• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, December 16, 2009

The Senate may green-light legislation compelling advertisers to turn down the sound on commercials. But although much of the public is annoyed by the high volumes, a minority feel the government should get involved in the issue.

On Tuesday, the House passed legislation -- with no opposition -- that would prohibit ads from playing at a volume notably above the level in the programs.

On Wednesday, a poll brought more potentially bad news for advertisers. It showed that 61% of respondents indicated that when ads are louder than programs, they get a negative perception of the product advertised.

Only 5% of people surveyed said a louder volume makes them more likely to pay attention to a spot, or to consider the product it plugs.

Still -- perhaps wary of too much government regulation in general -- only 33% feel that legislation is needed to address the issue.

The results come from a telephone survey of 1,000 viewers ages 18-plus conducted in November for Harris Corp. The company has an interest in the issue, since it is involved in developing a system to help advertisers keep the sound down.

The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act. The bill had bipartisan support, and was sponsored by a Palo Alto Congresswoman.

The act would give gave the FCC rights to develop guidelines to prevent a wide gap between the sound for ads and that for programs.

A non-profit group, the Advanced Television Systems Committee, has put forward standards that it says will ensure pristine sound for ads but at a modulated level.

Legislation in the Senate was introduced Sept. 8.