Do you think Philo Farnsworth in 1939 thought what he invented would turn into this power house that it is today? It's almost hard to imagine the world today without the Television. It's crazy how powerful the TV can be. All the trends, news information, awards, sports events, historical moments, reality TV, the competitions, and so on. And please don't act like you're not watching American Idol, because obviously that TV show dominates the ratings in the United States. It shuts down the nation and the competing television shows around it, so somebody is watching it.
Anyways the one thing I wanted to talk about was the topic of advertising via TV commercials. As an advertising major who loves making commercials, I'm starting to become very concerned with DVR, TiVo, Hopper and all the other features that are coming out. More and more people are just skipping advertising and getting straight to the point. I understand in certain occasions like the Super Bowl that's all people want to watch, but that's once a year.
So the development of technology of skipping over commercials has now created a strong value in sporting events. The advertising value has increased greatly in sports because there is no point in recording a sporting event because when it's over you'll hear about it. I mean people try all the time to record the game and go home and watch it, but it never works. I had some coworkers that tried to DVR the NBA finals while we worked and watch the game when they got home. Every time before they could watch the game somebody would text them something that would ruin the surprise, or they would go on Facebook and a status would do the same. For those exact reasons, sporting events still are a must watch live!
My questions to you guys are the following;
Do you guys DVR most your shows and skip over commercials?
What do you think advertising agencies are going to do to counteract DVR, TiVo etc.?
Do you think it's fair to skip over all the commercials?
16 comments:
Well, I live in a complex where a DVR is not provided. That being said, a few years ago I was living in my parents home; I had one, and it made a world of difference, I purposely would skip past the commercials. But now, just like when I listen to the radio, as soon as a commercial comes on I change the channel.
Until the companies that advertise through the advertising agencies, realize that a large majority of the Nielsen rating aren't actually seeing the commercial, the ad agencies don't need to worry. So many of the big companies still believe it pays off and the ad guys, will just keep on convincing them it does. Only when the demand drops, like with newspaper advertising, where a clear advantage of advertising on the internet replaced it, will a change be required. But that will only happen when a product promises more mass exposure guaranteed than tv, for now, to most big cats, even if less people will see the commercial, they still think they are reaching more people than they could any other way.
I think between DVR and torrents taking a larger role in how millions of people are watching programs, commercials are starting to become a bit of a challenge. I mean even on hulu adblock plus can save you from having to watch the commercials. However you watch tv there are ways around the ads. That is of course a problem and it needs to be addressed. I think that more people would be willing to watch ads if more programs were available to watch for free. For example "Game of thrones" is now the most torrented show of all time so HBO is making no money of the millions enjoying the show, but southpark posts every episode ever online for free and makes loads of money from people watching their content free with ads. The system is evolving, people dont want to pay anymore. DVR skips ads, but perhaps they should run banner ads along the top or something like that when you are watching playback. something you would not fast forward through because it isnt part of the recording.
Before considering advertising I HATED commercials. Every show I watched was TiVo'd for the very purpose of skipping commercials. That was about 2 years ago and life has brought me into the Advertising program and completely changed my viewpoint of commercials. It may sound weird but because of my Intro to Advertising teacher I have grown to love commercials on TV, but my love of commercials is a little bit different from the average consumer. I like to analyze the commercials in all the different ways that we have learned how to in our different classes.
I think what we may begin to see in DVR type devices are Hulu type advertisements. Meaning that after a certain amount of time during a show or using a DVR you will have a commercial that can't be skipped and that is tailored to the viewer based on the shows that they are recording.
I personally can't stand watching advertisements. I hardly watch TV ever. I think it is annoying. But if I ever do watch it, I make sure I can skip all the commercials. Recently I tried watching the movie the Proposal on TV. I really wanted to see the movie but I couldn't finish watching it, not because the show was stupid but because I couldn't stand watching all the commercials and waiting for them to be done to get back to the show. I felt like it was a huge waste of time watching all the dumb commercials. I'll admit every now and then there is a good commercial but the majority of them aren't.
I don't know if I can say that skipping commercials is fair or not but I think that if the technology is there people are going to use it. Like it or not advertisers are going to have to come up with something else to reach audiences who don't watch commercials. I for one will skip them whenever I can.
Do you guys DVR most your shows and skip over commercials?
I don't have a DVR, so I am unable to skip commercials. Even when I lived at home, my house didn't have a DVR.
What do you think advertising agencies are going to do to counteract DVR, TiVo etc.?
I think TV commercials are still working, because if they weren't agencies and companies wouldn't use them as a vehicle to get their messages out. Obviously, people are using DVR, TiVo, etc and agencies will need to take that into consideration. I think that more agencies have started to advertising online and will continue to do so.
Do you think it's fair to skip over all the commercials?
I don't see what's unfair about skipping over the commercials. If you are willing to pay the extra money for DVR or TiVo then you should have the right to skip over the commercials if you want.
I don't have DVR but I know plenty of people that do and I see no problem with it because companies still find a way to get their brand out there.
Even online, you can't watch a show or even a short video on hulu or YouTube without having to watch an ad (or at least part of one), so the fact that people can skip over TV commercials does not mean advertising is becoming obsolete. Instead, advertisers have just had to change their techniques (social media, online ads, etc.)
