Monday, August 20, 2007

Jericho,RealPlayer, and Gerbers


I read an article this weekend and here is an interesting comment from it:


"CBS has the perfect opportunity to build a relationship with me. I’m coming back over and over to their site, to spend “quality time” with their show. They could ask as few as 1 or 2 questions in return for providing each episode on demand for free and start customizing the commercials. Right now, I get one for Gerbers baby food (I’m a single male over 40 with no intentions of breeding) and for AT&T Wireless- to whom I’m already stuck with, since I have an iPhone. Irrelevant ads, presented by the most relevant personalized delivery system."

***Guess what he was trying to watch? Yes, Jericho. This is a first time viewer that CBS is ticking off. Here's what he says next:

"After almost 2 hours of trying to watch via “realplayer” I gave up and went to iTunes to purchase the show. Advertisers like AT&T, All State, Gerbers, should be ticked off at CBS- because now, I won’t see their commercials. Also- they should note- their spots aren’t being displayed properly- with about a 1/4 of the screen showing.
Not only that- the difference between watching iTunes H.264 version vs RealPlayer is like the difference between VHS and HiDef.
CBS- you are lame. No wonder people don’t want to watch your network."

*** Thank goodness he went to iTunes or we'd have lost a new viewer and fan. ***


This next comment was left on one of my blogs:

"One thing leaps off the pages -- the network and advertising execs are wracking their brains to figure out a way to "force" the viewers to watch commercials and how to count it. Yet they still use Nielsens. Nielsens count 25,000 tvs; and all they count is that the tv is tuned in and turned on -- NOT whether anyone is sitting in front of it actually watching!

Some advertisers are trying to use the DVR technology, but once again that tracks only those people who subscribe to a service, not people like me who own a DVD player- recorder AND this service cannot tell them if someone is sitting in front of the tv actually watching or whether they let the commercial run while they prepared a snack or used the facilities! The coupon technique, while inventive, like everything else will become old after the first couple of times.

Why don't they ask us, the viewers, what we would be willing to watch and just how much advertising we want crammed down our throats? How about if an advertiser announces at the beginning of a show and maybe 2 or 3 times during the show, for your viewing pleasure, the XYZ company sponsors the next 15 minutes of Jericho. To learn more about [our product] go to www.xyz.com. We appreciate your patronage.

That's what I would watch. That and something that is entertaining and funny. How about a commericial that is telling a story that you don't know what's going on until you get to the 4th installment at the end of the show! How about something clever and forward thinking; different; unusual. I thought ad execs were "creative"!!

Well, there, I got that off my chest. But really, just how much advertising is too much? Everywhere we turn, we are inundated to the point that, don't know about you, but I am totally tuned out. When I want to know about something, I google it. End of story."

*** I agree with this. Why don't they ask us? Put out some polls. I like commercials that keep me wondering what will happen next. We need some creative ads. The ones I see are plain boring.***

Then there's this:

"The time when the Lipsmackinthirstquenchin ads of yesteryear were created, were the times of Big TV, few media alternatives and über ratings. Today, with more channels, time-shifting, place-shifting and a veritable explosion in media options for consumers, the opportunities for any given campaign to have similar impact are diminished, as well as harder and more costly to exploit. Beside the increases in the cost of production and distribution of ads, the proliferation of platforms and the subsequent impact on the sheer number of messages consumers receive (and send) in any given day makes it harder for a campaign to cut through the clutter." Mike Bloxham


Come on,CBS. We're trying to haul in viewers and you're ticking them off. Well, when you aren't too busy pre-empting Jericho.









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