Advertising Execs Slowly Reaching Obvious Conclusion: Ads Are Content Too

from the hey,-look-at-that! dept

Thu, Sep 11th 2003 3:02pm — Mike Masnick

Part of the economic we make here is that the nature of content as a digital good means that it's going to move towards free in an open marketplace. However, that isn't a bad thing, because "free" content can be used in good ways - as promotional material for something else. The argument goes both ways - promotional materials should be looked at as content, too. Unfortunately, too many people seem to think they're different - that somehow content that is produced for promotional purposes is somehow "less" than other content. That sort of thinking leads to (a) people trying to lock up their "good" content and (b) people producing really bad promotional content that tends to annoy people more than make them interested in whatever is being promoted. We've argued this before in reference to TV commercials. It seemed like too many executives (such as those who claimed that not watching commercials was "stealing") seemed to think that forcing people to watch bad content was the only way to produce good content. This is, of course, not true - which has been shown by the likes of Honda and BMW with the advertising they created that people actively seek out (not to mention the whole damn Super Bowl commercial watching phenomenon). It appears that finally some advertising and broadcasting execs are understanding this message. NBC is going to start airing mini-movies during commercial breaks. Some of these really are still commercials - but they're actually designed (what a concept!) to be entertaining. Others, though, are more traditional programming content - but designed to fill 30 second spots, and use cliff-hanger endings to get you to want to see the next one. Basically, they're hoping to provide content that is worth watching, so you don't just TiVo through all the commercials (or worse, change channels). Should be interesting to see how this experiment goes.

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mark, 11 Sep 2003 @ 5:18pm

will she or won't she... choose the Colgate�?
Sadly, the problem with this concept is that advertising works best, and is most needed for pushing soft goods (inexpensive commodity items like Proctor & Gamble products). Trying to add drama and recall to a brand soap suds is tough, tough, tough. That's why they're forever packing the stuff in florescent colors and slapping NEW & IMPROVED!!! across the top.

I'll bet you're all looking forward to the family mini-drama revolving around Grandma's constipation or Mom's intense personal conflict choosing between Helmann's and Miracle Whip.
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Mike (profile), 11 Sep 2003 @ 5:51pm

Re: will she or won't she... choose the Colgate�?
But you can still make the commercials entertaining, right? Why do you think so many people watch the Super Bowl?
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Sep 2003 @ 6:08pm

Been Done Already
Nescafe did this in England and Australia a couple of years ago. Had a little soapie going about a couple getting together, each add with them drinking a cup of coffee at the end. The series ran for almost a year I think with the ad changing every month or so.
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Joe A., 12 Sep 2003 @ 6:02am

Re: will she or won't she... choose the Colgate�?
But you can still make the commercials entertaining, right? Why do you think so many people watch the Super Bowl?

Well, I watch the Super Bowl because I'm hoping that someday -- in my lifetime -- I'll see the Patriots win again. Probably not this year, though. :)

Radio has been treating their advertising similarly for quite a while now. Rock stations play a 30-second spot for Bud Light that starts out sounding like some new rock song, or traffic reporters speed through their traffic reports -- directly followed by their reading of an advertisement in the same tone of voice.

In my opinion, it's not necessarily better for the advertiser. It's just another way for media companies to convince advertisers to spend more money on these new ideas the media has devised to "guarantee" eyeballs/ears.
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mark, 12 Sep 2003 @ 10:24am

Re: will she or won't she... choose the Colgate�?
Beer/soda commercials and other image ads have almost always been interesting and/or entertaining. Party snacks & such have always had a light touch and aren't too painful to sit through... at least the first couple times. The money spent on Superbowl ads is huge.

It will still be a major challenge to integrate toilet paper or branded pain killer into a narrative that both sells and is something people will sit and watch. Nearly every campaign I ever worked on involved trying to pull the client back from shoving it down people's throats. Advertising is very expensive, measuring what makes an ad a success is difficult and everybody wants their logo bigger.
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joseph, 24 Jun 2006 @ 1:10am

first loacal comercial for retail store
the concet was very reader friendly.

thanxs
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Joe, 28 May 2007 @ 5:36pm

Too Many Commercials on TV we Pay for, Maybe the G
As for the frequency of commercial breaks, the compromise accepts the position adopted by Parliament in December, to limit commercial breaks in "the transmission of films made for television (excluding series, serials, light entertainment programmes and documentaries), cinematographic works, children’s programmes and news programmes" to "once for each scheduled period of 30 minutes". In children's programs commercial breaks will not be allowed unless the programs are more than 30 minutes long. The upper limit for commercials is 12 minutes an hour.
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michael pink, 28 Oct 2013 @ 3:17pm

Online digital advertising
if you need online digital advertising i recommend http://liftlocal.co.uk
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