YouTube recently announced that they will be using short, 3-second long pre-roll ads that play in front of each video. This got me thinking about some dangerous consequences.

Max Headroom, that wonderfully prescient 80s TV show, predicted this very development. In the Blipvert epsiode evil networks decide to start running compressed commercials that are only a few seconds long. This prevents users from changing the channel and embeds the content in their subconscious.

Unfortunately, these 3-second ads had one minor downside — they cause viewers’ heads to explode. Let’s hope the good folks at YouTube fare better.

When asked about this changing environment, your average big-shot creative director articulates a mission built on the creation of something along the lines of “compelling content,” the kind of stuff that people actively seek out in contrast to the spots hurled at them during breaks on “CSI: Miami.” … The problem for a big-shot creative director in 2006 was that the most compelling content wasn’t made by highly paid ad-agency teams and aired on TV.

Full story: http://adage.com/article?article_id=114132

Will it Blend? advertises a powerful blender with videos of their spokesman blending all sorts of objects, from iPods to golf clubs. Its popularity shows how people will willingly seek out ads that are funny and entertaining. The New York Times’ David Pogue writes:

I’m not alone when I say that I’ll happily watch your ad if it’s entertaining and worth my while. The number of hilarious ad videos circulating on YouTube—millions of people VOLUNTARILY watching corporate ads—is testimony to that.

Link: www.willitblend.com

Well, I’ve finally found her—the perfect girl. I knew she was out there, somewhere. Actually Lee introduced us.

She says all the right things. Damn, this girl’s got my number.

All brought to you by yourperfectgirl.com—an amazing use of customizable viral video. Amazing? Well, perfectgirl’s even got someone for my neighbor Maurice, the balding, unemployed, Star Wars fanatic.

…His mother’ll be so happy.

If you a person who’s has a conversation with me since December, you’ve probably heard me mention this book. Once again, if you’re interested in figuring out where advertising is going, I couldn’t recommend it more. But for those of you who are too lazy to read the whole book… here’s Part 2 of my series on Life After the 30-Second Spot.

Jaffe brings up a shocking fact on page 15 about DVRs (aka TiVo):

David Poltrack, executive vice president of Research and Planning at CBS television, recently reassured us that DVRs are not much of a threat as once thought because internal research revealed that ad skippers recalled, on average, two commercials and one brand, which is essentially the same level of recall as with live TV.  This is just insane.

Wow. Let’s consider the implications:

• People don’t pay attention to TV commercials at all. Maybe it’s because the ads are intrusive? Are they improperly targeted? Maybe they just suck.
• An average TV ad is just as interesting when fast forwarding as when it’s playing at normal speed. Sounds like the ads aren’t very interesting.
• It’s really hard to get people’s attention. Certainly true.

The funny thing is, the people watching the DVR might be a more captive audience. Here are two scenarios:

• Viewer A doesn’t have a TiVo, and he got home just in time to catch the latest episode of Lost. After the first commercial break starts he runs to the bathroom, gets a snack, and then finally reaches the TV after the break is over.
  Total Impressions: 0
• Viewer B has set her TiVo to record Lost and start about twenty minutes late, so she can skip the commercials. In the meantime she’s already gone to the bathroom and had a snack. Once the first commercial break starts she hits the fast-forward button three times and whizzes through commercials in no time. However, her eyes are fixed on the screen. She sees a Burger King logo, a 3d-animated Mr. Clean (no logo necessary), and a Hummer. It’s important to realize that she’s been looking at the screen the whole time.
  Total Impressions: 3

Why is everyone so afraid of the TiVo?
Joseph Jaffe’s blog is located at www.jaffejuice.com

2007 looks like it’ll be a fantastic year for online video. Online video is so new, and still developing, so that nobody really knows what the future holds. What new sites and services will become popular? What viral videos will take the internet by storm? What will be the best (and worst) videos of the year? At 10ton we’re looking forward to see what happens, and to making a contribution to its ultimate direction.