Xbox Live: I pay for this?

I love my Xbox 360. I was first in line to get one back when they were released. I stood by Microsoft through multiple RROD failures, and I even paid the $50 per year to subscribe to Xbox Live when the online gaming on the competing Playstation 3 was free. I simply felt that the value of their online ecosystem was worth paying for. However, one thing that has stuck in my craw (so to speak) is that the Xbox dashboard has become a giant series of advertisements. This is certainly not an issue unique to video games (why do I pay for cable to watch ads on A&E, for example), but I figured that since this was a video game blog I would tackle this aspect of advertising here.

Perhaps my memory is short, but I don't remember that many ads when I first purchased Xbox Live. Oh sure, I remember plenty of ads for games offered on the service for download, but certainly not a freaking Doritos ad! I don't know, maybe it's just me but when I PAY for something up front I don't think that I should be forced to endure even more ads pressuring me to spend my money. I know that these companies are trying maximize profits, and selling us a service and then selling ads on that service makes sense to them. I just can't accept that the future of gaming is going to be spending $60 for a game, $50 per year to play that game online with friends, and then still being forced to endure an ad for insurance (or a presidential candidate) while I'm playing.

Perhaps offering a multi-tiered solution would work? I can imagine a subscriber model where you would pay $50 per year to play online with no ads, $25 per year for have some (gaming relevant) ads and perhaps a free and completely ad supported tier at the bottom. Could this work? Would I be willing to pay more than $50 per year to completely scrub non-Xbox Live related ads from the experience? You bet! Would anyone else? That's hard to say.

My fear is that the products we love will continue to get more expensive, yet become more and more saturated with advertisements. We already spend $10 to see a movie and then sit through 15 minutes of Coke and car commercials (and that's before the movie trailers even begin). It's not easy for someone like me who does what they can to avoid advertising whenever possible. There has got to be a better way, even if it costs more money on the consumer end. I simply feel it should be the consumer's choice: do you want something free (advertiser supported) or ad-free (customer supported).

What do you think?