Lost marketing opportunities surround us. Hypocritical as it may seem for an advertising professional, I listen to a lot of XM radio. Not just because it’s commercial-free, but because of its sheer breadth and selection. On any given day, I could punch a few buttons and sample stuff by George Jones, the Ditty Bops, Oscar Peterson, Franz Ferdinand and Blossom Dearie in the span of a few minutes. Sirius aside, that’s one unique product with a powerful message and benefit.

Recently, I called XM customer service to report a signal loss and got put on hold. What do you think I heard next? Remember, XM has 200+ channels of “commercial-free” music, talk, news, comedy, sports and weather to choose from.

This is what I heard next: “While on hold, you may experience a period of extended silence. Please do not hang up. Your call will be answered shortly.”

XM-cuse me? Talk about a missed opportunity. What a letdown–it’s a little disconcerting to witness a company losing sight of its own benefit right before your ears.

As a disturbing post-script, more than one of their channels, including my kids’ annoying favorite, Radio Disney, is now playing commercials on a regular basis.

What was that promise again?