I got a survey from Nielsen ratings in the mail, including $2 cash and a promise of $5 more if I completed the survey. Survey was pretty easy to fill out since I don't have any kids, don't have a landline phone, and don't own a TV.
I think a TV advertiser would despair if they saw my survey. They do not have my eyeballs and probably never will.
Ha ha! I got a nice crisp $5 in the mail today from Nielsen. It seems so crazy that they send cash - crisp new bills - in the mail. Always open your junk mail.
I really wonder how many others out there also score a big fat zero with regards to TV consumership and advertising. Even online I whitelist scripting for only a few sites, and those sites don't even generally have static advertising. The only advertising that actually hits my senses is radio advertising on the drive to work, but even there I listen to NPR a lot, so the ads are really "sponsors".
Really, how can advertising be a growth industry these days? There are so many technological ways to filter it out for those who really don't want to see it. Before if you wanted to watch TV, listen to the radio, or read a newspaper, you were going to get some ad exposure by default. Now, not so much.