‘A little bit of a subscription fee’: Man discovers what frustrated drivers have been stuffing into gas pump speakers to silence ads

A man found something clever at a Shell gas station that shows how people are dealing with annoying speaker ads. ElectricBlake noticed the gas pump speakers looked different during a normal visit, and his finding has started a big online discussion about smart solutions.

According to Motor1, ElectricBlake’s video got over 107,000 views on TikTok as people praised what many call real “community service.” The video shows close-up shots of Shell gas pump speakers that were deliberately stuffed with coins to stop the loud ads that normally play from these devices.

He said he noticed something cool that others might miss – there was change stuck in the speaker. The speakers usually play ads while people pump gas, but he only heard a small buzzing sound, which made him look closer. What he found was people’s effort to fight annoying gas station advertising.

People are fed up with constant advertising everywhere

“And it looks like people have figured out that these gas pumps that shout at you with ads, if you just pay a little bit of a subscription fee in the speaker holes, it stops playing the ads,” ElectricBlake explained in his video. The term “subscription fee” connected with viewers who liked both the joke and how well the method works.

Gas pump speakers usually have mute buttons, but often these buttons don’t work or gas stations turned them off. This made frustrated customers look for other ways to silence the ads. The mute button is typically the second button down from the top on the right side, but many gas stations have disabled this feature entirely. Drivers have discovered surprising things in their vehicles before, but this gas pump hack takes creative problem-solving to another level.

Most responses to ElectricBlake’s discovery were positive. People praised the creative problem-solving and said they want to try it themselves. One user wrote “Adding this to my very short list of things that are worth what they cost.”

The comment section had multiple ways to deal with gas pump ads. One person said they used to work at a gas station and unplugged them from behind because they got tired of hearing the same 10 ads over and over. Just like mechanics who find unexpected things under the hood, gas station workers have their own ways of dealing with equipment issues. 

Others suggested using electrical tape without damaging the equipment, or asking if metal washers work the same way. Some suggested more permanent solutions, though these methods risk breaking the equipment.