Wednesday, May 23, 2007
No more fast-forwarding
I almost don't know what it's like to watch 'live' TV anymore... that is since I got a DVR. Sure, my early bedtime doesn't allow me to stay up late to watch some of my favorite shows, but even for shows that are on when I'm awake, I'll purposely record so I can fast forward through the commercials. The DVR has been an advertisers worst nightmare. I've seen several reports lately about how advertisers and networks are getting creative to keep people's attention through the commercial breaks. What some networks have planned is making commercials shorter... way shorter. If commercials are only 5 to 10 seconds, by the time you pick up the remote to fast forward, you'll already have seen the advertisement... so network execs. are hoping people will just stop fast-forwarding.
Some other tactics they are going to start using more.. which you might have already seen.. is making the commercials look like programming. I can't remember what program I was watching, but it was last year sometime... I remember there was a commercial set in the same setting as the program I watching and I didn't even realize it was a commercial until about 20 to 30 seconds in. I'm sure it cost a bit more money to create that kind of advertisement, but it kept my attention... too bad I can't remember what it was now! :)
Another thing I've noticed that we'll see more of in the future is little snippets of shows during commercial breaks. Here are a couple of examples I've noticed lately -- during "Scrubs" they'll have funny interviews with the cast during the commercials breaks. I always end up rewinding and watching them... which then causes me to catch a commercial or two trying to find the interview. Also, during the "Girls Next Door" (yes, I watch that show and it's actually pretty funny!) they show outtakes during the commercial breaks to keep the viewer's attention. Ads or products are also being integrated right into shows. What would "The Apprentice" have been if it weren't for product placement? Those types of things seem to be working, at least for me. Of course, there's always the Super Bowl where the commericals are the best part.
Some other tactics they are going to start using more.. which you might have already seen.. is making the commercials look like programming. I can't remember what program I was watching, but it was last year sometime... I remember there was a commercial set in the same setting as the program I watching and I didn't even realize it was a commercial until about 20 to 30 seconds in. I'm sure it cost a bit more money to create that kind of advertisement, but it kept my attention... too bad I can't remember what it was now! :)
Another thing I've noticed that we'll see more of in the future is little snippets of shows during commercial breaks. Here are a couple of examples I've noticed lately -- during "Scrubs" they'll have funny interviews with the cast during the commercials breaks. I always end up rewinding and watching them... which then causes me to catch a commercial or two trying to find the interview. Also, during the "Girls Next Door" (yes, I watch that show and it's actually pretty funny!) they show outtakes during the commercial breaks to keep the viewer's attention. Ads or products are also being integrated right into shows. What would "The Apprentice" have been if it weren't for product placement? Those types of things seem to be working, at least for me. Of course, there's always the Super Bowl where the commericals are the best part.
Posted at 7:36 AM by Jennifer Haile
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