[Tig] Tig Digest, Vol 54, Issue 3

[Bob Kertesz]

>At least for broadcast TV, the broadcasters are indeed 'audience 
>providers' for advertisements.  However, this is becoming less and 
>less true each and every day since PVR/DVR technology allows viewers 
>to skip over advertisements.

The advent of PVR/DVR technology has forced a reinvention of the advertising
model. Since commercials can be skipped (more on that in a moment), the
current hot model is product placement within content, and very recently,
banner ads during content. As far as I could tell, up until a couple of weeks
ago, banner ads were strictly network promos. The content providers are
getting bolder, and last week, I saw my first banner ad for an actual product.
Expect to see a lot more of those, and real soon. Banner ads for product in
the middle of shows are the networks extending their middle finger to DVR
owners.

As for DVRs skipping ads, TiVo has just started experimenting with a model
where if you hit fast forward during certain ads, a still picture of the
product being advertised appears until you hit play. I've seen this already on
a Toyota spot, where a picture of the Camry appeared full frame as soon as I
hit the shuttle button. Kind of spooky the fist time you see it.

>What is needed is for broadcast TV to offer an alternate "premier" 
>service which offers programs without interruption for a fixed fee. 
>The fixed fee would replace money currently made via advertising. 
>Showtime and HBO already effectively use this model.

Showtime and HBO have enough product placement in their own produced shows to
gag an anaconda. Same with the movies they show, where the studios rake in
HUGE dollars to place endless crap in every scene possible.

Until people by the thousands call or write the advertisers and say they've
had enough and if it doesn't get scaled back they will punish the advertisers
by boycotting all their products for six months, this will only get worse.

Fat chance of the mindless sheep actually doing anything like that, of course,
but a man can have his dreams :-).

--Bob
.

Bob Kertesz
BlueScreen LLC
Hollywood, California
bob at bluescreen.com

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