Fast Forward Through The Ads?

Since the arrival of DVR’s ,TIVO, digital cable and TV-to-PC recording, it’s now become ultra-easy to record and playback your favorite TV shows. The downside for advertisers, of course, is that this time-shift viewing means that millions of Americans are fast forwarding through the messages---commercials for which companies are shelling out millions to produce and air.

Since the advertisers make the programs possible, this is ultimately not good news for the consumer.

Why?

Well, as companies see the results of their advertising decline (as people stop watching), they‘ll scale back or drop TV advertising from their marketing budgets. En masse, this is bad news for the high production cost TV shows we’ve grown accustomed to enjoying. The diminished dollars will force the production of lower-cost (and lower quality) shows.

The technology is advancing faster than advertisers can counter-act consumer behavior. There are actually efforts to “embed” a phantom commercial within a regular one. If the viewer chooses not to skip through the spots, he or she will see the full ad. If, however, the FAST-FORWARD button is pressed, instead of seeing a high speed, unintelligible version, there will be a visual-only message that is fully understandable---only at that high speed.

Impressive, but not enough to compensate—since production costs for the commercial have thus risen…again.

Call me crazy, but aside from the screaming car dealer ads, much of what is nationally produced is highly entertaining—and sometimes funnier than the show it surrounds. Check out this hilarious spot:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmSCh5ZkMqk

Now, THAT’S funny—and smart marketers have been long clued into the fact that particularly funny commercials become an ATTRACTION rather than a distraction. They are treated as 30 second or 60 second dramas or comedies that indirectly feature the product or service.

The attention given to Super Bowl ads (often better than the game) attest to the fact that well written, acted and produced spots are actually part of the entertainment equation.

If you fast-forward through them, though…you’ll never know.

If you’d like my blog in your daily inbox (MOSTLY commercial free), send me an e-mail: tim.moore@citcomm.com