The world is changing everyday and with new inventions in technology and others areas advertising have been evolving. When everything comes down to the fact we won't been able to see commercials when watching TV, probably new doors would be open or new ways to advertise. Personally I don't like a lot of commercials when I am watching a show or movie.
I don't have TiVo or DVR but I also don't watch too much live television thanks to Netflix. I think that although there are more ways to skip through commercials, advertisers will always be able to find a way to get their message through to their target audiences. For example, although in 5 seconds you will be able to skip the ad video playing, it is necessary to sit through at least 5 seconds of it. Advertisers know that and will take full advantage of that, therefore making the most important part of the commercial at the first 5 seconds. When there's a will, there's a way.
I don’t DVR any of my shows. I usually watch whatever is on. If there’s a show I must watch I catch it on Hulu the next day. You usually get commercial interruptions with Hulu but I don’t mind because I consider it a break to go get a snack or a fast drink. I believe the advertising agencies will find a way to get around it. For examples, some commercials are a little entertaining. My friends and me have certain favorite commercials. Although there is DVR, TiVo etc. Advertising commercials are not really going anywhere. Is it fair to skip over commercials? I don’t know it depends on the individual. However I personally believe that it’s not fair because that’s where the televisions show funding usually coms from.
I don't live in an apartment complex that provides DVR. It is an additional fee, so I choose not to have DVR on my TV. I do like DVR though...I love that you can fast forward through commercials and cut down the time it takes to complete a TV program. Though DRV and TiVo are in the homes of some people, I still think for now the majority of home owners do not have DVR. People still watch normal TV, which give advertisers plenty of time to advertise their products and reach a certain market. With the Internet being a place where people watch shows, advertising can be more prominent online. This opens new doors that did not exist before. Is it fair to skip over commercials? I think if you pay for a subscription to DVR it is fair. Advertisers pay to advertise, and people should be allowed to pay for something (DVR or TiVo) to skip over them.
Dan Johns...
1) I do not have cable TV, I never did growing up - and I haven't really missed it. I stream sporting events that I want to watch online sometimes, so I see a few commercials then; usually just a handful of commercials repeated though. The shows that I watch, my wife owns on DVD; so no commercials there either.
2) A lot of companies/organizations must have contracts with the sites that have online shows; because they still make you watch commercials in one place or another when you watch them online. I don't know what they will do about TiVo, DVR etc. though.
3) Skipping commercials is fair, if you can pull it off. In fair markets businesses do what they can to make a buck. Everyone is working together, or against each other on the advertising and TV entertainment fronts. It's up to each to do what they can to make money. Fairness doesn't really exist in business, in my opinion.
I too live in an area where I can't use DVR. So consequently, I use the counterpart to that of "online DVR" such as Hulu. I am able to watch a very limited amount of advertisements when I watch Hulu, and most are all by the same company. I prefer watching things this way and when I go home to where my parents have DVR, I am even happier to watch shows with NO commercials on a bigger screen. I don't think there is a lot advertising agencies can do with the exception of trying to do online advertising or sticking with what they do now. Not everyone has DVR so they are able to contact those individuals the same way. I see no reason why it isn't fair to skip the commercials. We watch tv to watch it, not all the other stuff that comes along with it.
Growing up, my family never had a DVR and now that I am in college I rarely watch TV. The only TV I watch is always on Hulu, so a DVR would not really benefit me that much. As far as advertising goes, I think agencies are going to have to be more creative and come up with more ways to reach the market outside of the traditional TV commercials. Even though with DVR you are able to fast forward through commercials, there is at least a flash of the brand being seen by the viewer. Also, they might be paying closer attention to the commercials since they don't want to accidentally fast forward through part of the show. I think TV advertising will continue to be successful in shows like the Bachelor, American Idol, and X Factor, shows that have a series of eliminations, because people want to see the live results. I think it is fair to skip over commercials, nobody should be forced to watch them. Especially if they are paying money to have the DVR.
Good and effective TV advertising is branded entertainment, much like mini shows that break up the show you are already watching. There have been times when while fast forwarding through commercials, I have stopped and watched a commercial with friends just to share a few laughs. Bad advertising deserves to be skipped, but good advertising will command the attention in the room.
We also can't forget that advertising at its very core is creative problem solving, so with this DVR and internet "crisis" that advertising is facing, people will find creative and fun ideas that accomplish the main goal of advertising in the first place - to increase sales.
Do you think it's fair to skip over all the commercials
I absolutely skip over the commercials when I can, and if I can't, I rarely watch them. I dont think Tivo makes it that much different. People mute the tv, change the channel, leave the room, do everything else during the commercial break. Tivo just let's you do all that faster. So I don't think that's a big deal.
Just making good commercials is all they can do I think. I just dont want to watch commercials! Sorry! But I do like funny ones. There is no way you can MAKE people watch a commercial. It's very fair. I don't turn on the TV and say, "I want to watch Lost because they have the best commercial breaks." I don't think it'd be fair if I HAD to watch a commercial. Boooooooo
The funny thing about skipping over commercials is that we still get some exposure to commercials even when skipping. Is that enough for the product to be absorbed. not necessarily. that is why hulu and other online tv sources do not allow you to skip over ads. I think that is the future, outside advertising and forced commercials
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