'Fifteen Million Merits' is probably one of the most metaphorical episodes of Black Mirror. In addition to exploring themes of capitalism, consumerism, and the commodification of dissent, the episode offers a bleak commentary on the future of technology and society. Not only did it make me glimpse the philosophy called 'existential nihilism' but also forced me to ponder a dystopian state of technology and how alarmingly close we might be to such a reality.
The episode presents a world where society is confined to an enormous, enclosed space with video screens covering nearly every surface. People earn their living by riding on exercise bikes to generate electricity, earning currency known as 'merits', which can be used to buy food, virtual accessories for their avatars, and skip advertisements that frequently interrupt their daily activities.
While we, in the non-fictional living world, aren't enclosed by video screens, we are looking at them for a good part of our day – PC screens at work and smartphone screens at home – and get bombarded with advertisements, compelling us to pay for their removal or learn to live with them. Although subscriptions more or less fall into the same category, my point is to highlight the evolving commercialisation practices that aim to present products as a service.
While most Android smartphones already suffer from the problem, packed with tons of advertisements that you and I need to tolerate with no option to shut them off completely, the automobile segment is getting some ideas that might push us towards a future that is unfair to the consumers at every turn, signal, and crossing.
The glimpse of a dreaded future was brought upon by Jeep, which was found "texting" its users about their car's extended warranty in an unusual way. The company utilised the vehicle's infotainment screen to send repeated pop-up ads to users, asking them to "Purchase Peace of Mind" by signing up for an extended warranty.
"FlexCare Extended Care Premium plans are factory-backed and offer you Peace of Mind in case of a mechanical breakdown. Press the "Call" button to speak to a specialist. Odometre must be less than 36,000 miles to purchase," the ad read with an option to call.
Some users claimed that the ad appeared every time their car rolled to a stop. Even owners whose cars were over the plan eligibility limit complained about getting the intrusive ads. Some users claimed that clicking the X to close the screen brings the ad back at the next stop. Jeep parent Stellantis acknowledged the issue and resolved the glitch, attributing the persistent nature of the ad to a temporary software glitch affecting the opt-out functionality.
While such an ad in a car seems odd, some brands in the smartphone industry solely relied on ad-revenue models to undercut the competition and climb the success ladder at an impressive speed. A case in point is Chinese electronics company Xiaomi.
The company – believed to be selling products at cost or with a profit margin of 1 to 2 per cent at the time – confirmed its low margins in 2018 when it announced to cap its hardware profit margins at under 5 per cent globally. The margin is almost negligible compared to the competition, but it helped Xiaomi sell products cheaply and reach the masses. The company was founded in 2010 in Beijing, China, and took only four years to become the most popular smartphone brand in its home market. It became the fourth-largest smartphone brand in the world the following year (2015) and also helmed the top position in India for years with the highest market share in the country.
However, the market soon caught on and now almost everyone is selling smartphones at super low margins, earning revenue via software deals (pre-loaded apps) and an ad-infested user interface. Samsung is also back in the rankings in India with its budget and mid-range smartphones that come packed with bloatware and unwanted notifications. It even held the top position in 2023 with a 17 per cent market share, as per IDC. In 2024, Vivo overtook the South Korean giant, becoming the leader with a market share of 16.5 per cent, followed by Samsung (13.2 per cent) and Xiaomi (12 per cent).
While ad-infested, competitively priced smartphones helped brands push sales, the end result came down to consumers with devices that behaved like free versions of software when you don't want to spend money on the premium ad-free version. The fact that these intrusive ads appear on handsets for which the consumer has already paid makes the entire thing obnoxious.
At present, it is very difficult to find a smartphone in the budget and mid-range category that doesn't come with intrusive ads, sometimes called "recommendations", and unwanted pre-loaded apps that cannot be uninstalled. The problem has also started to pop up on some premium Android smartphones, although the level of advertisement here is not as aggressive as it is on the lower-priced devices.
As things stand, it seems very difficult to roll back to a simpler time when advertisements were limited to websites and free versions of the apps. Although there are some brands like Apple and Nothing that are offering a completely ad-free software experience, they are clearly in the minority.
In the automobile industry, while Jeep's case may appear like an insignificant individual instance to some, it could turn into a serious problem if car manufacturers really start to use the hardware purchased by consumers as an advertisement machine. The fears aren't unwarranted, and last year's Ford patent is a strong contender to drive unease.
The company filed a patent with the US Patent and Trademark Office for an in-car advertising system last year, which would use the car's speakers and display screen to serve ads to drivers and passengers, effectively making your purchased vehicle a walking commercial instrument for take-out dinner stops on your route. The patent suggested that it could even use in-car cameras to identify the driver and personalise ads for them.
When the media caught on, Ford walked out of the idea saying that it patents many ideas it never pursues. However, it does not change the fact that someone at the company thought about turning sold vehicles into a revenue-pumping opportunity at the inconvenience of the buyer.
Given the money-making opportunity at hand, some companies might not hesitate to make their vehicles a pamphlet dispenser, serving advertisements based on demographics, psychographics, and other identifiable metrics. This may or may not affect the prices of the cars, but would definitely bring an irritating experience for drivers and passengers. Who knows if the future will become like an episode of Black Mirror, where you will be asked to use 'merits' to skip those ads or buy an ad-free premium version of the vehicle, restricted to only the top-end model and effectively reserved for ones who can afford the 'luxury'.
