Why Do So Many Injury Lawyers Advertise on the Noon News?

It’s not unusual to see three or more of them in a row

Ad for a fictitious law firm by the author, who would prefer not to be sued

I work at home and have been in the habit of watching the local news broadcast at noon. And I have become curious as to the glut of commercials for personal injury law firms flooding the noon news broadcasts (at least in San Francisco) and I wonder if this is a local phenomenon or a widespread one. At least a half dozen firms advertise consistently. It’s as if these advertisers think that anyone home in the middle of the day watching TV must be there because they just got injured in a car accident. There must be some demographic reason these firms all seem to be advertising on the noon news…evening news broadcasts also have them, but in much smaller numbers.

I admit I am fascinated by this. I enjoy comparing and contrasting the approaches taken by these firms. There’s quite a variety, not to mention a lot of blatant copying. Some take a serious, sober approach while some employ almost cornball tactics. Many trade on a personality or rely on an easy-to-remember phone number. Let’s take a look at some of the players:

The Barnes Firm

They’ve been here longer than anyone else. Formerly Cellini & Barnes, it’s now just Rich Barnes, plus their immortal jingle, “Call 1–800–8 Million,” a not-so subtle suggestion that their…