Charleston – January 20, 2019 – Wanting to watch the New England Patriots vs Kansas City Chiefs game without the luxury of a television (I cut that cable a decade ago), I researched and dialed-up a group of live streams I could watch from my laptop, and clicked upon one that lead me to a feed of the CBS Sports call from Canada. It was a CTV channel I’d never heard of before, and boy am/was I glad for the experience!

I, who usually hate commercials, found myself loving them on CTV! Their production was so refreshing and real! CTV does not try to avoid “sensitive” realness with sponsors. They even had one with the word “uterus” and “menstruation” mentioned. Another spot for insurance (I think), featured an interracial couple, with a middle-aged, bald black guy and his Caucasian female wife character! You never see that on American/USA television because Madison Avenue is still afraid of the truth and “offending” the rich, angry white men of our current day. It is truly sad that here in 2019, American advertisers still are not bold enough to depict what is increasingly normal – diversity. Maybe if they would show spots like these, people would get used to them as humans often adapt to what, at first, seems revolting.

I’d move to Canada in a heartbeat, except for the climate, in order to enjoy this open-minded media, where a surprising number of familiar American voices and actors are working, I see!

They even had PSAs [Public Service Announcements] like we had when I was a boy, decades ago, here in America! This approach is very necessary, and something I have championed for the past score. PSAs are a great way to caution and educate our youth and those adults who “missed the memo” about common sense living! Take, for example, drinking alcohol: they aired twice during commercial breaks, this amusingly accurate, cartoon spot with two strolling turkeys who cautioned against overdoing it, and reminded us to “drink in moderation”. Maybe their announcements are hip, and will achieve a better result with the populace because their version of the FCC isn’t a political “football” (pun intended).

CTV’s “news-break” during halftime, was local and much less contentious than those on American network channels during a game. In total, it was a refreshing experience to have CTV host my NFL AFC Championship experience instead of the hokey American feed whose commercial breaks have me reaching for the “mute” function every time.

To find video examples of the commercials I’ve written about, you’ll have to use your ever-lovin’ imagination. Yet, Hope you find the CTV stream and enjoy the Super Bowl!Then you’ll see what I mean.