Offensively loud television commercials have been a worldwide annoyance for years, and while a number of technologies have emerged in an attempt to hush those loud-mouths, British regulators are taking matters into their own hands. Just last week, the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice, which sets British TV ad guidelines, reportedly adopted a new rule establishing that TV ads shouldn't be "excessively noisy or strident." It elaborated by stating that "broadcasters must endeavor to minimize the annoyance that perceived imbalances could cause, with the aim that the audience need not adjust the volume of their television sets during program breaks." We're told that stations who choose not to invest in the loudness-level meter (which will ensure compliance) may actually have to "turn down the sound during commercials." Of course, whether anyone chooses to actually follow these guidelines has yet to be seen, er, heard.

[Via WatchingTVOnline, image courtesy of PaxArcana]