Hockey fans sound off on 'annoying' league tactic: 'I honestly turn off a game sometimes because of [it]'

Advertising along the walls of a sports arena is one thing, but fans are becoming frustrated by ads creeping into every aspect of the field of play, like when they are emblazoned on the ice in a hockey rink.

In the r/hockey subreddit, a fan shared a photo showing digital on-ice ads during an NHL game, including for Mastercard and Coca-Cola. 

The ever-shifting digital ads can be a distraction for viewers at home who are just trying to enjoy their favorite sport without the annoyance of flickering logos covering the gameplay. 

Advertising has unfortunately infiltrated so many aspects of our daily lives, often in unexpected and irritating places, such as a loud, unskippable ad on a gas pump handle that forces you to hear and see it as you fill up your car. There are also ads sneaking into our homes, like a digital ad for a TV show that popped up unbidden on a refrigerator. 

Other sports have pushed advertising to the max, too, like Major League Baseball, which has now allowed ads on players' helmets. 

All these ads are changing people's habits and psychology, driving them toward overconsumption. Ads can create a sense of dissatisfaction, pushing people to buy things and wasting their money on products that are often mass-produced and low-quality. This also burns through the resources needed to create them. 

Other Redditors were frustrated by the digital ads on the ice as well.

"I find digital ads to be an annoying distraction," one person wrote. 

Another said: "I don't mind the digital board ads, when a team scores and it lights up GOAL, I think that's neat. But the on ice one's, nah, it's immersion breaking."

One person noted that ads are in every aspect of the game, from the boards to jerseys to commentators. They suggested the NHL "is being shamelessly farmed for ad revenue and pushing debilitating gambling addictions on Average Joe's," referring to the recent prevalence of sports gambling ads. They added, "I honestly turn off a game sometimes because of the ad bombing."

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