I can’t remember the last time I watched something on live TV.
Do people with DVRs even watch the commercials? I have a friend who doesn’t like to fast forward through the commercials because for him it “messes with the flow” of the program. I’m in the “fast forwarder” group. So does this group even see the commercials?
There are studies that confirm commercials that are fast-forwarded are seen and have good recall. The theory on this is you have to pay even closer attention to the commercials so you stop the fast forward in time to not miss any of your show. I couldn’t agree more—I’ve even found myself repeating lines from commercials while fast forwarding through them!
With the widespread usage of DVRs and expected continued growth are TV commercials obsolete? My answer would be no. While the media mix for advertisers is changing to include more social media and two way conversations, TV commercials remain one of the most effective ways to advertise for many business categories.
Hmmm…When will we see commercials designed to be viewed on a DVR or specifically geared to DVRs with a message? A great example would be a commercial with graphics that works without sound.
The best ads created today look great and still communicate a message in fast forward and without sound. Gone are the days of minimal text and cool music catching people’s attentions. If you can’t tell what the brand is in triple time, then the commercial is failing.
Besides using DVRs to fast forward, just think about people who only watch a majority of shows online. However I have noticed recently that Hulu has a lot more commercials now than they did a year ago.
ReplyDeleteit is true that creating a commercial ad on is not difficult, but creating a successful commercial is so difficult.
ReplyDeleteSamuel
Good observations on the effects of time-shifting technologies like DVRs on advertising. What are some other ways that ads are changing in response to new devices?
ReplyDeletei've noticed i cannot fast forward through the commercials for tv shows on demand at full speed. the fast forward option is at the slowest speed so i'm basically forced to watch the entire commercial in silence. for a while, i noticed that all the nbc shows i watched used the same coke commercial at each commercial break. this constantly reinforced its message. instead repeating lines from the commercial like you, i started to mentally sing the song it was played to. i just realized i'm singing the song in my head as i write this comment. ah, ingenious marketing!
ReplyDeleteDanelle...I hadn't heard anything about the time-shifting effect on TV commercials. That's really very interesting. I'd love to read some of those studies you mentioned. Great knowledge to have for my industry.
ReplyDeleteAs an advidonline TV watcher I think on way companys have hacked commercials is to constantly repeat them. I'm a big CONAN fan but I don't have the capability to watch live tv in my room so I watch him exclusively online. Everytime you click a link, this commercial plays, when the show breaks, this commercial plays, you get the idea. Much like Yvonne noticed with on demand, I know what's going happen in the commerical so much I act it out with the actor.
ReplyDeleteThe repetition method is extremely effective, but I don't see it as new. How many times did I see the McDonalds Big Mac commercial as a kid, and can still sing all the ingredients, in order and in tune?
ReplyDeleteI think it's an example of "if it ain't broke don't fix it" but maybe we are more aware because we are much more sensitive to commercialization due of over-exposure. Companies are smart to force the viewer to sit through highly produced commercials, but I think the real growth industry is product placement. I have noticed a huge upswing in the amount of products I see advertised on TV and movies, and I for sure am not going to fast forward through the 2 second placement. I'm going to be excited that I know what kind of conditioner Jennifer Aniston uses and I might even run out and buy it for myself.
I think that we will begin to see two-fold commercials. Ones that can be understood in regular time (as they are now) and ones that will have messages that are clearly visible when they are fast-forwarded because as you mentioned you generally pay more attention when fast-forwarding because you need to know when to stop and press play.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Danelle! See I spelled it right this time. (Smile!) I think Yvonne, Sydnie and Meagan are on to something as I've noticed the same phenomenon. I believe as we move forward to more and more time-shifted media consumption, via media-on-demand devices like DVR's, we will see brands resorting to even more repetition in their ad campaigns. I wonder if this means that there is a burgeioning future for jingle writers ala the McDonald's song? Hmm...Excellent post!
ReplyDeleteI think there are several companies that are realizing that they really need to change their commercials because of things like DVRs and Hulu. I saw a Google commercial (I think) that had no audio and in fact was just a story told through a series of search engine inquiries. I stopped and watched that one.
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