There are too many advertisements on television, and consumers have adapted to it by changing channels and returning to programs they like just at the right time with their remote controls, said Emily Abrera, regional chair of the New-York based ad agency McCann World group Asia at the 2008 World Marketing Conference in the Philippines' capital of Metro Manila.

"We have the highest commercial load in the world. Certainly, it's the highest in Asia," she said.

Abrera said the local advertising-industry prescribed limit is 18 minutes of commercials per hour, a level that is highest in Asia. In other Asian countries, the limit is 12 to 14 minutes per hour.

Abrera said too many commercials have forced consumers to adapt, and they have developed behavior that is anti-advertisement.

"You will note that people are continuously watching several channels simultaneously. People have evolved this wonderful sense of timing so that they know that as soon as commercial come on, they go to the channel where they're watching something else," the executive said.

"So in other words, they're tracking several programs at the same time. And they come back almost as soon as that last spot is ending. They're very good at that already," she added.

"When we overload (TV programs) with commercials, we are actually teaching people how to avoid them. We're giving them the greatest reason to avoid watching our work. And what worries me the most is that we're losing our audience for our commercials," she said.

Abrera said there is a need for more regulation of these commercials in the Philippines.

According to a content analysis study done by some students from the Philippine De La Salle University, local TV channel GMA-7has a commercial load of 30 minutes per hour while ABS-CBN has a commercial load of 15 to 20 minutes per hour. GMA and ABS-CBN are two of the top TV networks in the archipelago.

Abrera said the industry cannot continue with the same set-up of overloading consumers with commercials.

"It's something that needs to be addressed. And we cannot continue interrupting programs," she said.

Meanwhile, Abrera urged advertising and marketing firms to be more creative in their campaigns through ads that consumers won't mind being interrupted with.

"We're going to have to perform the job of entertaining, uplifting with a very subtle sell," she said.

"The message has got to be worth their time, worth their interruption," she added.