bit and also bring in the sound effect quite suddenly to grab the listeners attention.

I live near the Mid-West Regional Hospital in Limerick and very frequently have Ambulances overtaking me as I make my way home - so maybe I'm more jumpy than the average driver out there

- I reckon those warning sounds should be reserved for helping heart-attack victims etc. get timely medical care and to assist the Gardai in arresting scum - not in filling some advertising industry Gob$hites wallet.......

Raiser, can I ask what ad features this siren sound effect? Generally the use of sirens is restricted and it is irresponsible of both the advertiser and radio station to run such ad.
There are codes in place regarding these effects, and there are plans next year to also restrict the use of a ringing phone at the beginning of a radio commercial.

While some people don't like sound effects, they are sometimes essential to create an image or to create a scene. If used right, there shouldn't be a problem.

bkehoe

I too hate the use of horns and sirens on the radio. If I hear then I usually turn down the radio to make sure they're not real, and it's an unnecessary distraction.

VeeEmmy

bkehoe wrote:

...I usually turn down the radio to make sure they're not real....

I do exactly the same thing, so the advert is lost on me! ha.
I hear it in music sometimes too.

I haven't heard an ad with a siren sound in it for a while. Maybe just lucky lately. It is very disconcerting. But I did hear one in a song yesterday morning. Can't remember what song.

Someone asked above what ad... I can't remember that either. I turn it down!

When advertisers do annoying things (sirens, loud volume) to "attract my attention," it leaves me with negative feelings toward that advertiser... even if I can't remember who it was later. Doesn't seem like a good thing to me!

Ban

bkehoe

There's one on Beat here at the moment - something to do with road safety, drink driving, etc! :eek:

Matamoros

At least, I'm not the only one thinking this. I was at traffic lights in Dublin before X-Mas and heard an Ad with a siren in it and immediately reacted to see where it was coming from. No need for this at all, in fact it makes me decide not to buy the product or service if the Ad annoys me. Don't get me started on the Eircom Phonewatch commercials but on the plus side the one for Blueface is quite good.

mike65

Blueface? Thats audio porn! S(i)emens, "come (pause)", "a monster" etc...listen to it again!

Mike.